Where do the kids go?

[barkley]

Nothing has been announced but I wouldn't be surprised if summer school is canceled here.

in my state (washington) summer school is not only canceled the state superintendent of education announced that no one should count on schools starting back up in the fall on a their traditional timelines so for parents here it's a wait and see that could extend into next fall.

what will parents do? no idea. the daycares that are available through community resources (traditional before/after school through school districts) are strictly restricted to first responders/medical workers so even if you are essential they won't serve you because the health departments rules for covid has required these programs to greatly reduce the number of children they can provide care for. that means that the social services and unemployment staff that can't work from home and have very little variance availability in hours (they traditionally have to work their 8 between 7 am and 6 pm) are in a situation i'm not sure how they handle. i know that when i worked for social services there was no way we could permit a staff member to bring a child into work, the risk to their health and safety was too great (and i imagine it's greater now, stressed out people tend to act out more).

traditional non in session school childcare is'nt available-no private school summer programs, no public school day camps, no summer camps. covid rules have caused family daycare and other providers to have to reduce the numbers they take.

on a final note-i myself when my kids were little and many of my co-workers had no back up family or friends we could call on for emergent or known lack of childcare. everyone we knew worked, and our (then) surviving parents were too elderly. if one of the kids got sick or there was a period of no childcare available (holidays we didn't get off from work or the handful of weeks our daycare was closed each year) we were VERY fortunate to have and be able to use our vacation/floating/comp/sick time. i don't know what the deal is with all states/employers now or in the near future but some essential workers in my state are currently prohibited from using other than their sick leave accruals. my oldest is in this situation and i strongly suspect that the only reason she's getting the handful of hours at her job at this point is b/c so many of her co-workers have kids that they can't leave alone.

 

[Searc]

I always, always make sure to give my husband all of the credit he deserves. We simply would not be as happy of a home without his many contributions. We would probably have regular food poisoning if I had to cook every meal.

I hope he gives you credit for your many contributions. Generally speaking, men expect a pat on the back for doing the same thing their wife does with nary a word (ex : some posts in this thread).

 

[SaintsManiac]

I hope he gives you credit for your many contributions. Generally speaking, men expect a pat on the back for doing the same thing their wife does with nary a word (ex : some posts in this thread).

Oh yes, don't worry. He has zero clue where anything is located, doesn't know the bank account password or what our bills are or when they are due, and can't imagine having to help with the remote learning of our child. He will happily tell you he is clueless about the running of this household, but at least he scoops the litter boxes!!!

 

[RamblingMad]

Oh yes, don't worry. He has zero clue where anything is located, doesn't know the bank account password or what our bills are or when they are due, and can't imagine having to help with the remote learning of our child. He will happily tell you he is clueless about the running of this household, but at least he scoops the litter boxes!!!

I’ve seen this go sideways. My mom was hospitalized, and my dad had no clue how to pay the bills. He didn’t know how to write a check, and he had no idea, where my mom had put all of the bills. He had to hunt throughout the house. It was a nightmare.

Getting back to kids, my worry is that when everyone goes back to work, there won’t be enough available day care for everyone. And I worry about the low income parents that can’t afford daycare.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I’ve seen this go sideways. My mom was hospitalized, and my dad had no clue how to pay the bills. He didn’t know how to write a check, and he had no idea, where my mom had put all of the bills. He had to hunt throughout the house. It was a nightmare.

Getting back to kids, my worry is that when everyone goes back to work, there won’t be enough available day care for everyone. And I worry about the low income parents that can’t afford daycare.

We have it under control, but yes, it can definitely be a problem, especially with older folks.

As for the kids, it's been a problem for a very long time. When Baton Rouge flooded in 2016 our school was closed for 2 weeks. Daycares didn't have enough employees for the state requirements and people had to scramble for child care. It was a nightmare.

 

[wilbret]

A long, long time ago, someone wrote a book about this very topic. The author seems like a smart woman.


https://www.amazon.com/Two-Income-Trap-Middle-Class-Parents-Going/dp/0465090907/ref=nodl_

My wife kept our kids at home for 5 years, she just got back into teaching full time this past school year. I'd love nothing more than for her to be able to stay at home, but we need to be able to retire. My mom (and my wife's mom) was a teacher. We rode to school with her, and rode home with her. Her job ended with the school day. There is so much bullcrap for teachers to do now, that life is a pipe dream. My wife works for hours after school is out, and every night, and even weekends. It's ridiculous. Teaching should be a GREAT option for moms, so they can earn an income, while their kids are in school. It's becoming something else.

 

[palavra]

Totally disagree. Young children do not learn well at home, totally isolated from their peers. So much of early childhood education is social. You just can’t duplicate that at home, even with siblings. Additionally, many parents are not equipped to teach their children properly, even with “help” from schools. Of course there will be students who can and do thrive in this type of school environment - but I think most will not.

This totally negates all the homeschool parents and kids who are doing a fine job with "socialization" and academics. Young children can learn and socialize well at home. I am a virtual school teacher, but I was in the classroom for more than 20 years. Schools are more than daycares, and some kids do thrive in schools, but you would be surprised at how well many kids do in a learn at home environment.

 

[wilbret]

Some school districts here are closing by May or May 8, and summer school will start then. They have had no luck getting teachers for an actual summer school, so they'll just use the remainder of the "school year" for it.

 

[mrodgers]

I hope he gives you credit for your many contributions. Generally speaking, men expect a pat on the back for doing the same thing their wife does with nary a word (ex : some posts in this thread).

Since you went there, generally speaking women never credit their husbands for anything.

I got a huge apology a few years after divorce because I was worthless for lack of a better word for not making more money, not maintaining things (that cost a lot of something we didn't have, money) and not doing anything around the house. A couple years on her own with her house falling down around her and her car falling apart, she said sorry, she now realizes how much I was doing while she was sleeping in, laying out on a blanket with the baby reading a book, feeding the baby, then laying on a blanket in the yard again and screaming at me when I got home after 12 hours of working in 115° and maximum humidity that she needed help because she doesn't have time to clean up after herself.

 

[DisneyElite4]

This totally negates all the homeschool parents and kids who are doing a fine job with "socialization" and academics. Young children can learn and socialize well at home. I am a virtual school teacher, but I was in the classroom for more than 20 years. Schools are more than daycares, and some kids do thrive in schools, but you would be surprised at how well many kids do in a learn at home environment.

You missed where I clarified in later posts I was referring to complete and total isolation homeschool vs. homeschool of the past. I am sure your children were allowed to leave the home and socialize with peers and the world when they were homeschooled. THAT is what I meant when I said young children don’t learn well at home - I immediately followed that statement with totally isolated from their peers. That is the situation we are dealing with today. Not the same and incomparable to homeschool of even a few months ago.

 

[2China2009]

I was never a proponent of home schooling. But I now understand more since March 13 th. I have a sophomore in high school and her stress level has dropped by 75%. Both of my girls are e learning and they love it. DD 16 would love to stay home for her last 2 years to homeschool. But she loves her school and is very involved. I am pretty sure that my kids are not going back to school this fall. Our lives have changed for the good and it has been beautiful to watch our family grow in so many ways. We will never get this time back. Yes our villages are going to have to come together and help out families that will need child care. Our lives have changed permanently and this is our new reality.