Showing posts with label Child Care Issues Faced by Working Women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Child Care Issues Faced by Working Women. Show all posts

Monday, 2 February 2015

9 Reasons Why America is a Difficult Place to Raise Kids

Most of the parents who are having a permanent job , they are not able to afford the sky rocketing child care cost so there are parents who take up 2-3 jobs at time to educate their child in a better school. In fact, 72% of respondents say there are more concerns when it comes to rearing children today. More than half feel it is too expensive to raise children in this day and age—and 60% believe you need dual incomes. It is easy to love but very hard to raise kids at present.

1. The High Cost of Childcare

American families are facing a variety of rising costs in 2015, from food to housing. But one of the biggest expenses of all is turning out to be childcare. A 2014 report by Child Care Aware of America found that daycare could be as high as $14,508 per year for an infant and $12,280 per year for a four-year-old. And that is, in a sense, more troubling for new parents than the high cost of college tuition: while that expense is 17 or 18 years in the future, daycare is an expense working parents face right away.

Some child care centers in order to increase customer service always uses child care software for administration of the centers. The staff and admin personnel uses the software for managing the documents and billing.

2. Stagnant Wages Combined With Ever-Increasing Cost of Living

A 2014 report by the Center for American Progress offered little reason to be optimistic about family life in the U.S. The Center found that “investing in the basic pillars of middle-class security—child care, housing and healthcare, as well as setting aside modest savings for retirement and college—cost an alarming $10,600 more in 2012 than it did in 2000.” To make matters worse, the Center reported, incomes for most Americans remained stagnant during that 12-year period.

3. Public Education Is Struggling, and Private Schools Are Unaffordable

When families are struggling financially and have less money to spend, that harms a variety of businesses. And lower income also means less tax revenue, which harms public education because public education is funded with income taxes as well as sales and property taxes. In 2014, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported that at least 35 states had less funding per student than they did before the Great Recession—and 14 of those states had cut per-student funding by over 10%. Some parents will send their kids to private schools, but only if they can afford to: in 2014, the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) found that annual tuition for private high schools in the U.S. ranged from an average of $13,500 in the southern states to $29,000 in the western states to over $30,000 in the northeastern states.

4. Astronomical College Tuition

During the Fathers Knows Best/Leave It to Beaver era Republicans romanticize, a college degree practically guaranteed a middle-class income for families. College was much more affordable in those days, but now, a college education is more expensive than ever—tuition costs have more than doubled since the 1980s, and there is no guarantee that a four-year degree or even a masters will lead to the type of job one needs to support a family. A college degree costs more now but delivers less. In the 1950s and 1960s, college graduates working in low-paying, dead-end service jobs was unheard of; now, it’s common. And someone making $8 or $9 an hour is going to have a very hard time paying off a six-figure student loan debt and starting a family and rising cost is not only the issue so let us look at all the factors that contribute

5. The High Cost of Healthcare

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 has brought about some desperately needed improvements: for example, health insurance companies can no longer deny health insurance to a child who has a preexisting condition, such as Type 1 diabetes. But the ACA, which was greatly influenced by health insurance lobbyists, needs to be expanded considerably before it offers families the types of protections that are the norm in France or Sweden—and Republicans in Congress continue to fight Obamacare every step of the way. Raising a healthy child is still much easier in Europe than in the U.S.

6. The Decline of Organized Labor

In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker has been calling for a 20-week abortion ban in his state and reminding anti-abortion groups that he has a history of defunding Planned Parenthood. But if Walker is really concerned about families, he should reconsider his opposition to organized labor. It is no coincidence that when roughly 35% of American private-sector workers belonged to unions in the mid-1950s, it was much easier to start a family: collective bargaining promoted economic stability for the middle class. But in 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the unionization rate in the U.S. was a mere 6.6% for private-sector workers and 11.1% when private-sector and public-sector workers were combined. The BLS also reported that non-union workers were only earning 79% of what unionized workers were earning. At a time when union membership in the U.S. is the lowest it has been in almost 100 years, Walker just made Wisconsin a right-to-work state, which will bring union membership down even more.

7. U.S. Still Lags Behind in Paid Maternity Leave

The U.S. is the only country in the developed world that still lacks mandatory paid maternity leave. That is quite a contrast to Europe, where government-mandated paid maternity leave ranges from 81 weeks in Austria to 47 weeks in Italy to 42 weeks in France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the Republic of Ireland. Meanwhile, in the Pacific region, paid maternity leave ranges from 18 weeks in Australia to 58 weeks in Japan. Paid maternity leave is strictly optional in the U.S., where according to the organization Moms Rising, 51% of new mothers have no paid maternity leave at all.

8. Stagnant Minimum Wage

If the U.S.’ national minimum wage had kept up with inflation, it would be much higher than its current rate of $7.25 an hour. President Barack Obama has proposed raising it to $10.10 per hour, while economist Robert Reich favors raising it to $15 an hour nationally. Raising the minimum wage would hardly be a panacea for American families, but it would be a step in the right direction. However, even Obama’s proposed $10.10 per hour is unlikely to come about as long as far-right Republicans are dominating both houses of Congress.

9. Outsourcing and the Loss of American Manufacturing Jobs

Thanks to globalization, neo liberal economics and disastrous trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the U.S. has been steadily losing manufacturing jobs for decades. A study by the Economic Policy Institute found that in 2011, globalization had depressed wages for non-college-educated Americans by 5.5%. And now, both Republicans and the Obama administration are pushing for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free-trade deal that opponents have been calling “NAFTA on steroids.” Resulting in more manufacturing jobs being outsourced, TPP will make life even worse for blue-collar families in the U.S.

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Tuesday, 8 July 2014

Working Moms and Child Care Center with New Trends in US

Working mothers are one of the people who benefit from child care centers. They need someone to take care of them while they go for work. Child care makes or breaks a working mom's career.A child care Center is more advantageous because there will be many children who are enrolled in these centers so that your child can mingle with and make new friends. A good child care center helps children develop mentally, physically and socially. It will be better if you can, take an active role at the center. This will help you in being assured of making the right decision for a daycare and also help you with any feelings you have of guilt about working.

According an article on www.workingmother.com, there are many creative childcare strategy work that may work for you. Deciding which type of care giver is best suitable for you is the most difficult part. But after getting in to a routine schedule you will be able to decide which type is most suitable for you. Consider these trends:
(Photo Courtesy: Telegraph.co.uk)

Care From a Relative: 
  • You may be lucky enough to have a father, mother-in-law or sibling who offers to care for your child.
  • You can be far more confident that your child is with someone who loves and cares for your kid.
  • The care may be free of cost, but not without strings. Your mother may feel comfortable ignoring your feeding, sleep or other care preferences. After all, her rules worked fine for your childhood.
Flex Care:
  • Lisa Mars, VP of global benefits for CA Technologies, based in Islandia, NY. “Employees need to be able to achieve their work goals if they work from home.” Her company has six on-site child-care centers around the globe as well as summer programs for school-age kids with options that cater to employees with compressed and part-time schedules. “Even work-at-home moms drive in and drop off kids at on site care before returning home to work,” Mars adds. 
  • Flexible child care is a great option if … You have a flexible job ,You have a separate workspace,You have backup ,You like being the boss 
  • Flexibility and work life balance. 
  • It helps mothers greatly for those who work-from-home arrangements and have compressed schedules. 
  • Employer work-at-home policies vary - A care situation like this depends on the nature of your work.
Sharing Care:
  • Share can be a great solution for families looking to reduce costs while maintaining individualized care. 
  • This needs a lot of teamwork, communication and shared responsibility . 
  • In the case of a nanny share, expect the caregiver and other kids to be at your home at least part of the time . 
  • Everything should be well organized. 

À la Carte Care:
  • For many entrepreneurs and part-time or flextime working moms, sticking to any one schedule or shared situation just isn’t possible—or even desired. And then there’s the money part. 
  • In the case of a nanny share, expect the caregiver and other kids to be at your home at least part of the time. 
  • Its not time for assuming anything. Some gyms will assign a personal trainer to watch the kids who may not have experience or safety training.
A check list for moms While selecting a nanny, a home-based caregiver, or center-based care.


1.In case of nanny:
  • A smiling face and pleasant disposition speak volumes . 
  • Nanny should take responsibilities, respects your decisions, and takes initiative in doing the task provided by you. 
  • Nanny should be happy to fill you in on the details of the day and give you a detailed report on 
  • About a sniffly nose, missed nap, anticipating potential hazards both at home and on the playground and keeps an eagle eye on your tot at all times. or menu at lunchtime. 
  • Punctuality,discipline should be checked in to , nanny should always inform you if there is any delay in reaching your residence. of course, you should do the same when you're running late

2. At a center-based or home care setting:
  • Watch the way children are greeted 
  • A good caregiver should be a pro at helping to smooth transitions. 
  • At emergency situations the care taker should have presence of mind as well use the knowledge of training at the right time,training in safety rules and competence in first aid . 
  • Late policy,holidays and vacations scheduled should be informed in advance. 
  • Conscientious caregivers have a plan in place — such as providing you with a responsible substitute — if they have a family emergency . 
  • Neat clothes and a clean face and hands are signs that the caregiver values cleanliness . 
  • Good grooming is also a sign of self-respect and responsibility. 
  • A good caregiver has the right staff-to-child ratio and her center or home is properly licensed and/or accredited. 


3. Checking out daycare and home care settings
  • Make note of the facility's conditions: 
  • Working moms should check if there are smoke and/or carbon-monoxide detectors, Are the play and sleeping areas hazard-free, Are staircases and other danger zones (like kitchens and bathrooms) sufficiently safeguarded? Is the place childproofed, with drawer locks and outlet covers? Look for signs encouraging hand washing, and check to see that there are soap and paper towels by the sink for the staff and the kids. Make sure the facility smells fresh and the toys and furniture look clean 
  • A quality facility has nothing to hide and will be comfortable with unannounced visits. 
  • The staff will also protect your child from unauthorized adults, including visitors and employees. Most states require criminal background checks on jobs and criminal records