Mom Says She's Against Free Daycare Because 'Every Family Needs To Take Care Of Their Own Children'
Daycare centers provide essential services for working parents who cannot afford private caregivers, as they offer affordable childcare.
TikTok With the cost of childcare becoming increasingly inaccessible for parents, the call for free — or at least affordable — childcare is echoing across the nation.
However, one mom on TikTok doesn't agree and thinks parents having the ability to put their kids in daycare without having to pay an exorbitant price is ultimately detrimental to families.
The mother disagrees with free daycare since she believes that parents are responsible for raising their own children.
The woman, known as “The Messy Mom” on TikTok shared her controversial beliefs surrounding free daycare in a video that has sparked mixed reactions.
She responds to a comment from another TikTok user claiming that they are against “free and affordable childcare for all” since all families should have one parent that is able to stay at home to take care of the children without having to send them elsewhere to be looked after.
The woman shares the same opinion. In fact, she is against any public facility that offers free childcare, including public schools. She shares that she “doesn’t like” free daycare since she believes that it is giving parents, particularly fathers, an “out” when it comes to raising their own children and providing for their families.
“They go, ‘Well, I don’t have to get a second job, I don’t have to do anything, my wife can work, there’s free daycare!’” she argues. “I think that doing anything for free when it comes to kids is more damaging than it is good.”
The woman shares that part of the responsibility of being a parent is being readily available for them.
“I know that this is not for everybody,” she says. “But at the end of the day, if you can’t care for your child if you work too many hours if you’re not financially ready…” she trails off, implying that people should not have children if they cannot provide these things.
“Every family needs to take care of their own children. That is their responsibility,” she goes on to say. She adds that parents have to make sacrifices in order to have at least one of them at home raising the kids.
What the mom, and most people in her comments, don't consider is that not all families have two parents or someone available to stay at home. Single-parent households would be some of the many people who would majorly benefit from not having to worry about the rising costs of childcare.
Despite this and many other glaring issues in her statement, commenters largely agreed with the mom.
“Kids being raised by their parents fair better than those being looked over by public schools, daycares, and other forms of free childcare,” one TikTok user commented.
Others pointed out that daycare centers are not always as equipped and safe as they appear and there are instances where staff mistreat the children.
However, others believed that daycare centers are necessary for parents, even those who do not have full-time jobs outside of the house. They also noted that childcare facilities are helpful not only to parents but to their children as well, for developing proper socialization skills with people other than their parents.
“This is not realistic for many people,” one user noted. “Public schools can be amazing. Parents use public schools as free daycare and it is not just a place where children can learn,” another user wrote.
Others believed that it was possible for parents to work while also being there for their children when necessary. Daycares, after all, don't provide around-the-clock care so the woman's claim that free daycare will enable parents to slack off when it comes to raising kids is redundant.
In 2019, statistics from the US Center Bureau showed that 64.2% of American families with children had both parents working. There is little evidence that supports that children are at a disadvantage due to both parents working. In fact, research has shown that children of working parents can benefit from high-quality childcare and positive interactions with other caregivers.
RELATED: Mom Calls Out Those Who Park In 'Parent And Child' Spaces And Receives Mixed Reactions
Overall, every family functions differently and it is important to consider the individual circumstances of each family and child when evaluating the effects of both parents working outside the home and placing them into daycare.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.