$1400 is the cost to put kids in alternative private programs (daycare/preschool). Keeping kids in (public) kindergarten is "free". I put that in quotes because pandemic kindergarten requires significantly more parent involvement. $1400 a month could look like a bargain compared to losing a full-time salary or could look like too high a cost to justify having both parents work. In dual parent hetero relationships, it's usually the mom that drops out of the workplace

Just to put things into perspective, in Sydney Australia a typical, inner city early learning centre costs $160/day, so $3200 per month. There are means tested rebates available but they cap out both in total per year and per day.

Doesn’t a parent have to stay home with the kid anyway since everything’s remote?