By Tania Thorne / North County Reporter
Contributors: Charlotte Radulovich / Video Journalist

What would happen if there was no child care? It could cause an upheaval to our economy. That’s the point parents and child care providers wanted to make when they declared Monday a nationwide Day Without Child Care.

“How is it going to be for a parent that needs to go to work, and all of a sudden their day care is closed? Me — as a parent — I would be terrified not knowing who I’m going to leave my child with if my day care provider is closed,” said child care provider with the Child Care Providers Union in San Diego Genny Leal.

The group held a demonstration to highlight the need for affordable child care and better pay for child care staff.

“Even though we don’t get benefits like retirement … or vacation time … we’ve been there providing this service to help families,” said experienced child care provider Rosa Estrada.

She said their income is “ridiculous.”

Many facilities have gone out of business or face staffing shortages, limiting the amount of kids they can care for.

Read more at kpbs.org.