Anonymous
06/03/2022 14:27
Subject: How can we improve the childcare crisis?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The insane waitlists for daycare.
The nanny shortage.
The lack of parental leave.
What can reasonably be done to even take a step in the right direction?
Stay home and you take care of your children. I did. Why can't you?
If you don’t care about keeping parents in the workforce, then there isn’t really a crisis, is there?
Anonymous
06/03/2022 14:08
Subject: How can we improve the childcare crisis?
There should be 10 months-1 year of paid parental leave available to be split between parents. The expectation is that time will be divided between parents. If the parent does not take their time, the other parent cannot take it for them. Use it or lose it.
Of that, at least 6 months of the leave is for the birthing spouse. All the studies say breastfeeding for 6 months is good for the baby, so mom should be home breastfeeding. Why add in another hurdle when breastfeeding can be so tough?
Non-birthing spouses should get at least 4 months with the expectation that they are home for the first month after baby is born, go back to work, then are home with baby after mom goes back to work.
Hopefully this would allow daycares to start at 6 months which may offer a small bump in spaces available at daycare centers. The ratio of students to teachers increases as kids get older and that would happen sooner after enrolling in daycare that way.
And then there need to be big changes in maternal care during/after birth. There need to be more dr. appointments, more counseling, more support groups with new moms. Being home with a newborn is so isolating. There needs to be social support, especially with so many families living apart from their extended family. I think that can be a factor in postpartum depression.
Of that, at least 6 months of the leave is for the birthing spouse. All the studies say breastfeeding for 6 months is good for the baby, so mom should be home breastfeeding. Why add in another hurdle when breastfeeding can be so tough?
Non-birthing spouses should get at least 4 months with the expectation that they are home for the first month after baby is born, go back to work, then are home with baby after mom goes back to work.
Hopefully this would allow daycares to start at 6 months which may offer a small bump in spaces available at daycare centers. The ratio of students to teachers increases as kids get older and that would happen sooner after enrolling in daycare that way.
And then there need to be big changes in maternal care during/after birth. There need to be more dr. appointments, more counseling, more support groups with new moms. Being home with a newborn is so isolating. There needs to be social support, especially with so many families living apart from their extended family. I think that can be a factor in postpartum depression.
Anonymous
06/03/2022 13:58
Subject: How can we improve the childcare crisis?
If you’re in Maryland you need to listen up. The childcare crisis is going to get worse. So much worse! The State will expand pre-K3 and pre-K for programs throughout the entire state. Sounds good, right? For many daycares this is bad news and at our conferences a lot of daycare’s will be closing because they will be losing a huge portion of their children. With only two infant spots, if your home daycare, I am, that leaves you with infants and two year olds which is not sustainable.
The state also wants providers to get a college degree in early childhood education. This means if you have any other degree it is not valid. many women work from early in the morning till late at night when do they expect us to go back to school to get a degree? We are tired, we are burnt out and we have our own families that we need to care for on top of the children we care for during the day.
As it is people are ready scoff at $275-$325 a week, how much more are they willing to pay for a daycare with a early childhood education degree? It won’t be enough to cover the tuition and time that will go into it, never mind the abuse that many face from parents. People disrespect providers by bringing in sick children, not paying on time, dropping off early or picking up late.
The childcare crisis has many facets and that is my point of you about a major driving force. Adding the extra pressure and requirements from the state will mean more daycares will leave the profession entirely which ultimately is bad news for parents.
The state also wants providers to get a college degree in early childhood education. This means if you have any other degree it is not valid. many women work from early in the morning till late at night when do they expect us to go back to school to get a degree? We are tired, we are burnt out and we have our own families that we need to care for on top of the children we care for during the day.
As it is people are ready scoff at $275-$325 a week, how much more are they willing to pay for a daycare with a early childhood education degree? It won’t be enough to cover the tuition and time that will go into it, never mind the abuse that many face from parents. People disrespect providers by bringing in sick children, not paying on time, dropping off early or picking up late.
The childcare crisis has many facets and that is my point of you about a major driving force. Adding the extra pressure and requirements from the state will mean more daycares will leave the profession entirely which ultimately is bad news for parents.
Anonymous
06/03/2022 13:52
Subject: How can we improve the childcare crisis?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The insane waitlists for daycare.
The nanny shortage.
The lack of parental leave.
What can reasonably be done to even take a step in the right direction?
Stay home and you take care of your children. I did. Why can't you?
So, your answer is to keep women out of the workforce?
Not women. There are SAHD and will be more and more of them. For the first year, a baby needs a parent. A grandparent can step in but a parent is best.
Ok, so how about a year of parental leave? Some of us can't afford to just leave our jobs and/or would have a lot of trouble getting a new one without moving cross-country. Other countries do this. It's possible.
You just can't imagine avoiding the two-income trap?
DP. I can’t imagine pulling all of those people from the workforce. If you include every parent who is the lower earner in the family and still has children at home, that includes most of my kids teachers, our pediatrician, all of the dental hygienists at my dentist’s practice, and probably quite a few more that I can’t think of off the top of my head. It would be mind-boggling.
There also wouldn’t be enough income and taxes generated to pay for most of the government programs we have in place, including Medicare and social security.
This plan sounds bad.
It's also simply bad for most families to rely on one income these days. For people who can make it work, great, but there are too many risks in today's economy.
Anonymous
06/03/2022 13:46
Subject: How can we improve the childcare crisis?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The insane waitlists for daycare.
The nanny shortage.
The lack of parental leave.
What can reasonably be done to even take a step in the right direction?
Stay home and you take care of your children. I did. Why can't you?
So, your answer is to keep women out of the workforce?
Not women. There are SAHD and will be more and more of them. For the first year, a baby needs a parent. A grandparent can step in but a parent is best.
Ok, so how about a year of parental leave? Some of us can't afford to just leave our jobs and/or would have a lot of trouble getting a new one without moving cross-country. Other countries do this. It's possible.
You just can't imagine avoiding the two-income trap?
DP. I can’t imagine pulling all of those people from the workforce. If you include every parent who is the lower earner in the family and still has children at home, that includes most of my kids teachers, our pediatrician, all of the dental hygienists at my dentist’s practice, and probably quite a few more that I can’t think of off the top of my head. It would be mind-boggling.
There also wouldn’t be enough income and taxes generated to pay for most of the government programs we have in place, including Medicare and social security.
This plan sounds bad.
Anonymous
06/03/2022 13:40
Subject: How can we improve the childcare crisis?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The insane waitlists for daycare.
The nanny shortage.
The lack of parental leave.
What can reasonably be done to even take a step in the right direction?
Stay home and you take care of your children. I did. Why can't you?
So, your answer is to keep women out of the workforce?
Not women. There are SAHD and will be more and more of them. For the first year, a baby needs a parent. A grandparent can step in but a parent is best.
Ok, so how about a year of parental leave? Some of us can't afford to just leave our jobs and/or would have a lot of trouble getting a new one without moving cross-country. Other countries do this. It's possible.
You just can't imagine avoiding the two-income trap?
There are not enough 1-income incomes to cover parents and children and retirement/SS for both especially in HCOL areas. There are no longer pensions. Women and men get dinged when re-entering the workforce. School-aged children have unpredictable schedules which limits the types of jobs SAHP can take re-entering the workforce. You are also talking about children (ages 17-18) needing to choose whether they go into college or not because of student loan payments.
Anonymous
06/03/2022 13:32
Subject: How can we improve the childcare crisis?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The insane waitlists for daycare.
The nanny shortage.
The lack of parental leave.
What can reasonably be done to even take a step in the right direction?
Stay home and you take care of your children. I did. Why can't you?
So, your answer is to keep women out of the workforce?
Not women. There are SAHD and will be more and more of them. For the first year, a baby needs a parent. A grandparent can step in but a parent is best.
Ok, so how about a year of parental leave? Some of us can't afford to just leave our jobs and/or would have a lot of trouble getting a new one without moving cross-country. Other countries do this. It's possible.
You just can't imagine avoiding the two-income trap?
Anonymous
06/03/2022 13:28
Subject: How can we improve the childcare crisis?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The insane waitlists for daycare.
The nanny shortage.
The lack of parental leave.
What can reasonably be done to even take a step in the right direction?
Stay home and you take care of your children. I did. Why can't you?
So, your answer is to keep women out of the workforce?
Not women. There are SAHD and will be more and more of them. For the first year, a baby needs a parent. A grandparent can step in but a parent is best.
Ok, so how about a year of parental leave? Some of us can't afford to just leave our jobs and/or would have a lot of trouble getting a new one without moving cross-country. Other countries do this. It's possible.
Anonymous
06/03/2022 12:59
Subject: How can we improve the childcare crisis?
Pay parents to stay at home for the first three years. Universal child allowance. I suppose Republicans would only want to give to children of married parents though. Or maybe it could just be higher if it was a married couple. Social security credits for homemakers.
In another couple of years, there’s going to be significantly more babies.
In another couple of years, there’s going to be significantly more babies.
Anonymous
06/03/2022 12:56
Subject: How can we improve the childcare crisis?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The insane waitlists for daycare.
The nanny shortage.
The lack of parental leave.
What can reasonably be done to even take a step in the right direction?
Stay home and you take care of your children. I did. Why can't you?
So, your answer is to keep women out of the workforce?
Not women. There are SAHD and will be more and more of them. For the first year, a baby needs a parent. A grandparent can step in but a parent is best.
Anonymous
06/03/2022 12:56
Subject: How can we improve the childcare crisis?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Pay teachers and childcare workers more. They can make almost as much working in fast food but are responsible for the health, safety, and education of your children.
Agree this is a core problem- but where would the money come from?
The parents.
Parents can afford to give up more of their money from their two sets of income...it is not a societal problem that two income households with kids have to use a good portion of their money for care for their kids. Single person households do not have two incomes to leverage and they do just fine.
This is such an ignorant statement.
Not at all. It's wisdom.
Anonymous
06/03/2022 12:52
Subject: How can we improve the childcare crisis?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The insane waitlists for daycare.
The nanny shortage.
The lack of parental leave.
What can reasonably be done to even take a step in the right direction?
Stay home and you take care of your children. I did. Why can't you?
So, your answer is to keep women out of the workforce?
Anonymous
06/03/2022 12:51
Subject: How can we improve the childcare crisis?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Pay teachers and childcare workers more. They can make almost as much working in fast food but are responsible for the health, safety, and education of your children.
Agree this is a core problem- but where would the money come from?
The parents.
Parents can afford to give up more of their money from their two sets of income...it is not a societal problem that two income households with kids have to use a good portion of their money for care for their kids. Single person households do not have two incomes to leverage and they do just fine.
This is such an ignorant statement.
Anonymous
06/03/2022 12:51
Subject: Re:How can we improve the childcare crisis?
Anonymous wrote:3-6 months paid leave. Encourage parents to stagger their leave (it's good for families because it forces both parents to bond with children and develop parenting skills). Large employers will be required to provide a minimum of 3 months per employee, smaller employers and people who are self-employed would be subsidized out of a central fund. Can also follow models from other countries that offer 100% paid leave for some period and then diminishes to a lower percentage for longer leaves. But jobs are guaranteed after the leave.
Subsidized or free childcare (based on income qualification) starting at 1 year. Parents would sort out the first year between leave, family help, and paid help. Then we'd have government run or sponsored (so private centers could apply for government subsidy in order to offer free/reduced price care to people) childcare centers from 1-3. Not offering government sponsored care for kids under 1 resolves a lot of logistical issues with infants and babies, who require much lower caregiver to child ratios and also are less mobile. Toddlers are ideal for group care -- they do parallel play, can follow basic directions, can walk and play on playgrounds, etc.
Subsidized or free preschool. We already have this in DC and other places. It's fantastic in terms of enabling parents to work while also providing social-emotional skills to kids who need it and some pre-kindergarten academics.
Expanded aftercare and summer programs for school age children (again, DC already has this to some degree) to close the gap for working parents. People overthink this stuff for some reason. School age kids don't need particularly expensive care outside of school. We don't actually need to be doing enrichment. You can just make sure you are hiring qualified minders and then let kids play. They get enrichment in school. Some parents will pay for classes and the like, but we really just need safe places for children to play after school or in the summer while their parents are working.
You treat having children as a normal and expected part of most people's lives and structure society in a way that supports what children need (time to bond with parents, intensive care as infants, and safe group care as toddlers and preschoolers). You stop acting like having a child is some outlandish and selective activity only engaged in by the rich or the selfish and acknowledge that it is among the most basic human instincts. And you also recognize that by helping parents maintain employment through their children's early years, you actually keep more people (especially women) in the workforce, paying taxes and maintaining their skills.
I know this doesn't work perfectly in other countries but it works a heck of a lot better than the system we have here -- better for workers, better for families, better for kids.
What we currently do Does. Not. Work.
Preach! I just posted a similar sentiment on the controversial non-political opinion thread. It's weird how many people are anti-children these days.
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/555/1061797.page
Anonymous
06/03/2022 12:46
Subject: How can we improve the childcare crisis?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Pay teachers and childcare workers more. They can make almost as much working in fast food but are responsible for the health, safety, and education of your children.
Agree this is a core problem- but where would the money come from?
All those with children of school age.l
That already paid for their own childcare out of their own pockets.