Tragedy at a home daycare in Vaughan, ON

[Sandbox Sally]

I think the main message is that if you can't afford quality care then having children is not an option. Think and plan for this before having kids.

I am not defending the provider in this situation, nor am I defending the parents. I am saying that not everyone has access to quality affordable child care. Not only do some not realize how much daycare can cost, many do not realize that in some geographical areas, you have to search for daycare a year before you plan on using it.

I hope you are kidding about not having children unless you are well off. In Toronto, home daycares charge $50 to $80 dollars a day. What does that mean for a mother who finds herself single? What if she has more than one child? Are you saying that only middle class and above should have children? I am an intelligent woman whose first child was unplanned. It's not ideal, but it happens. I could not afford daycare, and were it not for the generosity and kindness of family, I don't know how we would have made it that first year. On my current salary and only having one child, I would be paying more than half my earnings to daycare. Without subsidy, how would I feed myself and my child? How would I pay my electricity and rent? As it happens, I have three children, not one. It's really not as simple as, "if you can't afford quality child care, don't have kids". Really.