Walz takes a dig at Vance for the idea that grandparents should help out more with the kids

• Tim Walz said during the vice presidential debate that help from family members should not be the solution to childcare.
• JD Vance previously suggested that grandparents help more to solve the childcare crisis.
• Vance said during the debate that families should have more options to care for their children.

Child care received attention during the first and only vice presidential debate.

On Tuesday night, Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz took the debate stage in New York to discuss a range of topics, including health care, housing and the economy. On the latter matter, both candidates were asked how they would address the U.S. child care crisis — and Walz took the opportunity to indirectly rebut comments Vance has made in the past about child care solutions.

“The economy works best when it works for all of us,” Walz said. “And so a paid family sick leave program. And I say, go to the families or go to the businesses and ask them. When it comes to childcare, you have to take it on demand as well as on offer. You can’t expect the most important people in our lives to take our children.”

Walz appeared to reference Vance’s comments in September during a conversation with conservative Charlie Kirk. Vance said that “one of the ways you could take some of the pressure off people who are paying so much for daycare is, maybe grandma or grandpa wants to help out a little bit more, or maybe there’s an aunt or uncle who wants to help a little more.”

His comments drew criticism from grandparents and childcare workers, who argued that relying on family members to care for children was not feasible. Many older Americans face financial insecurity in retirement—some even need to return to work to stay financially afloat—and lack the time, money, and physical capacity to support young children in their families.

Vance said during the debate that families need more options to choose how they want to approach child care.

“Many young women would like to go back to work immediately. Some would like to spend some time at home with the children. Some would like to spend more time at home with the children. We should have a family care model that makes choices possible,” he said.

“One of the biggest complaints I hear from young families is people who feel they have no choice between going to work or taking care of their children,” he added. “It’s an incredible burden to put on American families.”

Vance spokesman Taylor Van Kirk previously told BI that Vance believes the government should pay family members for child care support. The campaigns of Vance and Walz did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

However, childcare costs remain high. Care.com’s 2024 Cost of Care Report found that average infant day care costs rose from $284 per week in 2022 to $321 in 2023.

Renne Bock, 57, has worked in the childcare industry for over a decade and previously told BI that grandparents “shouldn’t be the solution to childcare”. Instead, the US should focus on investing more money in programs for young children and better incentivize young people to enter the field to fill positions in high-need areas.

“When you ask your average grandpa, bright aunt to basically take on the caregiving responsibilities of a very young child, you don’t even acknowledge that they may not have the physical or mental capacity to handle a child safely, not? they have the financial resources to take care of a child,” Bock said.