Wallet Watch newsletter: How working moms make it work on LI

Meri Urena had every intention of returning to work full-time after giving birth to her twin daughters last April.

But after touring daycare centers that offered quotes around $160 per child, per day, Urena and her husband — with a combined annual income around $100,000 — found the cost infeasible.

Now, Urena works part-time, relying on family to help look after her daughters.

In the latest for Newsday's Wallet Watch, Victor Ocasio reports on Long Island families contending with some of the highest costs for childcare in the country, at prices that rival college tuition and outpace salaries.

Mothers are often the ones who bear the burden of finding a path that works — whether that's reducing hours or leaving their jobs entirely while their children are young, experts say.

That struggle was at the forefront of conversations at a recent summit held by Newsday, where Long Island moms met to discuss the challenges of juggling parenthood and their careers while trying to raise a family on the notoriously expensive Long Island.

It's a discussion Newsday plans to continue through our Working Moms project. With a new digital landing page and newsletter, we've renewed our dedication to providing moms with the curated stories and resources they need as they balance caregiving with time in the work force.

If this describes you and your family, we'd love to hear from you. Sign up for the Working Moms newsletter and share your experience with workingmoms@newsday.com.

You can also join our Long Island Moms Facebook group and follow us on Instagram at @longisland_moms.

From our readers

Heather Elizabeth Cunningham from Facebook asks:

Daycare. Why does it cost $27,000 to send one child to daycare?

Whew! That's a lot of money — even higher than the typical cost for an infant in daycare. Those prices come to a median of around $21,000 a year, according to 2024 state data.

I can't speak to your bill, but in general, daycare is pricey because it's so labor intensive. Wages are the greatest expense for daycare centers and account for most of the price that parents pay.

But even taking that into account, childcare providers take home relatively small salaries, with a median annual income of $38,844 on Long Island.

And while parents struggle to cover the cost, operators describe thin profit margins after covering payroll, rent, insurance, utilities and other expenses.

"In any business, when the cost or price of the product is more than what most of your customers can afford, you have a failing business model," said Linda Smith, executive director of policy group The Child Care Trust.

My colleague Victor Ocasio took a deep dive into the rising costs of child care for Wallet Watch this week. Read more here.

Have a question you'd like to submit? Confused by a bill? Spotted a price hike? Ask our team and we might answer it in the next edition. Email walletwatch@newsday.com or click here.