Editor,

Regarding the recent article on child care costs and affordability, I want to shed some light on the issue as a child care worker.

I understand that $13,000 a year for child care seems like a burden, but do parents expect us to work for peanuts? Should we not pay the rent on our facilities?

I suppose we don’t really need to meet Washington state’s requirements for child care facilities where we have to provide a rotation of nutritious snacks every two to three hours.

We don’t really need to do fun activities with the kids everyday and allow them to develop their cognitive abilities.

I’ll be sure to let the state know that we don’t actually need to do improvements on our facility and playground and that maintenance can be left to the wayside.

If you don’t want to pay the $13,000 and you don’t want to rely on grandparents and neighbors you could always hire a babysitter.

High schoolers should be found around $10 an hour. That’s only $30,000 a year for them to watch your kid in your house for the same amount of time I watch your kid and take them on field trips and expand their horizons.

Heck, I’ll even offer myself up as a babysitter since $30,000 is my salary too.

No field trips, though. No socialization with other kids either.

You must provide all the snacks, transport, materials and games, and you must do all your child’s laundry.

Robert Kleine

Langley