0:01  
Sorry. Hi babe. Where are you?

0:08  
Okay, okay, just making sure you're safe. Okay love you, bye. My name is Stephanie. I'm Ritchie's mom, he's 11 years old. I'm a bartender and server.

0:21  
He's very happy, and he want to speak to his younger brother, so he, sometimes he uses his body language. My name is Jin Yu and I'm 30 years old and I have two children. One is 22 months one is four months and because I need to go to university, so I need to place my eldest son to the daycare.
0:52  
In a time where the stay at home mom has become a thing of the past, the demand for childcare is more prevalent than ever before. In a recent article by the Toronto Star, it was determined that three fourths of parents in Toronto cannot afford licensed daycare. Leaving the parents with very few options, trying to juggle the high cost versus quality of care.
1:12  
Well, price first of all. Before my father moved in with us, it was a little difficult because a lot of places don't take children under a year old. So he was 11 months old. Now though, since Ritchie was two and a half he my father has lived with us. It's kind of a toss up, either it's you pay more for rent to have somebody else live with you or, you know, you pay for childcare. So I chose the latter. We have a three bedroom apartment now so dad is with us full time.

1:42  
Yu had looked into putting her son and the virus in daycare, but had to find a more affordable option farther away, when she found out it would cost almost $2,000 a month.

1:53  
You know, in my family, just my husband, a work is at work. I don't have any income. So 1000 is a little bit expensive, but as an immigrant in Canada, my education background in China, yeah, does not confirm here. So I cannot find a better job other than in the supermarket. So I need to go to university again and so that I can get a better job after I graduate. 
2:31  
Traditionally, in China and other cultures, grandparents and other family members helped to raise the children. Something that Yu and many other immigrants don't have after moving to a new country. 

2:42  
Many, many friends of me, they also have a child, but both the parents need to go to work. So there's not grandparents that have done to take care of the children. So they need to place their children to the daycare. Sometimes, I really don't want to place him to the daycare. Really. Yeah, but I have no choice.

3:12  
There he is. [Sound: Dog barking playfully] It's just your boy. Go get him.
3:17  
First of all do you have homework?

3:19  
No

3:20  
Are you sure?

3:21  
Okay.

3:23  
Yes.
3:25  
For Richie and his mom having Ritchie's grandfather help raise him has created a closer relationship between the two.

3:32  
Good and bad at sometimes. Good because we have a good situation they got a good relationship between between each other not just grandson and grandfather. It's just it's more than that, but like friends. We talk about a lot of different things. The bad side is cuz we're together so much we get in a bit of arguments sometimes.

4:01  
We've actually been able to have a lot more opportunities for Richie, because I work really weird hours. My dad's home to help him out with extracurriculars and stuff. He does acting, actually acting classes what we're going to at 6:30 tonight. He will be in a production later this month, called It's a Wonderful Life. So because of that, when I'm working, my dad takes him to auditions and to projects and stuff. He's also made the rep soccer team, so that's twice a week as well and he does karate once a week. So if I didn't have my dad around, Ritchie wouldn't be able to do any of that,

4:41  
Until a more economic option can be found parents like Yu and Gordon are going to need to continue finding alternative solutions for affordable childcare.