Amy McGrath broke records with the millions of dollars she raised in her congressional bid in Kentucky. But for most of her campaign, the first-time Democratic candidate struggled to pay for one critical expense: the $15-per-hour babysitter that federal officials said she had to pay from her own pocket.

So she did what dozens of other candidates with young children do. She brought plastic cars and old puzzles to her campaign headquarters for after-school entertainment. She brought her kids to her stump speeches. And every time she was expected to attend an evening campaign event with her husband, she paid from a family budget already stretched to its limits, or she stayed at home.

All that changed for McGrath and a handful of other candidates with young children in May, when the Federal Election Commission determined for the first time ever that child care was a legitimate campaign expense — on par with polling or campaign signs.

McGrath, considered a potential future star in the Democratic Party in spite of her narrow loss to incumbent Andy Barr in Kentucky’s 6th District, is among a handful of 2018 candidates with young children who reported child care as part of their campaign expenses.

In future years, the change is expected to increase the number of middle-class parents who take on the staggering time and financial commitments of a campaign. Because the FEC decision came just six months before Election Day, it is too early to tell if that will be the case. But the candidates who reported babysitting expenses this cycle provide the first indication of the difference it will make.