Strollerderby : childcare costs

Day Care Enrollments Plummet as Families Struggle to Pay the Bills

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 23:13:00 GMT

New Horizons daycare center just outside of Chicago has seen its enrollment cut by 50 percent in the last three months. And a San Gabriel, California daycare saw its enrollment go from 51 kids last year to 15 this year.

As the economy goes from scary to terrifying, parents around the country are being forced to cut back on childcare or pull their kids out of daycare altogether, relying instead on extended family or drastic changes to their own work lives.

"It is not about people making choices to drive a second car," said Diane Stout, who is the executive director of New Horizons. "For many low income people it is making a choice for food." And, with yearly day care costs averaging between $3,380 and $10,787 for childcare for one preschooler, even middle income families are being faced with the need to cut back on childcare.

Providers say they are seeing increased disciplinary problems amongst kids who are stressed by their families’ financial problems and by the loss of many of their friends in daycare.

And many fear that kids will be placed in dangerous situations as their parents’ desperation increases. Even families who qualify for aid often don’t bother applying since the waiting list is so long, being forced instead to put their children in questionable situations while they work to pay the rent and put food on the table. One woman, was instance, was leaving her four-year-old daughter in her car while she worked at a shoe store, checking on her every hour.

As the executive director of Child Care Solutions, a New York referral agency put it, "We are driving people into an unregulated system."

Photo: AP

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Kids Ruin Everything: The Iowa Edition

Madeline Holler — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:03:00 GMT

From the Heartland, on the eve of the much ballyhooed Iowa caucuses (they're here? They're finally here?!), I bring you a new twist on that old parenting classic: who is going to watch the children.

Like when you want to go to a grown-ups only party, or, say, out on New Year's Eve. Or maybe just spend some alone time with your partner without having to take out a loan to pay a babysitter. Those damn kids sure get in the way of your freedom!

If you're an Iowan, the kids get in the way of your civic duties too! I mean, who is going to watch the children when you head out on a dark winter's night Thursday to go caucus?

In fact, it's not just parents who have to jump some serious hurdles to get this 2008 election rolling with the nation's first caucuses. Plenty of Iowans are inadvertantly disenfranchised by the caucus process due to a late shift for work or the inability to get away from home for several hours. Or, what should give every person in the state pause: members of the Iowa National Guard who are serving overseas! Yikes!

No wonder only 5 percent of the state actually show up to caucus. Which now makes me wonder, why the hell is Iowa so important in the first place?

Pregcellent: Country Pays Price For Family Unfriendly Work Policies?

Kelly Mills — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:02:00 GMT

In the U.S. I think we tend to think of the individual toll of long work hours and lack of support for parents, like how stressed out and crabby we are trying to manage both career and family. However, we certainly aren't the only nation with a tough work ethic and lack of cost-effective childcare. In Japan, late-night meetings, expensive childcare, and the expectation of non-stop work are in many ways the norm, and this might spell trouble for the future of the country. In fact, experts say even the U.S. does a better job of supporting work-family balance.

So what's one consequence of the lack of help for 'rents? Japan is expected to report a decline in the number of births in 2007. And this trend is coupled with a population decline, leading some to speculate that the shrinking work force, rising number of pensions, and slower economic growth could mean big problems for the future of the country. The outlook for the future isn't good, and it's a reminder that failing to support families can have more lasting ramifications than a nation of bleary-eyed, stressed out moms and dads.

Candidate Likes Baby Bonds. The Money Kind!

Madeline Holler — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:34:00 GMT

She’s bought …. wait, I mean … she’s GOT my vote!

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has proposed giving every baby born in the U.S. $5,000. She was speaking at a forum of the Congressional Black Caucus Friday when she unveiled her plan of earmarking money for education for American kids.

Ahhhh, but there’s a catch. Recipients of the bond have to be 18 years old and high school graduates before they can get at the money. And they have to use it for college.

The money is granted in the form of a bond, so it will grow (a little) with interest over time. But how much? Enough to keep up with the endlessly increasing college costs?

How about reforming college grant programs instead. The effect would be immediate, and include many more middle class families who are getting priced out of higher education. And also doing something about how freaking expensive college is. Students leave with a lifetime of debt in addition to their remorse of having majored in English.

What about a $5,000 grant at birth to help families with childcare and preschool, which also costs a small fortune and ties up money families could otherwise be investing on their own for college savings.

What do you think? Am I being too greedy? To reliant on a welfare state? Not bold enough. Are you already saving for your little one's college? Anyone out there just crossing their fingers and hoping for the best 18 years from now?