OHIO — Jolene Mikoch-Kahn is a mom on the move.

“I run like an iron fist," she said.

She likes to keep to the schedule and routine is a necessity for this family. Both parents work.

“We divide and conquer pretty well," she said.

On the day Spectrum News 1 met with her, she was on her way to pick up her 6-year-old son, Wally, from kindergarten.

Now that he’s a little older, child care is a bit easier since he’s in school. But Mikoch-Kahn remembers how difficult it was to find quality day care.

What You Need To Know

  • The Mikoch-Kahn household raises their 6-year-old with two working parents

  • Working is about more than a paycheck for Jolene Mikoch-Kahn — it’s also about maintaining her own identity outside of motherhood
  • According to Child Care Aware, in Ohio, the average cost of center-based infant child care is about as high as the average annual tuition at a public four-year college or university

“I was literally on the phone with the day care trying to get him in while I was in labor. Like, getting into day care, you have to know somebody," she said.

Mikoch-Kahn said giving up her career was never an option. But she did cut back to three days a week. She’s a hair stylist and Wally started going to day care the days she worked when he was 6-weeks-old.

According to Child Care Aware, in Ohio, the average cost of center-based infant child care is about as high as the average annual tuition at a public four-year college or university.

“It’s a huge decision to send your kid to day care just for the financial reason and the emotional reasons because I didn’t have a paid maternity leave," said Mikoch-Kahn.

Wally started attending private preschool full-time at age 3 and now he participates in school programs and after-care until 5 p.m. a couple days a week.

He’s also involved in activities like soccer and horseback riding and over the summer, he goes to camp so that mom and dad can work.

“And everything costs something. You know, the after-care here costs something. The after-school programs cost something," said Mikoch-Kahn.

Mikoch-Kahn said her husband works from home and the flexibility of his job is a life-saver, especially if Wally gets sick. Being old enough to ride the bus home also helps a lot.

“So, I utilized my in-laws, my parents and brother a lot last year. This year is a little bit easier with the bus option," she said.

Navigating child care is not a one-time decision. Mikoch-Kahn said as Wally continues to grow, she and her husband will have to decide the best way to balance being there for him, and their own independence. 

“I laugh a little bit that I work to send Wally to school," she said.

But working is about more than a paycheck for Mikoch-Kahn. It’s also about maintaining her own identity outside of motherhood.

“Even if every single dime of what I made went to child care, having the time around adults and being able to have something that was mine was still an important factor for me," said Mikoch-Kahn.