Strollerderby : extended family

Family of Five Brings in Seven Boarders to Weather Economic Storm

JeanneSager — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:02:00 GMT

My hometown is littered with old boarding houses, buildings that haven't housed more than one family in at least five decades.

But in this economy - who knows? Could boarding houses be making a comeback?

One New Mexico family of five has expanded to twelve thanks to seven boarders weathering the economic storm in their thirty-eight ~~thousand~~ hundred square foot house.

Georgia and Chris Frankel have three daughters of their own - ages three, six and seventeen - living with them. There are another two teens in the house now, plus their parents and others for a total of five adults. The Frankels don't require rent, and they're not rich. Both halves of the couple work, and confess they live "paycheck to paycheck."

So why do it? They're paying it forward.

Their eldest daughter was extremely sick, and Chris' father in the final stages of cancer several years ago. Together, the illnesses put a financial burden on the family, and pulled Chris into a deep depression. He cut back on work, and the family could barely keep their heads above water.

"We learned how to get by when there was not enough food in the house for the kids," Chris told CNN. "We had to beg and borrow money from people to get by."

Then the clouds lifted. Chris got back to work, and the family stabilized. Their daughter got better. Having lived with family and friends when they first got married, they were no strangers to sharing their lives with others. They started opening their home two years ago, first to one of Chris' students at the University of New Mexico - where he teaches in the exercise science program to supplement the family's income. Now there are twelve people chipping in on chores, chipping away at the $1,000-a-month food bill and throwing money into the pot to buy a communal Wii. The Frankels' kids are exposed to different cultures (one boarder is an Italian-born chef who speaks three languages), and they're earning a healthy respect for charity.

It sounds like a great idea - if it works for you.

But is this really an option for families? Even families who do have the space, who could turn spare bedrooms into space for boarders? Does this take away from the ability to parent your own kids and give your own kids what they really need - you?

I admit to being selfish here, but sometimes I think my daughter benefits the most from time spent alone with me and my husband - in an environment that's all about the family unit. She learns her charity outside of the house, gets her culture from the interesting people she meets out there too. Am I just being a Scrooge?

Image: CNN

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

Is Cutting Your Sitter's Pay the Best Way to Save Money?

Babysitting Co-ops: The Modern Extended Family

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:24:00 GMT

In a society where extended family is often a plane ride away, free childcare sounds like a fantasy on par with winning the lottery. But many cities now have babysitting cooperatives that offer families a community-oriented way to get a night out without spending an arm and a leg. The concept is simple: you go out one night and leave your kids with a neighbor; then you return the favor. You keep track of how much babysitting time you owe or are owed by a simple point system (such as earning two points per hour per child).

Many co-ops have monthly socials, so prospective families can get to know the people they'd be leaving their children with. Not only does this system save participants upwards of 12 bucks an hour, but it creates a sense of familial closeness amongst neighbors. Kids make new friends and parents have numerous friends to turn to for support. Instead of paying a baby planner $500 to help you navigate the myriad baby products on hand, you can just ask a neighbor with older children for advice.

A Brooklyn blogger described her experience with babysitting co-ops this way: “Our child now has parents in the neighborhood—not just babysitters. So he sees adults as friends.”

If you don't yet have a babysitting co-op in your neighborhood, here's a simple guide for starting one.

Photo: New York Times

Baby Planners: Who Needs 'Em?

Strollerderby : extended family

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Day Care Enrollments Plummet as Families Struggle to Pay the Bills

Babysitting Co-ops: The Modern Extended Family