Jessica Beck
English 1022.55
Project #2 continued
Money is a major aspect. Money is one part of why it may be hard for a mother to decide if she will be a stay at home mother or join the workforce in order to provide economically for her children. Money can potentially have the power to open up possibilities; possibilities that lead to easier lives. In this case money is what prevents many mothers who would love to stay at home with their children from doing so; money is also what prevents some mothers from returning to the workforce because of high childcare costs. According to the NACCRRA, the average cost of childcare per four-year-old child in the United States is between $4,056 and $11,678 yearly. For struggling families who need work more than others, childcare is not even an option. Of course there's the flip side for each of those unpleasant scenarios; there are cases where money enables mothers to go back to work despite high day care costs; and also, where money enables a mother to stay at home with her child as long as she likes. Of course in some of these instances the choice isn't hard-because there isn't one. Money has a lot of power when it comes to motherhood in the United States.
Works Cited
National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. "Child Care in America;2009 State Facts Sheet." NACCRRA-The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, 10 April 2009. Web. 31 Jan 2010.
http://www.naccrra.org/docs/policy/state-fact-sheet-2009.pdf
Minnesota has claimed the title of having the third highest child care costs in the nation. In a report from the Minnesota News Connection the problem is made alarmingly clear; over 85% of the median income for a single parent is given up for the childcare of two children. In such circumstance it would be next to impossible to pay for childcare, pay bills, and put food on the table. What does this say about two person families you might ask? Well, many families might decide that it's not worth it for a mother to go back to work. With the cost of a car, gas, work clothes, and many other things needed when one is active in the work force, many families are lucky if they come out even when placing the children in childcare.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.earlychildhoodfocus.org/artman2/publish/price-report/MN_Has_3rd_Highest_Child-Care_Costs_In_Nation.shtml
In addition to what you have stated above, I thought the following data was interesting pertaining to costs of daycares in Britain.
ReplyDeleteFor a child to be in a nursery school the cost is L128 per week. In London for nursery school it was L168 a week. The most expensive was L300 a week. Sorry, I don't know what that breaks down to in American currency.
The above data about Britain's nursery costs is from an article on CNN.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home/uk-childcare-bills-europes-highest-at-po...