8.04.2009

Front Page news

Last week I got a call from my kids' daycare center director. She had a family lined up to be interviewed for the local newspaper and they backed out at the last minute. She wanted to know if I would be willing to talk to the reporter and have our picture taken that evening when I picked up the kids. She said the exposure would really help the center so of course I agreed. The topic of the article was something to do with the economy/recession and costs of daycare.

The interview went well (I thought). We talked about the costs and weighing whether or not it was worth while for me to work. We also talked briefly about the quality of the daycare being a priority for us (there is nothing wrong with licensed care in a babysitters home...we had this for Emily as a baby but I think that the daycare facility is more aligned with a preschool and learning). Long story short it was on the front page of the paper yesterday and the response has been a little surprising. Some of the comments took me by surprise (things like if we are having to sacrifice then we shouldn't be having more kids, etc).

I love how the article quotes that over 80% of the families with kids in daycare in our area are receiving some sort of subsidy or assistance for daycare yet we (the two income family) are the family that gets criticized for having more kids. I wasn't complaining. I was saying that we make the choices and set our priorities. The economy is not easy for anyone. We have two steady jobs and for that we are grateful. HOWEVER, my job has a salary freeze, raised the insurance rates, and the daycare had a slight increase in costs too. That means the same money has to be stretched further. Still not complaining. I just deleted the next paragraph that I wrote because it wasn't nice, it was judgemental, and those thoughts should be kept to myself. Instead I will let you read the article for yourself and tell me what you think.

4 comments:

Mrs. Dawkter said...

I read the article and I thought it was a nice normal article... then I read about three of the comments and had to stop. Were those people seriously reading the same article?
My father is a local politician and we REFUSE to read the comments section on any articles because they are always tens or hundreds of HORRIBLE comments (you'd think that there are tons of people who hate my father yet he continues to win elections by landslides)... my point is that many people have multiple logins and these are people who seriously have nothing better to do but make mean/complaining comments on EVERY SINGLE newspaper article. Maybe they should remove themselves from the internet for an hour and GO TO WORK or do something constructive with their lives instead of just complaining in a manner that does not result in change.... okay I will step down from my soap box now.
Don't you mind those stupid people Adriana!

Celeste said...

I read the article and I think what set people off was what someone else wrote:

"Nancy Bampton, owner of the Callowhill Nursery School and Kindergarten, 2521 River Road, Muhlenberg Township, said parents who don't receive state day care subsidies are suffering the most."

I think this made people who are on one income scoff at hearing that people are "suffering" on two incomes. It has nothing to do with you or what you said. You said you are cutting back, like cable (I just cancelled mine too) but the author of the article made it seem like you were complaining. Which I dont think you are. If people want to have kids then I do think they are responsible for their care and if they qualify for help so be it. If they dont qualify then they have to pay it. You see the benefits of keeping them there and you are finding a way to make it work. So congrats

The Websters said...

I didn't read the comments, but i thought the article made you sound like a good mom...you were giving up things you enjoy so that your kids can be ready for school.

FRANNIE said...

I read the article and you did a great job.

Just because you're a two income family doesn't mean that you're rolling in dough. And I can only imagine the student loans (I have one myself so I can sympathize.)