Recently, a friend told me she saw a sign in Salt Lake City asking what would make parenting easier, in response to declining student enrollment.

We were with two other working moms, and the four of us laughed out loud. Not because it’s funny, but because the problem feels painfully obvious to anyone trying to raise children and earn a living.

My first maternity leave was unpaid. Shortly after returning to work, my baby had a high fever and could barely breathe without constant suctioning — and I still felt compelled to apologize for taking three sick days. I pumped in a windowless room while answering emails and taking calls.

When the pandemic sent us home in March 2020, I felt relief. My husband and I took turns working and caring for our baby, and I worked another shift most nights after bedtime to keep up. However, daycare closures repeatedly landed during my heaviest workloads. Eventually, I switched employers and took a less demanding role so I could have a shot at balance.

My second maternity leave was partially paid, which helped us keep the daycare spot for my older child. When I went back to work, we took on a second daycare payment, but I told myself that the double payment was temporary, because we wouldn’t need to pay for full-time child care once my older child began public school.

Like many parents, I assumed kindergarten would bring some financial relief. I started to hear from more experienced parents that this was not the case. School hours do not match work hours, and summers require full-time coverage. After-school programs, when they exist at the school, are not meant to be a consistent and reliable bridge to the end of your work day.

As my oldest was about to start kindergarten, my employer implemented a stricter in-office policy. After careful consideration, I reduced my hours to just below 30, so that I could continue commuting into the office once per week, as I had done for years. The math didn’t make sense on paper, but it did in terms of sanity and flexibility for early outs, random days off and sick kids.

My husband was diagnosed with kidney cancer during the last days of the school year. Then, his employer laid him off while he was on a two-week medical leave recovering from surgery. I was not legally entitled to health insurance because I was working just under the 30-hour mark. I am lucky that my employer hadn’t removed the coverage, but this caused a lot of stress, knowing we potentially had cancer treatment on the horizon. Meanwhile, we were shuttling our older child between summer camps, pretending daddy hadn’t just had a brush with death.

So why is student enrollment declining?

First, most families can no longer make it on one income. Housing is expensive, childcare is expensive and both parents working is not a luxury — it is a necessity.

Second, school schedules exist in a different universe than modern work. The calendar is full of days off and long breaks. The daily bell schedule ends hours before most people can leave their jobs. Affordable, reliable after-school care is limited or nonexistent. Employers assume that everyone has a stay-at-home wife or some other unpaid relative watching the kids.

Third, when parents try to adjust their work to fit the school and childcare reality, they risk losing income, career advancement and crucial benefits like health insurance.

What would help us parent and provide?

An increased standard deduction for families with children too young for public school. This could help parents with child care costs, or subsidize a parent staying home.

Child tax credits, childcare tax credits or flexible spending account limits to better approximate reality — closer to $10,000 per child per year. Pocket change is not going to avert the forecasted population bust.

Convert closed-down schools into hubs for children of all ages. Infant and toddler childcare, affordable extracurriculars and off-hour or school-break care for older kids.

Convert some schools into year-round schools with on-site after care programs, letting families choose between traditional and employment-friendly calendars.

Employers can prevent unwanted career breaks by normalizing parenting out loud, building real flexibility into jobs and protecting benefits for those who reduce hours temporarily. Parents who feel supported are deeply loyal employees.

Any spending that supports parents in supporting themselves is a smart investment. If our state is serious about understanding declining birth rates and falling enrollment, we need to listen to parents’ stories and make big investments. The return will be immediate in taxes paid due to economic activity, workplace productivity and our families’ mental and physical wellbeing.

Kayla Lengyel is a mother of two with degrees in accounting and public policy. As the daughter of a working mom, she is a passionate advocate for working parents and their children.

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