FOR years parents have juggled jobs with raising their families. The logistics of sharing the care with other family members is something many parents have to coordinate around school times during the working day and particularly in the holidays.

But for those parents who don't have family to hand, the costs of funding childcare can be particularly prohibitive with many complaining their wage is funding childcare thus defeating the object and prompting many to re-evaluate whether it would be more cost-effective to become a stay-at-home parent.

According to a survey of 1,000 parents of children aged up to 16, the charity 4Children a fifth of working parents are considering reducing their hours or giving up their job altogether because of childcare costs.

They also found many were planning on cutting back on essentials this year due to the financial strain of childcare.

More than two thirds of those polled paid for childcare and around one in five of those said they are thinking about reducing their working hours or quitting their job.

Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, says: "Childcare represents a huge financial challenge for most parents and our poll shows the real impact costs are having on family life - from giving up work to cutting back on essentials.

"Removing parents' choice as to whether or not they continue to work after having children is not the answer for families or for the economy.

"Parents of the youngest children are feeling the pressure most acutely and are calling on politicians to set out how they will ensure childcare meets the needs of modern family life."

Mum-of-five, Ruth Weston, from Bradford who runs Aquabirths, the waterbirths specialists, says: "I was only able to start working because the then Labour Government introduced childcare vouchers and family credit. Before then I was worse off working than not working due to the costs involved. Even with the childcare support the financial benefits of working with so many children was pretty marginal at the beginning.

"I am so grateful for the opportunity those childcare vouchers gave me because I was able to start my business which is now successful and supporting mums not just to have babies but have a job too. This is the point I want to keep making to any Government minister who will listen - if you want a growing economy, you have to invest in the people of our nation. I do not see childcare support as a cost but as an investment in the economy like building roads and superfast broadband. If women ( and it is usually but not always women who are held back by childcare issues) can get to work or back to work or re train or start a business because they can afford to do so through childcare support and family credit - it is this that will build and grow our economy.

"In business terms I think it is a big mistake to talk of austerity and cuts all the time - if we invest in our people they will produce wealth - and investment is not just in hardwear but in welfare and education and health and quality childcare."

Siobhan Freegard, founder of the UK's parenting site Netmums says: "For a lot of women, work after becoming a parent just does not pay. If you are working to make zero money, or even a loss, it does not make any sense to work.

"A recent study on Netmums found childcare costs eat up a third of working parents incomes and in many cases is higher than mortgage or rent bills. While having children is a personal choice, we have to ensure it remains affordable for the average family. The current high cost of childcare means many talented mums have effectively been priced out of the labour market, which could cost the economy more in the long run."