The Daycare Trust and the NUS are among organisations that have signed the letter.
The Department for Education is considering reducing the age of the Care to Learn programme to 18 or under to offset the increased costs it expects when the school leaving age rises to 17 in 2013.
Currently, parents aged under 20 are able to apply for up to £160 a week (or £175 in London) to help pay for childcare while they are in education or training.
Under the new plan, parents over 19 would instead have to apply for discretionary funding to help with childcare costs, which charities say would make it harder for young parents to continue in education or take up training.
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