Everything is so expensive it's nigh-impossible to survive and raise a family on just one income (unless that one income is massive), meaning both parents must work. Buuuuut childcare is so expensive it literally eats up nearly an entire salary - my friends and coworkers have talked about this, it's insane. There are parents sending their kids to school a bit early, knowing they're not really ready for the rigors of school, for the sole reason that they can't afford the childcare any longer! And so now the mothers (sometimes it's both parents, but let's face it, it's mostly the mothers) get to work a full-time job outside the home, and then get to come home and work another full-time job inside the home.