Daycare in the DC area is INSANE

Seriously, is this normal or are we getting robbed? Looking at places for our 18mo and everything is $2k+ a month. We have two kids (3yo in pre-K), so we're looking at like $3,500/month for both. That's more than my car payment, mortgage interest, and utilities combined. How do people afford this? Are most families just... buried in debt? My wife makes decent money but after taxes, daycare costs basically eat her entire salary. We're genuinely considering whether she should just stay home but then we lose her benefits and retirement contributions. This system is broken.