Nursery fees overtaking mortgages as families" biggest bills Four out of 10 said they had considered giving up their jobs because of childcare costs, more than one in 10 of them had already done so and a fifth had turned down a job for the same reason. Meanwhile 37 per cent said they paid the same or more for their childcare as the mortgage or rent on their home. Justine Roberts, the co-founder of Mumsnet, said: "Today's figures show just how serious the impact of high childcare costs is. As a nation we spend more on childcare than most others in Western Europe, yet lots of parents are unable to work because childcare costs make it uneconomic. It follows recent research by the Daycare Trust showing that parents are paying up to £15,000 a year in nursery fees, with rises in the cost of childcare outstripping earnings growth. Families with a child under two pay more than £100 for part-time care every week, rising to £130 in London, the charity found. The most expensive nurseries now charge £300 a week for full-time care - more than a top private day school. Almost a firth of those polled in the joint study said they had fallen behind with nursery bills. More than six out of 10 said they would be happy to receive less in support, such as having their child benefit frozen if childcare could be made more affordable. But, significantly, only one in 20 supported reducing staffing levels in nurseries in an effort to cut fees - one of the suggestions being examined b the Government's new Childcare Commission. Anand Shukla, chief executive of Daycare Trust, said: "This survey clearly sets out just how big a barrier childcare costs are for parents looking to stay in or enter the labour market. Affordable, high quality childcare is good for child development, enables families to be financially self-sufficient, and ensures businesses have access to the widest possible pool of talent. This survey clearly shows that while parents want affordable childcare they are not prepared for quality to be compromised. The government's new Childcare Commission should pay heed when considering how to ease the burden of childcare costs for parents. :: Meanwhile research by the thinktank the Centre for the Modern Family found that three quarters of families say they are fiding life harder than a decade ago with almost half "just about getting by."