In London I pay £170 per day to have my two children in childcare. That's for private childcare, but you have little choice if you want to go back to work (because of the hours). There's a little give in the costs of different nurseries but most have a waiting list to get in where we're based (and the lowest I've seen locally is £75/day/child).

We now receive a £120(ish)/month government subsidy for our oldest child. That's something I guess - doesn't do much to help with the £1300 or so we pay per month.

It wasn't really worth it financially for my wife to go back to work, though it does give a much needed break from constantly looking after children (ironically, she's a speech therapist for small children). By the time you account for transport / lunch etc in London we're about breaking even.

It's pretty depressing when you're trying to get a company off the ground and all your money goes into childcare.