After about five years of paying for full-time child care that I couldn't afford, I had to remortgage the house to get out of the debt that I had incurred. I was working full-time out of necessity,and therefore paying for full-time child care of necessity. My husband lost his job when our son was about 4 months old, and it took a long time for him to find something else that was full-time. He ended up starting a small business, which really didn't pay for a number of years. My job provided a steady income and benefits. This was also the reason that I was only able to have one child. It still makes me sad that the high cost of child care. combined with my need to work full-time, was a huge factor in my decision not to have more children, leaving my son an only child; I mourn that loss. It should not have to be that hard. It is my sense that the responsible middle-middle class (I'm not talking about people who call themselves middle class but make over $100,000/year) have small families of necessity. So we are shrinking the middle class in more ways than ecomonic redistribution accounts for. It will not be the same country if the squeeze continues.