October 9, 2008 by Barbara.

I’m not a political person generally but just as having a daughter has brought forward my feminist self that had slipped into the background after university, having a child makes me want to write a bit about child care just days before the October 14th election. I received a message from Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada that provides some statistics from a recent survey of attitudes toward child care. The key findings show:

• Three-quarters of Canadians (77%) think that the lack of affordable child care is a
  very (31%) or somewhat (46%) serious problem in Canada today.
• Across the country, the lack of affordable child care is seen as particularly serious in
  the Atlantic provinces (86%), British Columbia (85%), and Ontario (78%). Seventy
  percent (70%) of Quebec residents, and 75% of Prairie residents, see it as a
  serious problem.
• Supporters of all political parties see an important role for governments in
  helping parents meet their child care needs, including Conservatives (75%), Liberals
  (88%), New Democrats (95%), Green Party supporters (81%), and Bloc Quebecois
  supporters (88%).

The $100 cheque that I receive each month for Reid is simply not the same as a child care plan. The way to create an adequate system requires that the equivalent of those $100 payments (and more) be spent strategically on a system. Scattering the money throughout society is tactical - it may engender support for the party that implemented the payments but it doesn’t build infrastructure and it may even permit some people who couldn’t otherwise afford child care to afford it but it won’t help them to find child care. Our family has the money to pay for child care but it was not easy to find care for Reid before she started school - we had to drive in the wrong direction to take her to her day care but at least it was a good one - and we were unable to find child care that complimented her public school hours. We’re fortunate enough to have been able to find and afford an independent school that offers pre- and post-care.

I don’t know how to show respect (in monetary terms) for families who choose to have one parent stay home with the children. Maybe $100 per month does make a difference in their lives. For me, even though Reid will soon not fall into the traditional child care age group, I’m voting for a party that supports a  child care system. 

Whatever your reason, get out there next Tuesday and vote!

Posted in School, Daycare | Print | 1 Comment »

October 9, 2008 by Barbara.

The other day when I was getting Reid dressed, she started to cry when I put her clothes on in the following order: underwear; shirt; tights; and then, almost, jumper. When I asked what was wrong she sobbed that she wanted her tights on before her shirt. I took her shirt and tights off and put them on in the “right” order. As I did so, I suggested that Reid should have told me the order in which she wanted her clothes on earlier. Reid’s voice broke as she said, “But I wanted you to know what I wanted. I didn’t want to tell you.” Oh, so now I fail her because my psychic abilities aren’t up to the task. Being a mom sure is tough.

Posted in clothes, Mama | Print | 1 Comment »