by For working mothers, the drop-off of the morning day stay can feel like an emotional intestinal pot. You wave goodbye, go to work and spend the day in the hope that your little one will be safe, happy and well cared for. That is why a viral tick, shared by maker Lauren Pontiff, has put so many parents straight into the heart.
With 4.8 million views and counting, the video records for a moment so purely that the parents reaches everywhere to the tissues. Pontiff’s toddler, Lilly Kate, takes her first steps at daycare – but the real tear? Her caregiver, Shikira, responds like a proud aunt with a toddlers, arms wide open, cheering with everything she has.
The emotional roller coaster of the daycare center
Like so many parents, Pontiff struggles with the fault of missing big moments while juggling work. When she received a message from Shikira about Lilly Kate’s milestone, she immediately checked the live feed from childcare.
“The first time I watched it, I was so happy and in shock that she walked that far,” Pontiff said Newsweek. “But the second time I couldn’t stop seeing how proud and excited Shikira was for my little girl. I had tears in my eyes and saw her reaction. It was not so worthwhile to see how she had the greatest cheerleader who encouraged Lilly. ‘
And let’s really be – finding this kind of love and support in childcare is not only happiness. It is necessary. But it is too Really very expensive.
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The wild ride of childcare costs
According to the US Department of Labor, prices for childcare of $ 5,357 vary for school in the school in small provinces up to $ 17,171 for care for children in very large provinces. And that is just one child. If you have two or three? You may pay more than your mortgage. Prices swing wild, depending on where you live – large cities often see costs that rise beyond $ 30,000 a year– and don’t even let us start with prices for children’s care versus kindergarten.
In the meantime 60% of children under five are in some form of regular childcare, according to the Census Bureau. That means that millions of parents are confronted every day with this financial and emotional cord walk.
Related: The childcare costs of Tennessee have just been adopted to tuition fees – and it happens nationwide
The internet responds: ‘We need more daycare centers as they are’
Shikira’s reaction has turned her into the childcare hero who did not know that they needed it. The commentary part of the video of Pontiff was quickly filled with emotional reactions:
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“The type of daycare needs all places !!” – @Marandaellis1
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“Imagine going to work, know that this is the kind of love that your child gets”
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❤
– @nueandnetta
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‘That is how you know that you have chosen the right childcare! She loves your baby as if she’s her “
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– @lindscar03
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“Someone gives this woman a wage increase!” – @epaola.1
Pontiff himself couldn’t agree anymore. She shared that Shikira worked three jobs to maintain herself after losing her mother, but still appears to work every day with a smile and the greatest heart for these children.
A village worth celebrating
This video is more than just a cute moment – it is a reminder of how important childcare workers are in the lives of families. While working parents are pressing to offer, caregivers such as Shikira enter with love, support and the kind of encouragement that makes missing those big milestones a little easier to wear.
Pontiff hopes that her video insures other mothers who struggle with debt parent debt. “I hope this will show working mothers that their babies are loved and cared for,” she said Newsweek. “It really takes a village to educate our babies.”
So here is for the daycare centers that love our babies such as their own, the mothers who make impossible choices every day, and the viral moments that remind us of being all in this together.
