“The stress and mental health challenges faced by parents aren’t always visible, but they can take a steep toll. It’s time to recognize they constitute a serious public health concern for our country,” declared former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, six months ago. As a father, this statement hit me like a tidal wave–alarming, yet deeply validating. I thought about the sleepless nights, the endless juggling of work and family, and the quiet moments of doubt that creep in. For millions of families, this struggle is constant and unrelenting.
Enough is enough.
For too long, our culture has celebrated the ideal of the American family while ignoring the daily reality for parents. As the leader of Care.com, I knew we had to act. We had to shine a brighter light on the care crisis, to amplify the voices of families, and to push for policies and solutions they deserve.
This year, we’ve expanded our 12th annual Cost of Care Report to do just that. It’s no longer just about the financial burden of child care–it’s about the hidden costs of caring for the whole household that erode mental health, strain relationships, and threaten the very foundation of families across the country.
The full picture: Caregiving’s hidden costs
My experience as a father is just one of many parents that are battling the financial, emotional, and social costs of caregiving. The data paints a sobering picture: the average parent manages five different care arrangements, with nearly a third (28%) belonging to the sandwich generation, juggling both children and aging parents. With older adults projected to outnumber children in the U.S. within the next decade, this number is only set to grow.
Caregiving trails only financial related challenges as the most common top source of stress in their lives, with devastating consequences: 90% of parents losing sleep, 80% crying, 75% feeling a sense of dread, 71% experiencing health issues, and 29% even considered suicide or self-harm. That’s solely due to the stress of caring for the whole household.
The root causes of this stress are clear. Families are sending an exorbitant 40% of their household income on care–with over half (22%) going to child care costs alone. More than half (52%) of parents anticipate spending two months or longer trying to find a caregiver, caught in a relentless cycle of searching and waiting. Beyond the financial and logistical burden, caregiving often erodes parents’ sense of self. They typically only have three hours a day to themselves, with 46% missing out on time with their significant other and 52% losing their time with friends.
When parents are sacrificing their health, their passions, and their relationships just to make care work, we have to stop and ask: how much more can they give? The answer is painfully clear–they just can’t. When caregiving responsibilities are this overwhelming, they ripple out to workplaces, the economy, and the health and wellbeing of the loved ones in their care.
Families are reaching their breaking point, and it’s time we stopped asking them to bear this burden alone.
Taking action: What Care.com is doing to help
Caregiving is a fundamental part of life, yet the systems meant to support it are falling short. As leaders in this space—over 45 million families and caregivers have turned to Care.com over the years—we don’t just want to highlight the challenges families and caregivers face through our research. We are committed to providing solutions. Here’s what’s top of mind for Care.com heading into 2025, for families, caregivers, and the caregiving industry as a whole:
Lifting the mental load of caregiving for families
With an average of 5 different care arrangements to make, today’s parents are navigating an overwhelming patchwork of caregiving options. While 86% of parents say that finding many types of care on a single platform is helpful, the average parent is juggling three or more apps to find what they need.
We’re addressing this by offering families a single platform that connects them to child care, senior care, adult care, pet care and housekeeping all in one place. We’re also making sure we address parents’ holistic needs by moving beyond just in-home care—which satisfies only part of what families need—and launching new and improved directories to help families find center-based options like for daycares, activities & camps, and senior living communities.
Sometimes, however, the biggest challenge isn’t just finding the right care—it’s about figuring out how to get started and understanding your options in the first place. We see this especially in senior care, where families often feel lost navigating their care options. That’s why we’re gradually rolling out a Senior Care Advisor service that pairs families with masters-level social workers to create tailored care plans. This service, which has previously been available to our enterprise clients, is now being offered to some consumers–a crucial step as 73% of families seeking senior care find personalized advisor support helpful.
We hope to expand this program over time—and continue to find other ways to offer families even better, more guided support in their care searches in the future. Stay tuned.
Empowering and supporting professional caregivers
Caregivers are the backbone of the caregiving system, enabling parents to stay in the workforce and providing families with critical support. Yet their contributions are too often undervalued and underpaid.
Through our platform, we help caregivers find flexible, meaningful work that aligns with their skills and schedules–whether they’re providing child care, senior care, pet care, or housekeeping. We also empower caregivers with tools to promote their services, manage bookings, and–through HomePay–receive legal payment. This aids them in gaining access to essential protections like Social Security, worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance.
While the rising cost of care is a challenge for families, it’s clear they value caregivers’ work with 61% believing caregivers deserve higher wages. This underscores the need for systematic solutions that balance affordability for families with fair compensation for caregivers.
Championing systemic change
Families cannot tackle these challenges alone, with 87% rating expanded tax credits for care expenses as helpful in solving the challenges of finding and managing care. That’s why we’re using our role as an industry leader to push for real policy change at every level.
Existing care-related tax credits and programs are tremendously out of date and have not had an update for decades. In January, Congress will be considering tax policy as they address the upcoming expiration of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. We are working hard to ensure families’ interests are at the forefront of these discussions. As part of these efforts, we have already begun conversations with the Ways and Means Republican Tax Teams about critical care-focused tax policies, including the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, Dependent Care Assistance Programs, and the Employer-Provided Child Care Tax Credit.
Employers also play a pivotal role, with 79% of parents citing subsidized caregiving benefits as helpful. That’s why, through Care for Business, we partner with more than 775 employers to support their employees through services like subsidized Backup Care, Care Spending Account, and free premium membership to Care.com. Benefits like these save employees nearly $3,000 annually on child and senior care each while helping them balance work and family responsibilities.
Enough is enough
This report is more than a diagnosis of the caregiving crisis–it’s a rallying cry for change. The findings reveal the profound emotional, financial, and social weight of caregiving, but also illuminate the opportunities to build a better, more supportive system.
Policymakers can use this data to craft family-centered legislation that meets parents and caregivers where they are. Employers can reimagine how they support working parents with innovative policies and resources. And as Care.com, we can create innovative solutions that help families thrive.
Let’s build a future where caregiving is no longer a crisis, but a cornerstone of a thriving economy. Change is possible.
Toolkits for families and caregivers
For the first time ever, we’ve taken an additional step by creating actionable toolkits for parents and caregivers, with steps to reduce the stress and cost of care—including ways in which Care.com can help, information on tax credits and subsidies, and tips on how to advocate for care support with employers and lawmakers.
Download the toolkits here:
