Child care today costs some families thousands of dollars every month, they might be paying more for care than you are paying in rent, and that leaves many families struggling financially.

Why are things so bad? Why are there so little affordable options? Some say that it's because the government isn't funding this care (through force). But I say it's because of the unjust restrictions in place that prevent parents from engaging in exchanges with others who might be suitable and willing to look after their children for them.

If a family has a neighbor next door to them that is interested in looking after their children for them as a service, for example, they aren't allowed to simply step into that arrangement without passing through a few guidelines first. If they could, you could see how things might be a hell of a lot cheaper.

In many areas there are restrictions on where the child can be looked after or how many children can be looked after by one person. Some restrictions also impose minimum educational or training requirements as well, for safety as always. But when these restrictions leave parents having to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a service that they cannot afford, maybe the standard of living and life for the child might be better off if there was less violence involved.

Their parents should be able to choose for themselves who they want to look after their child, regardless of what requirements a third-party wants to impose.

These rules are ridiculous for a number of reasons. Who is to say that every individual can only handle the same amount of children to look after, with imposing a maximum requirement of children that can be under someone's care? Obviously some individuals will be better than others at juggling the pressure and looking after more children. There are families that have 10, 11, 12, 16, or more children. This restriction is frivolous. So are the restrictions for education or training, because the parents should be the ones to decide this. If they want someone who has a degree in child development then they can go searching voluntarily for a provider of that service with that background. What those restrictions do is impose on the right of willing parties to enter into an agreement, which would perhaps provide a much cheaper child care option for a number of families.

If people are forced to look after children at a separate location other than their residence as well, you can already see how this would drive the costs of care up dramatically. Think about whenever you want to buy a burger for lunch, a pair of new shoes, or a new car when your old one breaks down, there isn't any shortage of these options in the market. You can find these items and various other services without any problem, there is a myriad of competition and different prices to find what might work for you. The same isn't the case for child care though.

Because child care is one of the most regulated industries in the market.

Access to options for child care has been aggressively reduced with the more restrictions that are introduced. Many people who might have the time and be willing to look after children, for a much more competitive price for example, are prevented from providing their services until they pass through those different barriers. Too many restrictions are why parents today are paying too high a price for this service, more freedom in this industry would bring with it more competition and more price options.

The people using the services themselves, the parents, are the best ones to determine the quality of the service and should be allowed to make an arrangement with whoever they want to look after their children. As well, there have been countless instances of abuse where children have been victimized by state-approved caretakers. Therefore, their designation alone that someone might be suitable isn't sufficient enough to be sure that they won't endanger those who they are looking after.

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