Ask any American family with young children what their number one household expense is, and youll hear the same answer almost every time: child care. Each family finds their own way to meet this challenge. Some parents are pushed out of the workforce. Others work jobs they wouldnt take otherwise or hold down multiple jobs in order to meet their families needs.

Part of the issue is [child care] costs are rising, incomes are not rising. Part of the issue is weve just changed the way we work, and our needs have changed, Natalie Mayslich , a senior executive at Care.com, told HuffPost.

The pandemic wrought changes both to the workplace, with more people working remotely, and to the availability of child care. Many day care centers that closed during the COVID-19 pandemic have not yet reopened, Mayslich explained, and long waitlists are common in many parts of the country.

For many families, the available options are unsustainable. Affordable child care, as defined by the Department of Health and Human Services , should cost no more than 7% of a familys income. Yet, according to Care.coms 2023 Cost of Care report , families are spending an average of 27% of their income on child care. The report also found that the average weekly cost of a day care center ($284) has risen 53% over the past 10 years. The cost of nannies went up 56% over the past decade as well.

The U.S. spends only 0.3% of its gross domestic product on child care services, placing it in the bottom five of 37 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries when it comes to early education and care .

Advocates say that solutions will need to involve both the public and the private sectors.

Its going to have to be a combination of the two. I dont see a world where the government would be able to solely answer this, Britt Riley, founder and CEO of The Haven Collection , a child care provider that provides flexible hours, workspace and fitness facilities for parents, told HuffPost.

In order to show you how real families are navigating this child care challenge, HuffPost is profiling parents around the country. If youd like to be featured in an installment, email us at parents@huffpost.com.