92%. That’s the percentage of BizBrief readers who reported being working parents. Out of that group, just 20% said their employer offers child care benefits, with the majority pointing to schedule flexibility as the primary source of assistance.

When asked whether childcare has ever been a factor when applying for or choosing a new job, 85% of readers responded yes.

While many parents we heard from noted that things got easier once their kids were old enough for public school, holidays and sick days still pose a challenge. For some of these parents, remote work has been a game changer.

Several readers shared anecdotal details with us, from the limited availability and cost of paid daycare (“significantly more than our mortgage,” said one reader) to the frustrations of misaligned school schedules.

The number one thing we heard across the board as a help to working parents? Supportive teams and bosses.

An interesting trend is the number of parents who decided to go into business for themselves. One reader noted that “it has been a lot easier in respect to being a [parent], but a lot harder financially, but "worth it in the end.”

We appreciate everyone who took the time to share their experience with us. We'll keep sharing programs and sources of support for working parents in our News Note section — in the meantime, here are a few parents can explore:

South Carolina’s First Steps 4K program, which offers free, full-day school for qualifying children, based on age and family income.
The federal Head Start program, which provides assistance to low-income families paying for childcare. Columbia has several qualifying locations.
The state's Working Families Child Care Scholarship, for which applications were paused in December 2025, but the Department of Social Services recently opened a waitlist.

Hopefully, this list will only continue to grow.