The full article is located here http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27597240/?GT1=43001
I know personally that I have had problems with daycare, not just
now but for years. When my youngest child was able to enter
Head Start for preschool which is tuition free, I did happy
dances. In order to put both children into an after school
program at the regular daycare would cost more then I made,
especially once you figured in taxes and gas costs. So my schedule
was reduced to where I only worked during school hours. This meant
I could pick the children up directly from school and spend a
couple hours more a day with them, but at the cost of health
insurance and other "full-time" benefits. I still end up
with kids at the office, missed days, and a panic setting in about
Christmas vacation.
This year my youngest is in Kindergarten, so now the public school
acts as a babysitter for 7 hours a day. Due to being behind
in my bill I am once again without after school care and having to
cut my work hours. Luckily I'm in a new job that has a lower
limit for what is considered full time, so I'm able to keep
health insurance. The loss of after school care still means
the loss of hundreds of dollars a month income.
Even in a two income household where both parents work full time
but only make the minimum wage, the household income can still be
below the poverty level. Kids being left alone after school or
being poorly supervised are blamed for many of the issues facing
our teens and kids today. From underage sex, risky behavior, kids
left vulnerable to predators and so forth.
So where is the balance. Have other parents come up with
creative solutions that allow for income to come into the home,
while kids are still not only supervised but have quality time with
the parent? For single parent homes, how have you managed to
balance the struggle between work and family?
Cash-strapped parents pull kids from day care
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Comments 1-3 of 3
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Posted by Mon Nov 10, 2008 7:47am PST
Report AbuseMy oldest 2 are in school and they ride the bus home. We live in the country 15 miles from the school. They do not arrive home until 4:45. I get off work at 5. Rush to pick up the youngest one from the babysitter. And I arrive home around 5:30. Not Ideal but they are at home for 45 min at the longest. I am lucky for that long bus ride i could not afford the afterschool child care. We are a two income home and we both make above min. wage.
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Posted by Sat Nov 15, 2008 3:08pm PST
Report AbuseI have been a sahm for 9 years, and we've managed to get by on one fluctuating income over that time. We've had to cut out a lot of expenses here and there like extended vacations and new cars, but it's never been as hard as it is right now.
My husband makes better than average income, but we still can't afford health insurance for our 3 kids (we rely on out of pocket doctor's visits or homeopathic care when needed). We have also had to cut our grocery bill considerably, which is hard because we have chemical intolerant kids and have to buy organic/all natural foods ($$$!). I find myself second guessing things like weekend movie rentals, that "really cute pair of jeans" my daughter wants, or the monthly trip to the bookstore for us all to stock up. Hey, the library is free!
Now that my kids are in school, I have taken up a PT job during school hours a few days a week. In the past, before my kids were all school aged, I kept a child or 2 for extra income. That allowed me to be at home with my own kids while also providing other parents the peace of mind knowing their child was in a loving, home environment while they couldn't be with them.
Nowadays with layoffs running rampant and hourly cutbacks from so many companies, it's no wonder the daycares are hurting. I was never fond of the places to begin with. Maybe through all this financial funk, there is a light at the end of the tunnel: more mommies and daddies are able to be home with their kids more often than they were before.
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Posted by Fri Feb 6, 2009 8:21pm PST
Report AbuseJessica's legs not that skinny compared to Kristen johnson who dropped 60 pounds in one year.
Comments 1-3 of 3
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