Universal pre-K and childcare were part of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, part of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, and a centerpiece of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s promise to voters. The idea was to include children as young as 2 years old, plus subsidies for those with younger children.

But as Mamdani in particular looks to make his promises a reality, Democrats are discovering that parents don’t want to build the type of family the party is pushing on them.