And by the way, the reasons for that go beyond specific.couples' choices. It is structural. Women get paid less, sometimes for doing the same job, sometimes because the professions dominated by women are paid less than those dominated by men (compare firefighter compensation, for example, including overtime, for a job that does not require a college degree, to compensation for teachers, many of whom have master's degrees and do not get overtime pay despite not only working long hours but also paying for supplies out of their own pockets). So on balance women get paid less. Couples then make the logical choice for the woman to sacrifice her career when they can't find or can't afford child care. You're not a hero for not forcing your wife to give up her career just because she's a woman. You're just not an a-hole. Congratulations. |
Isn't it basically guaranteed that your elementary schooler won't be in person? |
Can your mom handle two kids those ages and online school? I guess this depends on how active your mom is and how active your kids are and what their needs are. |
Posts like these make me think my kids are difficult. I have a 5 and 3 year old. I was about to have a nervous breakdown 1 week into closure. After 3 months our daycare opened. I sent them back day 1 and felt terrible when I learned how many parents were managing just fine at home. I have a pretty flexible job, so it wasn’t really that. |
Don't feel bad. I can't even fathom having two kids period and my child is absolutely an easy baby. WFH with a 3 and a 5 year old would destroy me in one day. |
Palisades Montessori Infant and Toddler has spaces opening up for young infants (Ward 3). |
OP- we are in your same spot. Though our center never closed, we have been paying to keep our spot this whole time and have been able to manage working while keeping DS home. We are exhausted and would like to take him back, but we are nervous and luckily work has been flexible to this point for DH and I. We know this can’t go on forever and will probably bring him starting in August. |
both dh and i are essential workers so our kids have been in daycare 45+ hours/week since everything shutdown back in march. no issues whatsoever. |
Our daycare hasn't told us the plan yet but at least they stopped charging us tuition! |
Well, all of the other random things you'll bring home may be a problem too. Our daycare has very strict policies about kids and parents with any kind of "symptoms." Right now in the summer when there are no colds or flus really going around, the policies seem to be feasible. But I think in the fall and winter it is going to be total chaos. Is it really going to be possible to get a COVID test twice a month when you or your kid has a runny nose or fever in order to be admitted back into the center? Not saying you shouldn't but I just don't see some of the policies surviving the cold and flu season or being enforceable consistently. |
As two parents with flexible jobs and 5 and 3 year olds who are generally good kids, don't feel bad. They are WORK. My kids play well together but you get maybe an hour a day where they will do that without parental supervision, on a good day. You can't each do an 8 hour day on the job while watching both kids without eliminating much of your sleep and any time to relax. There aren't enough hours in the day. Everyone I know that hasn't sent their kids back has had a daily babysitter that they are afraid of admitting to or aren't actually working. |
Did they require all kids in that class to get negative test before going back in case they were asymptomatic carriers? |
The problem is that our rhetoric minimizes the role that some dads do play. Group statistics are good for making policy but really not good for shoving in the face of an individual who may be sacrificing as a dad. It is needlessly divisive and the evidence for that is how every time a dad asks to be seen individually as sacrificing for his family he is quickly put in his place and shamed for wanting to be heard. Why not just embrace every parent who sacrifices for their family while at the same time understanding the statistical imbalance? The pp even acknowledged that but still got minimized. Why? |
OP in the quote here. Thanks for vocalizing how I feel. It's hard to talk about because most of my friends aren't starting families yet, and the dads that I do know from daycare/neighborhood are laying low with their families during COVID. Frustrating when you share your side and just get told how wrong I am for sharing my family's experience. Anyways, I've heard other families in our neighborhood looking for daycare options, and seen an uptick in pod inquiries. Seems some are just getting the ball rolling, and I wonder how much supply will be out there in the next month as families move forward with daycare or teacher searches. |
Yep! And was so glad to send him back. He was so happy and to our relief, he was so exhausted when he came home that he was much easier to put to bed than he was during lockdown. |