Yup, it's mad! I pay £2,500 a month for nursery for my son in zone 2. So... to send your kid to nursery you need £40k of spare gross income before paying the mortgage, and everything else.
And thats why women generally make less. Losing 5-11 (or more) years of experience really puts you behind a man that didn't (stereotypes w/e) stop working to raise a kid(s) until they could go to school.
I'm fed up and moving up north!