Parenthood is hard, and expensive. Over the course of 18 years, it costs nearly $300,000 to raise a child in the state of Connecticut.

So is a $5000 baby bonus really going to inspire prospective parents to have children? Today, we talk about some of the Trump administration’s recent proposals to increase the birthrate.

Ahead of Mother’s Day, we dig into solutions to supporting parents. We hear from parents who will share the ways they’d like to be supported throughout their parenthood journey.

And we want to hear from you, what’s parenthood like right now? What support systems would you like to see?

GUESTS:
Sarah Donaldson: graduate student at Southern Connecticut State University
Jessica Holzer: Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Population Health and Leadership
Malissa Griffith: Program Manager of Parents Connecting Parents and family engagement at the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood

Parenthood is hard, and expensive. Over the course of 18 years, it costs nearly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lendingtree.com/debt-consolidation/raising-a-child-study/">$300,000 to raise a child in the state of Connecticut.</a>
So is a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/us/politics/trump-birthrate-proposals.html?searchResultPosition=1">$5000 baby bonus</a>&nbsp;really going to inspire prospective parents to have children? Today, we talk about some of the Trump administration&rsquo;s recent proposals to increase the birthrate.
Ahead of Mother&rsquo;s Day, we dig into solutions to supporting parents. We hear from parents who will share the ways they&rsquo;d like to be supported throughout their parenthood journey.
And we want to hear from you, what&rsquo;s parenthood like right now? What support systems would you like to see?
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Sarah Donaldson:&nbsp;graduate student at Southern Connecticut State University</li>
<li><a href="https://www.newhaven.edu/faculty-staff-profiles/jessica-holzer.php">Jessica Holzer:</a>&nbsp;Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Population Health and Leadership</li>
<li>Malissa Griffith:&nbsp;Program Manager of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ctoec.org/parents-connecting-parents/">Parents Connecting Parents and family engagement at the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood</a></li>
</ul>

Produced by Connecticut Public, 'Where We Live' puts Connecticut in context. Host Catherine Shen brings us fascinating, informed, in-depth conversations and stories beyond news headlines.  We start local, but we take time to explore domestic and international issues and consider how they impact us personally and here at home.

Produced by Connecticut Public, '<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/where-we-live/about">Where We Live'</a> puts Connecticut in context. Host Catherine Shen brings us fascinating, informed, in-depth conversations and stories beyond news headlines.  We start local, but we take time to explore domestic and international issues and consider how they impact us personally and here at home.

Where We Live is a call-in talk show about who we are in Connecticut and our place in the world.

Where We Live

Produced by Connecticut Public, '<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/where-we-live/about">Where We Live'</a> puts Connecticut in context. Host Catherine Shen brings us fascinating, informed, in-depth conversations and stories beyond news headlines.  We start local, but we take time to explore domestic and international issues and consider how they impact us personally and here at home.