Idaho teacher, 67, retires and moves to Delaware to care for her grandchild after childcare costs matched the mortgage; now she spends 30 hours a week caring for the baby as US childcare costs soar

Pic credit: NPR/ Lianne Milton

Mary Jo Galusha, 67, a school teacher from Idaho, had a clear picture of how her retirement would look. Quiet mornings, self-care, reading time, and maybe a little gardening. Then her daughter, Stacia Bourne, called with news. Bourne’s first child’s daycare bill nearly matched the family mortgage. Bourne and her husband even hesitated to have a second child. But that ended in a question: could they actually afford a second baby?“We were thinking we couldn’t afford it,” Bourne, a University of Delaware psychology professor who lives in Maryland, told NPR. So, Galusha decided to help. She now looks after her grandchildren. Her retirement plan looks more than perfect. And for the couple, this decision is nothing short of a blessing.

Leaving Idaho for grandkids

Stacia Bourne and her husband had their first child, George, in 2020. He started daycare when he was 2, but the cost wasn’t something they expected. “The cost for childcare for him is about the same as our mortgage,” Bourne said.They were worried about whether they could afford a second child. That’s when Bourne’s mum, Mary Jo Galusha, offered: she could retire and relocate to the East Coast if Bourne was planning to have another baby. Many months later, the phone rang again. “I got a call that Stacia was expecting and that I better start planning on retiring,” Galusha recalled. She gave notice, traded her Volkswagen Beetle for an SUV with enough room for car seats, and drove across the country to Newark, Delaware. Robin, the second child, was born in late 2024, and Galusha spends 30 hours a week taking care of the baby while the couple goes to work.For Galusha, though, it’s not a chore. If anything, caring for her grandchildren brings her joy. “It’s like magic to watch them grow up,” she told the broadcaster.

Rising childcare costs in the US

Grandparents caring for their grandchildren is nothing new. However, the astronomical spike in childcare costs in the US has made this crucial for many parents.Childcare for children under five in the US costs an average of $13,184 a year in 2025, according to the group Child Care Aware of America. In some places, it can cost as much as rent or college tuition.Families who cannot afford childcare or find a place at a daycare are increasingly turning to grandparents for help, according to Nicole Jorwic of Caring Across Generations. “The reality is that because this country hasn’t invested in a childcare infrastructure that is flexible and affordable and reliable, grandparents are filling in the gaps that the service system leaves behind,” she told the outlet.For many families in the US, finding reliable childcare has become increasingly important, says Madonna Harrington Meyer, a Syracuse University sociology professor who studies ageing and grandparenting. In recent decades, the number of households with both parents working full-time has risen. In 2025, 52% of couples with children had both parents working full-time, up from 31% in 1975, according to Pew Research Center.There has also been a steady increase in the number of single mums in the US over the course of decades. Families of children with disabilities also struggle to find specialised care. “All of these things are reasons people turn to grandparents,” Harrington Meyer said.And most grandparents are happy to help. According to a 2024 poll, nearly half of grandparents with grandchildren under 18 cared for them at least once every few months.Another AARP report found that grandparents mainly provide childcare because their children are working or busy, and they want to spend more time with their grandchildren. The median amount of time they spend providing care is 200 hours a year, or about 3.8 hours a week.“But perhaps the biggest benefit is that they are so flexible. Unlike a formal daycare situation, often grandparents will come to your house, or they’ll alternate between watching the children at their own house and at the grandparent’s house,” Harrington Meyer added.