Settling in is taking a bit longer than I’d hoped but we’re getting there slowly, I think. At least now he doesn’t cry his eyes out when I leave him there.

The lovely women who run the nursery assure me he’s fine after I’ve left and everyone else I know who sends their children to daycare have said they went through the same difficulties at the beginning.

While it can be heartbreaking to leave an infant at a nursery or with a childminder, the fact is it is becoming the norm for the vast majority of us. Not that parents actually want it that way.

A study by financial website uSwitch has revealed that rapidly rising living costs are forcing more than one million new parents back to work for financial reasons.

The report shows that one in three new parents – those with children under two – are forced to return to work because they cannot afford to stay at home, with seven out of 10 of those parents saying they would prefer to stay at home if money was no object.

But of those who want to work, 18 per cent say they’ve had to stay at home because they cannot afford childcare, which now costs on average a staggering £8,268 a year. I know the nursery bill takes a huge chunk out of my budget.

All this means the number of stay-at-home parents has hit its lowest level in 15 years, with just seven per cent of all parents looking after their children themselves. And with essential living costs rising by £148 a month since 2007, according to the report, many families are struggling just to keep their heads above water.

What parents need is a break. A baby bonus, like what is given to parents in Australia to help with the extra costs of a new baby, or bigger tax concessions are required so parents can spend more time with their families and less time slogging it out at work.

Something must be done if parents are going against their instincts just to make ends meet.

Email New Age Dad at paul.rhodes@express.co.uk