The Daycare Generation

The Daycare Generation

For centuries we have seen our family unit only one way; with the father going off to work, and the mother staying home with the children. All the way back to the beginning of humans it has been this way. Lately however, this is all changing. With women's lib came the "new woman". She wants to do everything a man can do including having a career. The only problem is, there is no one to stay home to raise the children if mom goes off to work. The need for daycare has risen sharply as more moms are choosing to work rather than stay home. As a result, the family unit is growing apart. According to the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agency, over 20 million children ages 0-12 are in full time child care this year in the United States. Many of our children are now spending most of the day away from their home and family, and because of this, are not able to experience the values of close family bonds that our grandparents and great-grandparents had. If we wish to preserve our family ties and bonds, we should take steps toward bringing the family unit back together. The first step should encourage families to let children stay home with mom when they are young, and not put them in a daycare.

There are many reasons families place their children in daycare. For single-parent families, there is little or no choice involved. For other families, however, the daycare decision is made purely by choice. Many moms enjoy working outside the home and consider their jobs rewarding and fulfilling. Other families insist they need the income that a second working parent brings in. Whatever the reason, I think we need to take a look at the impact full-time daycare has on our children. Kim Clark, author of an article called "Mommy's Home" states that young children of stay-at-home mom's are more intelligent, get more sleep, and have less weight issues than children of working moms. I personally think the benefits of raising healthy and happy children far outweigh the financial gain of a second income. In order to compensate, some moms may cut their work hours down to part time, and others try to have the best of both worlds by working from home. In her article titled "When mother stays home", Megan Rutherford writes "Some women create home-based businesses in an effort to forge a better interface between their jobs and their children". It is my opinion that these work-at-home moms would still not be able to provide their children with the undivided attention they need. How much time can a mom really devote to young children while she has a business to run?

Money is extremely important to most Americans, and one of the main reasons for our dual-income families of today. Many families become accustomed to having two incomes, but really don't need them both. Michelle Conlin concurs in her article titled "Mommy is really home from work". Conlin thinks that most American dual-earner families can live well on a single income. I also believe balancing a family with only one income is possible if you consider the money saved when mom doesn't work outside the home. Rutherford asks us to consider the amount of money a family will spend on gasoline, work clothes, and restaurant meals. When we exclude the expenses associated with work we may be able to conceive the loss of a second income. Moms who stay home can cut spending in many areas. Clark suggests letting go of the housecleaning services, and shopping at Target instead of Nordstrom. The sacrifices are minimal compared to the advantages gained by the children who get to spend quality time with mom on a daily basis. Kelli Cole suggests on her website that taking away a second income may drop your family into a lower tax bracket. Also, a significant savings for stay-at-home moms will come from the child care bill that no longer has to be paid. In the past few years, the cost of daycare has gone up considerably. NACCRRA statistics state that in the United States, full time child care for one child can cost up to $12,000.00 annually. Eliminating this payment will take significant financial stress away from the family, allowing them to see a way out of the workhorse mentality.

Another issue that is important to families of today is stress. We can relieve some day-to-day stress by eliminating many of the problems that working moms must face. Early morning hassles of trying to feed children and get them dressed combined with mom trying to get herself ready for work can be tough. The stress can be compounded if your child is not cooperative each and every day. Rutherford quotes a woman who "dragged her (children) to daycare every single day crying and screaming". I think dragging a screaming child to daycare everyday is absolutely unhealthy for the children and can cause anxiety and guilt for the mom. This type of stress will follow mom throughout her workday and will continue in the evening when she has only a few precious hours to bathe, feed, and give undivided attention to her children. The evening time should be a time for mom to unwind, relax, and prepare for the next day. Unfortunately, children do not generally provide time for moms to enjoy these luxuries. More stress can be heaped on mom's plate if she plans to climb the corporate ladder. Clark says "Growing stress and time demands of these higher-paying jobs often force parents to make an all-or-nothing choice between work and family". It is my belief that working moms have way more stress than stay-at-home moms, and Zondra Hughes concurs in her article printed in Ebony magazine. Zondra quotes a sociologist named Linda Hughes who believes "Mothers who work full time have higher levels of stress than those who don't work."

A third issue of importance to today's families are problems that could arise from the daycares themselves. One problem is the amount of germs and allergens that children are exposed to daily. Young children are frequently taken to daycare with colds and runny noses, exposing all of the other children in the center to these germs. Allergens can be brought into daycare centers on children's clothing. The Journal of Environmental Health printed a story in October 2005 claiming that 89 daycare centers were tested and every one of them had detectable levels of allergens such as fungus, dust mites, mice, and cockroaches. Health issues arising from daycare centers should be taken into serious consideration. Another problem that might arise is the actual quality of care each child is given daily. When mom leaves her young child in the hands of another person for forty plus hours a week, does she really know what is going on with her child when she is away? How can a mother be certain her child is receiving appropriate attention