Thousands of parents are spending more time with their children this season, and it’s not because of the holidays. The trifecta of sickness that includes COVID-19, the flu, and the respiratory syncytial virus is getting more and more children sent home from school and daycare, and more parents than ever are taking off work to nurse them back to health. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 100,000 parents last month missed work due to childcare struggles, even more than those who missed work in any given month over the past couple of years due to the pandemic.

Workers with flexible jobs and generous employee benefits can afford to work from home or take paid time off to care for their children. But for those who don’t have such benefits, it’s not so easy. “While 96 percent of the country’s highest paid workers received paid sick leave last year, only 40 percent of the lowest earners did, according to federal data,” the Washington Post reports.