Child Care Choices, Food Choices, And Children'S - Agecon Search: Fill & Download for Free

I don't support abortion, I support a woman's right to choose. As a man I recognize that I will never have to make that choice. I also recognize that a lot of men find it too easy to walk away and leave the woman with all the child care responsibilities.Maybe when our society places as much value on the children that are here as the unborn, I'll change my position. That would mean universal free child care, healthcare ,food stamps and funding preschool education.If we were more supportive of women and children, abortion would become in Bill Clinton's words…safe,legal and very rare.

I would like to add my perspective as a nanny. I have been with the same family five years. I work full time and often the parents have to travel overseas for work and I care for the three children who are now 11, 5, 3. Their mother enjoys her job and doesn’t want to be home with young children. It’s not for everyone. And I don’t feel her children miss out because I’m there with them. I take them to schools and playgroups and pick them up from school , I help with homework and care for them when they are sick, I cook for them and often put them to bed. Someone is with them before and afterschool , and when they were babies I was with them full time (the younger two). The mum is happy In her work. When she is home she makes sure to have one in one time with each child and build the relationship with them. I feel especially the daughter it’s a positive thing to see the mum work hard and be proud of her job , as well as understanding that the things they have like food and clothes come from mum and dad working hard.My mother was a stay at home mother Til I was about 11. And to me I knew no other way. I felt sorry for the kids who had to go to after school care and couldn’t have play dates or just go home relax and have a snack or get the homework done, or know if I want to do an activity my mum can take me. When she went back to work though it was a positive thing for me to see her achieve things for herself and work hard. And it gave me some independence.I have seen other people I have worked for who just don’t want to be home with babies and find it stressful or boring. But because they feel they should they try to stay home and everyone is miserable. I’ve seen the other way too people go back to work because they need money or think they shouldn’t be just a mum , and find they don’t want to miss the early years at home. Each family is different. And many don’t have a choice. So even if we all agree it’s better for mum to be home with small children - not everyone has the luxury. And I don’t think it’s good for anyone if the mum isn’t happy.I love being with the kids especially when they are little. I love teaching them and reading to them and singing to them , I love teaching them to read for themselves and blow up balloons and swim. I get so much from it. And the mum is happy for my to do a lot of it while she works , and she enjoys her time with them a lot more. So I don’t feel they suffer at all from a working mum. But again I know not everyone has a nanny.I also know many stay at home dads who seem to love it also and the kids seem very happy and settled and I think that’s no different from having a stay at home mum or a nanny , having an adult who is there when they are young yes I feel the more time kids have like that the better.Kids are all different. I know families who have an only child who is very social and send them to daycare a couple days just for social skills and because the child enjoys it. I know others who try daycare and the kids don’t settle at all they just prefer to be with the adult caring for them and attend playgroup etc. I’ve had people tell me the kids I nanny for won’t be ready for school because they are used to being with me and not in child care. The five year old went to preschool last year for two days a week he loved it. He is social and confident and happy. And he is thriving in kindergarten. And I’m sure going to child care helps some kids get ready too. Each child is different and has different needs. And sometimes mum or dad want to stay home and can’t afford it.One of the reasons I don’t have my own children is I am single and don’t have a lot of money and I would have to work two jobs to feed any children I had. I would never see them. Or I could stay home as I would want to and live on welfare. But even though I feel most kids are better with an at home parent , it’s a huge cost for taxpayers to provide benefits for people who want to stay home and can’t afford to. It’s not practical for everyone to stay home.The other important thing is that child care can be important it’s a place where staff can be vigilant and discover things like abuse or illness or things that may be happening to a young child that they can’t verbalize. If everyone stayed home with kids there would be a lot of unhappy mothers sometimes with mental health problems and stress and that’s where things slip through the cracks and no one realizes the mum and child need help. I believe children are far better in child care than home with a mum who is too stressed or unwell or tired or doesn’t want to be there. children pick up on that and it is damaging.So it really depends on the family and situation. And it doesn’t have to be a mother. A father or nanny or grandma or foster parent or anyone who wants to be there full time at home for young kids and can afford it then yes that’s great. But it doesn’t always work out the best if the family can’t afford it and then because the mum isn’t working can’t afford medical care or food , or the stress of staying home exacerbated mental health problems , or there abuse or some inability to care for them. Not everyone has the kind of dynamic where having mum (or other person ) home would be a good thing.

As a low income American that worked multiple jobs that just covered rent, utilities and health insurance, I can assure you I was scraping the barrel of third world living conditions, my house was ruined, we had no hot water, no heat, and barely enough for food. It cost me $25,000 a year to survive, barely survive.For the same amount of money in the UK I have a home, all utilities paid, cable WiFi and landline, a cellphone, health care, transportation, a whole months shopping for groceries and money left over. I also get 15 free hours of child care for my children and 28 paid vacation days. I have never lived better in my life.Some wealthy person is going to say the US is easy, well for lower class people it's a nightmare. I don't have time to put the links but Google the following.51 percent of Americans earn less than $30,000 a year.Only 0.01% of minimum wage workers can afford a 2 bedroom apartment at fair market rentThe average minimum wage worker needs 2.5 jobs to have a two bedroom apartment at fair market rentLow income Americans can't afford 95% of colleges.Our healthcare, infant and mother mortality rankings.When you are poor you are left with nothing, there may be programs but they are extremely limited, hard to get, usually you are denied several times until you give up. As someone who just barely survived I got SNAP. I fed my family on over a hundred dollars a month, that does not last.I eventually had to get Medicaid when my job closed up, but nothing in the form of cash benefits.First, second and third world reside within the US, your income depends on what your reality is.