What do they expect people with infants/toddlers to do?

[Anonymous]

1) Have one parent quit
2) Hire a nanny
3) bring in a high risk grandparent to help
4). Continue to perform two jobs full time for the foreseeable future, no matter how untenable that may be

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1) Have one parent quit
2) Hire a nanny
3) bring in a high risk grandparent to help
4). Continue to perform two jobs full time for the foreseeable future, no matter how untenable that may be

Excellent summary. Somehow we are all expected to soldier through #4 but that is not sustainable for months on end. However anyone choosing 1 to 3 is considered weak, selfish, or a danger to society.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) Have one parent quit
2) Hire a nanny
3) bring in a high risk grandparent to help
4). Continue to perform two jobs full time for the foreseeable future, no matter how untenable that may be

Excellent summary. Somehow we are all expected to soldier through #4 but that is not sustainable for months on end. However anyone choosing 1 to 3 is considered weak, selfish, or a danger to society.

Yet everyone in the thread about daycares opening up says they wouldn’t send their child back and you’re horrible for considering it.

I’m sending my kid back the minute daycare opens, which in VA is soon. I know it’s a risk but not having childcare is unsustainable and there aren’t other good options for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why you would not hire a nanny if your kids are not school aged. All the more if you have two or more kids. Heck, I have one five year old and I am thinking of hiring a nanny.

Oh yeah, the 38 million Americans who are unemployed are going to hire a fking nanny.

Fk you, PP.

Calm down, what is with the temper tantrum? Why would 38 million UNEMPLOYED Americans hire nannies? The OP is talking about her EMPLOYED self and her EMPLOYED husband. That's a dual income family with two kids - it's the same price to hire a nanny as it is to send them to daycare.

She said “you.” She clearly wasn’t just talking about herself. Also, this PP is talking about having one kid.

Lastly, many parents are paying to keep a preschool spot, so you’re asking them to pay for a nanny on top of that.

I'm sorry, why do other people have to worry about your desire to keep a specific preschool slot? That's a luxury, and it's your choice whether or not you go that route.

Because the number of availability spots us going to drop big time. Unless you are able to pay for the LUXURY of a nanny until kindergarten, giving up a spot is a big risk.

Yes. And there have ALWAYS been people priced out of daycare slots in this country, wherever you go. Did you feel responsible for them not having slots? Did you do anything about it?

Why should other people care about your problem, then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) Have one parent quit
2) Hire a nanny
3) bring in a high risk grandparent to help
4). Continue to perform two jobs full time for the foreseeable future, no matter how untenable that may be

Excellent summary. Somehow we are all expected to soldier through #4 but that is not sustainable for months on end. However anyone choosing 1 to 3 is considered weak, selfish, or a danger to society.

Yet everyone in the thread about daycares opening up says they wouldn’t send their child back and you’re horrible for considering it.

I’m sending my kid back the minute daycare opens, which in VA is soon. I know it’s a risk but not having childcare is unsustainable and there aren’t other good options for us.

We will too. Provided our daycare survives.

[Anonymous]

If you listen to this poor advice and not commit to a spot or retain your spot you will definitely be sorry. Many preschools are gone for good or not reopening for at least 6-12 months. The flood of parents needing spots is about to happen. If you want to lose all of the socialization and programming for your four year old listen to some of these people who say get a nanny. What a shame for a child going to Kindergarten in a year. BTW a nanny is not more safe. If anything you get less consistency and programming from a nanny and they can go anywhere just like a center. At least the center forces teachers to take temperature, wear masks and gloves, cleans heavily, and had backup of a teacher needs a day. Your nanny will not be able to handle that. Good luck to those naive enough not to retain or get a spot for the fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) Have one parent quit
2) Hire a nanny
3) bring in a high risk grandparent to help
4). Continue to perform two jobs full time for the foreseeable future, no matter how untenable that may be

Excellent summary. Somehow we are all expected to soldier through #4 but that is not sustainable for months on end. However anyone choosing 1 to 3 is considered weak, selfish, or a danger to society.

Yet everyone in the thread about daycares opening up says they wouldn’t send their child back and you’re horrible for considering it.

I’m sending my kid back the minute daycare opens, which in VA is soon. I know it’s a risk but not having childcare is unsustainable and there aren’t other good options for us.

We will too. Provided our daycare survives. [/quote

I'm in VA and my daycare never closed. DD never stopped going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I am just really fortunate to work for a good employer that values employee loyalty/tenure and performance.

OP here.

I'm actually in that situation. I actually have a ton of leave saved up, and I work for an employer that would bend over backwards to accommodate me. My spouse isn't as lucky in that regard.

But I don't think its fair to either me or my employer to expect me to either take an indefinite period of leave, or work with very low productivity for an extended period of time.

I sympathize, but maybe some perspective. It’s a pandemic and you don’t think it’s “fair”? That just sounds whiny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just want to point out that the risk for fall is not simply Covid. It’s Covid + seasonal flu and the other yucky stuff that happens when kids all return to school and are stuck indoors due to weather. Covid + all that other illness = terrifying crapshow (total FUBAR).

So, you are not preparing communities and schools to return to operations under Covid, you’re returning to operations under Covid and everything else that happens to public health in the fall.

This

I’m so conflicted if I should send my child back just for these summer months then pull out in the fall

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1)

I'm in VA and my daycare never closed. DD never stopped going.

Are you considered an essential employee? I thought VA daycares did close for non-essentials?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1)

I'm in VA and my daycare never closed. DD never stopped going.

Are you considered an essential employee? I thought VA daycares did close for non-essentials?

Given that teleworking government employees were considered essential, and that that probably extends to government contractors, I imagine a very large set of people in this area were deemed essential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Given that teleworking government employees were considered essential, and that that probably extends to government contractors, I imagine a very large set of people in this area were deemed essential.

I'm a teleworking government employee and I wasn't considered essential for daycare purposes. Our daycare closed entirely but from what I could tell, every daycare in the area that was open was requiring proof that at least one parent was a medical professional, law enforcement, food industry, or critical transit or infrastructure. To the poster that said their child never stopped going, did you just keep sending them and no one asked questions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I am just really fortunate to work for a good employer that values employee loyalty/tenure and performance.

OP here.

I'm actually in that situation. I actually have a ton of leave saved up, and I work for an employer that would bend over backwards to accommodate me. My spouse isn't as lucky in that regard.

But I don't think its fair to either me or my employer to expect me to either take an indefinite period of leave, or work with very low productivity for an extended period of time.

I sympathize, but maybe some perspective. It’s a pandemic and you don’t think it’s “fair”? That just sounds whiny.

I don’t think OP sounds whiny. And nevertheless, now that things are opening up, many employees are not keeping perspective that this is still a pandemic. It only works if everyone is on board and keeps perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I am just really fortunate to work for a good employer that values employee loyalty/tenure and performance.

OP here.

I'm actually in that situation. I actually have a ton of leave saved up, and I work for an employer that would bend over backwards to accommodate me. My spouse isn't as lucky in that regard.

But I don't think its fair to either me or my employer to expect me to either take an indefinite period of leave, or work with very low productivity for an extended period of time.

I sympathize, but maybe some perspective. It’s a pandemic and you don’t think it’s “fair”? That just sounds whiny.

I don’t think OP sounds whiny. And nevertheless, now that things are opening up, many employees are not keeping perspective that this is still a pandemic. It only works if everyone is on board and keeps perspective.

Sorry that should have been employers, not employees

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Given that teleworking government employees were considered essential, and that that probably extends to government contractors, I imagine a very large set of people in this area were deemed essential.

I'm a teleworking government employee and I wasn't considered essential for daycare purposes. Our daycare closed entirely but from what I could tell, every daycare in the area that was open was requiring proof that at least one parent was a medical professional, law enforcement, food industry, or critical transit or infrastructure. To the poster that said their child never stopped going, did you just keep sending them and no one asked questions?

VA did not shut down daycares. As long as the providers were okay with the risk of staying open, they could stay open.