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Are you a parent struggling to find care this summer? Reach out to chloe.berger@fortune.com to share your story<\/em>.<\/p>\n While kids might count down the days until summer every year, parents are less likely to to await the season with bated breath. Their trepidation doesn\u2019t stem from an increase in Bluey<\/em> watch parties, but rather a mounting pressure when it comes to childcare responsibilities.<\/p>\n Already juggling care and career responsibilities, another (beach) ball has been lobbed at working parents: finding supervision for their kids during their vacation. While summer break is nothing new, years marked by a high cost of living and a nationwide childcare crisis<\/a> means that parents are more strapped than usual. The heat turns up in the summer, after all.<\/p>\n That cost of finding childcare means that almost a third (29%) of parents report being unable to save in the summer, according to a Intuit<\/a> Credit Karma survey<\/a> of more than 2,000 adults. More than half (61%) of parents note that raising a kid feels more expensive during the dog days of summer with 40% reporting that they worry the most about their finances at this time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe high cost of childcare is not a seasonal issue. It plagues parents year-round; however, the summer months can be especially challenging as kids are out of school and parents are on the hook for keeping them entertained, and under adult supervision,\u201d Courtney Alev, consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma, tells Fortune<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the price of finding supervision varies per state, the national average cost of care ($11,582 in 2023) represents 10% of a couple\u2019s and 32% of a single household\u2019s median income\u2014per a recent report from Child Care Aware of America<\/a>. That\u2019s greater than the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services\u2019 suggested 7%, the authors note.\u00a0<\/p>\n During COVID-19<\/a>, the care system\u2019s crisis deepened, as the field already defined by low wages experienced greater turnover due to burnout. As pandemic-era aid<\/a> that provided temporary relief ended, inflation<\/a> continued to exert pressure on the already broken infrastructure as parents struggled to find affordable options.\u00a0<\/p>\n The mounting price tag forced parents, especially mothers<\/a>, out of the workforce. \u201cOver the last several decades, dual-income households have become increasingly common as more women entered the workforce, helping contribute to their families economic success,\u201d said Alev. \u201cUnfortunately, rising costs associated with raising children has led many parents to having to make career sacrifices because unaffordable childcare surpasses some parents\u2019 earnings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n