2025 Working Parents & Child Care Report

About the 2025 Working Parents & Child Care Report

Today’s HR leaders are navigating new pressures: tighter budgets, rising employee stress, and a workforce still struggling to balance work and family demands. This report delivers new insight into what working parents are facing—and how those realities quietly shape productivity, engagement, and retention across organizations.

Backed by new national data, the 2025 report reveals what parents need most from their employers, where care gaps persist, and how forward-thinking companies are reimagining caregiving benefits as a strategic advantage.

Key findings include these and more: 

• Child care benefits and subsidies now rank as working parents’ #1 most desired perk, outranking unlimited PTO and 401(k) matching
• 68% of working families say they've made a career change due to caregiving issues
• 43% still lack reliable backup care, despite needing child care to do their jobs.
• Employers offering caregiving benefits see 40% fewer missed workdays