Modern families may have a variety of different makeups, but many have one thing in common: young children. In order to keep up with the demands of jobs and lives, employees need help balancing work with their family responsibilities. As an employer, there are benefits to offering it. There are a lot of good reasons to provide child care as a benefit.

We've listed just five:

1. Millennials are planners

They may not have children - yet. But members of the Millennial generation are planners. When we asked, more than half of those in our Lasting Impact survey said child care was important to their job search - and they didn't even have children. So offering child care today could set you up to avoid talent shortages tomorrow.

2. Today's mothers are older and mid-career

The CDC says mothers are waiting longer (into their 30s) to have a first child. That arguably means they're approaching motherhood while in more senior organizational roles. And that means child care will appeal to an enormously valuable segment of the workforce that employers need to keep.

3. The next generation is up in the air

The Great Recession took its toll on the Millennial birthrate. And the financially strapped generation needs to start feeling more optimistic about balancing work and life, or we might face the generational imbalance that's present across some European countries and Japan. Organizations that offer child care can help deliver that optimism...we need a next generation, after all.

4. More mothers are breadwinners

Pew says 40% of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are primary breadwinners. That's a huge swath of the workforce you don't want to ignore - their careers are important to them, but so are their children, quality child care, and convenience.

5. More dads are engaged parents

Don't forget about working dads. Their #1 worry, that family outweighs career, was one of the big surprises of our Modern Family Index. Child care addresses the realities of today's working fathers who are making parenthood a priority.

And there's a sixth reason - child care isn't just about who it's for, but what it does. Almost all - 95% - employees told us employer-sponsored child care enabled them to concentrate on the job. The same number said it provided them with important flexibility. Are your benefits offerings up for evaluation? If you don't already offer child care to employees, consider why companies need child care. Offer it in next year's portfolio and keep an eye out for happy, productive employees as a result.