In our country, many women are often forced to give up their jobs after a maternity leave. One of the main causes is represented by the fact that every year too many families risk being excluded from the rankings of municipal nursery schools, while private structures have fees that are difficult to sustain. But how much does this rumor actually weigh on the wallet of a family that wants to send their child to a private facility? According to the Altroconsumo investigation which involved 350 private nurseries in 8 Italian cities (Bologna, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Rome and Turin), to send a child to a private nursery today, up to 620 euros is reached. per month, or more than one fifth of a family’s average income. A steep price for such an essential service. Furthermore, Istat has photographed the shortcomings of services for early childhood: the places available in nurseries are still below the target set by the Barcelona European Council in 2002, which is a place for at least 33% of children by 2010. A change of course is therefore necessary with an expansion of nests and more sustainable tuition costs. For this investigation Altroconsumo has stepped into the shoes of a family that, for work reasons, needs to leave an 18-month-old baby in the nursery for the maximum number of hours, analyzing what possibilities offer private nurseries in these cities, in terms of hours (maximum and minimum) of daily attendance, comparing them with the rates charged. The data that emerges overall denotes a high average cost of the fees; the amount, in fact, is around 620 euros per month (including meals, diapers and registration fees) for the maximum number of hours that can be attended on average, ie 10. In the event that the child attends the “part-time” nursery , i.e. on average 5 hours, the monthly fee is on average 480 euros which, compared to the lower number of hours, correspond to 4.84 euros per hour against the least expensive 3.13 of those who stay in the nursery for the maximum time From the territorial analysis it emerges that Milan is the most expensive city: a local family, in fact, for the broadest frequency range spends 3.84 euros per hour, or 22% more than the average of the other cities included in the ‘investigation. Bologna follows closely (21% more). In the South of the country we find cheaper nurseries: in Palermo 2.09 euros per hour are spent for a frequency of 10 hours and 2.75 euros per hour for 5 hours; in Naples respectively 2.28 and 3.20 euros per hour. It is therefore clear that the nursery fee, in the case of a private structure, weighs on the budget for more than 1/5 of the average annual income of a family unit (almost 22%), considering the average annual net income of a family (Istat ) equal to 31,641 euros and 11 months of attendance. Altroconsumo also investigated the openings and closings during the summer months, a topic of particular interest for parents who also work in this period. It was therefore verified how extended the closing period of the various nests is and whether alternative activities or summer camps are planned. The survey shows that July is covered by almost all the structures (94%). In August, on the other hand, 7 out of 10 nests close. Among the cities examined, it appears that Florence has the highest number of closed nests both in July (20%) and in August (95%). Bologna, on the other hand, is the city with more structures open always or for a few weeks during the month of August (50% of nurseries for the whole month or in part), followed by Milan and Naples (45% of open structures). “The data emerged at a national level they define a situation still far from achieving a goal aimed at reconciling family and working life for parents: the evident lack of places in municipal nurseries and the high cost of tuition in private individuals mean that, especially mothers, find themselves forced to interrupt their professional career. We at Altroconsumo, always alongside citizens, even the smallest ones, in order to guarantee greater protection and support, we hope that the important commitment envisaged in the Pnrr and included in the budget bill allows municipalities to guarantee 33 places in nursery schools for every 100 resident children between 3 and 36 months by 2027, with more sustainable tuition costs. shared reality and also, given the specific situation of our country, in which a large part of unpaid care work still weighs on women, to further favor the insertion of the latter into the world of work, facilitating the prospect of returning after a pregnancy “comments Federico Cavallo, Head of External Relations at Altroconsumo.