What we’ve learned about the experiences of Washington parents

Sep 6

In 2024, RAPID and ReadyNation Washington partnered to hear from families with young children in Washington state. Data in this report complement a report earlier this year from ReadyNation Washington and Child Care Aware of Washington, The Economic Impacts of Insufficient Child Care Cost Washington State $5 Billion Annually, that looks at the impacts of child care on Washington’s economy, including parents, businesses, and taxpayers.

Download the complete fact sheet for direct quotes from survey participants and more.

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The vast majority of Washington parents with young children rely on child care

Child care supports the nurturing care and learning important for children’s healthy early development, supports adults in caring for their families, and plays a key role in our economy and communities. RAPID asked parents of young children in Washington state about their experiences with child care, to better understand if and how child care is supporting their families.

A substantial percentage of Washington parents (87%) reported using child care for their children. The data show that parents of young children across all income levels rely on child care, and that middle-income parents in particular (94%) rely on child care, followed by 79% of lower-income parents and 71% of higher-income parents.

Parents reported the types of child care they use for at least five hours of care, and could select more than one option in their response:

— 31% use center-based care

— 26% use unpaid family, friend, or neighbor (FFN) care

— 24% use paid FFN care

— 23% use home-based care in the child care provider’s residence

— 17% use a babysitter/nanny

Among parents who use paid or unpaid FFN care:

— 37% use grandparents

— 34% use friends

— 25% use neighbors

— 11% use other relatives

— 4% use step-parents

— 4% use their child who is 15 years or older

The majority of Washington parents with young children face financial difficulties

A household’s economic well-being is critical to accessing essentials, like food and housing, and other resources that support the healthy development of young children and their families. RAPID asked parents in Washington state about their overall economic well-being.

RAPID asked parents to describe how their family was doing financially. About two in three Washington parents (66%) described their family as experiencing financial problems, and 27% of those parents described their financial problems as being “major” or “extreme.”

RAPID also asked parents with young children about experiences of material hardship. RAPID measures material hardship as difficulty affording basic needs like food, housing, utilities, child care, healthcare, and activities that support health and well-being (e.g., mental health services).

More than a third of Washington parents (38%) reported experiencing material hardship in at least one area of basic need. The top categories of material hardship were housing, healthcare, utilities, child care, food, and wellness activities, respectively.

Parents' reported how their family is doing financially, overall

Emotional distress is prevalent among Washington parents with young children

RAPID asked families about the emotional well-being of parents and their young children. RAPID measures parents’ emotional distress as a composite of four experiences: stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness*.

* RAPID measures anxiety by asking parents to select how often they have been bothered by “feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge” or “not being able to stop or control worrying” in the past week. RAPID measures depression by asking parents to select how often they have been bothered by “little interest or pleasure in doing things” or “feeling down, depressed, or hopeless” in the past week. RAPID measures loneliness by asking parents to select how often they felt lonely in the past month. RAPID measures stress by asking parents to select how often they felt stress in the past month.

More than three in four (77%) Washington parents with young children reported experiencing emotional distress. Of the parents who experienced emotional distress symptoms, stress (40%) was the most prevalent symptom that parents experienced.

While all the survey participants reported high levels of emotional distress, lower-income parents were more likely to experience emotional distress (87%) compared to middle-income parents (78%) and higher-income parents (62%). Notably, these data are underscored by a recent US Surgeon General's advisory about the need to support the mental health and well-being of parents.

Parents' reported emotional distress symptoms, overall

We also asked parents about social support when they feel overwhelmed or stressed. Nearly two in three parents (64%) said they feel somewhat or very supported, and a quarter of parents (25%) said they feel neither supported nor unsupported. About 9% of parents said they feel somewhat unsupported, and 2% of parents said they do not feel supported at all.

We have found that parents who experience hardship affording basic needs and who also have social support are less likely to report emotional distress in themselves and their children.

Parents' reported feelings of support when stressed, overall

Washington parents see high levels of emotional distress among their young children

RAPID measures children’s emotional distress by asking parents to select how the phrases “fussy or defiant” and/or “too fearful or anxious” fit their children’s behavior in the past month. More than two in three (71%) Washington parents reported that their children experienced one or both signs of emotional distress “sometimes” or “often.”

Research shows that parents’ own emotional well-being feeds back and affects their children’s emotional well-being.

RAPID survey data has consistently revealed evidence of a chain reaction of hardship.That is, as parents’ experiences of material hardship increase, they also experience more emotional distress (higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness), which, in turn, is associated with parents reporting increased emotional distress among their young children.

Reports of families experiencing both material hardship and symptoms of emotional distress are concerning, as this chain reaction of hardship can undermine the stable, nurturing care that parents seek to provide and that is so essential to healthy development in early childhood. There is also extensive evidence of the links between experiences of early adversity and poorer outcomes in terms of health, education, well-being, and income later in life.

High costs and child care concerns are major barriers for families accessing healthcare services

Access to preventive healthcare is essential for the physical health and emotional well-being of both adults and their children. For young children, recommended and routine well-child/well-baby visits are an important opportunity for parents to ask questions of physicians and for children to receive health screenings, referrals, and other services.

We asked Washington parents about their experiences getting healthcare for their own physical health and/or emotional well-being. Almost one in five parents (17%) said in the past month they had delayed getting healthcare for themselves. Notably, middle-income parents were much less likely to delay their own healthcare (7%) compared to lower-income parents (32%) and higher-income parents (28%).

Parents shared how many times they delayed their own healthcare visits and their reason(s) for delaying care:

— 70% were unable to get time away from work

— 64% were unable to afford the cost of healthcare

— 52% were unable to find child care during their healthcare visit

— 42% were unable to take time away from caring for family members

— 35% were concerned about exposure to illness

We also asked Washington parents about their experiences getting preventive and recommended healthcare for their children. Overall, 9% of parents missed a recommended well-child or well-baby visit for their children. As with their own healthcare visits, middle-income parents were much less likely to miss their children’s wellness checkups (3%), compared to lower-income parents (23%) and higher-income parents (12%).

Parents shared the reasons for delaying their children’s healthcare visits, and could select more than one option in their response:

— 53% were unable to afford the cost of healthcare

— 38% were concerned about exposure to illness

— 26% were unable to get time away from work

— 24% were unable to find child care for their other children

— 18% were unable to take time away from caring for other family members

Conclusion

Physical health, emotional well-being, and economic stability are essential for providing supportive, responsive caregiving. We have found that economic supports like the expanded Child Tax Credit payments and other pandemic-era federal relief programs protected families from both experiencing material hardship and the negative impacts of material hardship on emotional well-being. In Washington state, COVID relief funding was used for child care stabilization and retention grants, as well as short-term support for increased access to child care, as outlined in the Fair Start for Kids Act.

We have also found that emotional support is a powerful buffer against the negative effects of material hardship on parent and child emotional well-being; adults who reported high levels of emotional support were less likely to be negatively affected by material hardship.

Given the high rates of material hardship and emotional distress among parents of young children in Washington, as well as the barriers they reported to accessing preventive health care and child care, there is a need to ensure parents and families of young children receive early and necessary support so that all children and families can thrive. Access to high-quality, affordable child care and early learning supports is key.