Working for the Day Care

Let's talk child support.  I had a child support hearing today.  My client had given up two of his three jobs so that he could spend alternating weekends with his 3 year old son.  It represented a huge drop in income for him, but he figured the trade off was worth it.....until his son's mother filed for child support.      He grosses less than $3,800 a month, and brings home about $2,500.  His child support is almost $1000 a month.  How can that be possible?  Well, mom earns over $5,000 a month. but that's not why child support was so high.  Monthly day care is over $1,000 a month.  Yup, that was the killer.  My client's child support was only in the $600 range, until you added in his proportionate share of the day care.  The fact of the matter is that it costs a lot to raise a child, but even more to care for them so the parents can work.  It's really a vicious cycle, especially with very young children, whose day care costs more.  On the one hand, mom and dad need to work.  On the other hand, they have to work about one week of the month just to pay someone to watch their child.  That's one reason why, when some child support paying parents complain that their child's other parent isn't working enough at their minimum wage job, if they don't have the children in day care, most of us here in the Trenches would tell them to stop complaining.  A full time minimum wage job with children in day care would create a higher child support number simply because of the day care.  That's the quandry, isn't it?  Can you imagine what child support would be if day care providers were paid what they are really worth?  No, I don't want to either, but that's another topic for another day.  Here in the Trenches.