BlogHer - child care - Comments

Don't Need to Qualify Why

cluelesscrafter — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:20:49 -0500

SpendWisely, you don't need to say that "sadly" you use Supernanny to help guide your parenting. Just because her show is on TV doesn't mean you should disqualify the merit of her advice. I actual believe you can learn a lot from TV and do not think that it should be viewed as pure garbage.

I first learned the word "litigious" from the Oprah show (makes me laugh that a bit), which goes to show that if we teach our children how to be observant they will be able to decipher what entertains and what edifies.

We can always learn.

http://www.thecluelesscrafter.com/

Sadly, my husband and I use

SpendWiselyTexas@gmail.com — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:13:42 -0500

Sadly, my husband and I use Supernanny reference points in determining how to discipline our son. There are many times when we would probably be less structured or disciplined (because it's easier) but the thought of having a child who turns into one of the children on Supernanny is horrible. (Our son is a sweetie by the way.)

Spend Wisely Texas - Living Well and Spending Less in Texas

Not Entertainment for Me

cluelesscrafter — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:18:35 -0500

I watch Supernanny because Jo is able to tap into the root of the dysfunction and draw it out of each member of the family. She is capable of deciphering the real issue so that you don't feel you are watching some mock self help show; rather, you're witnessing a systematic unraveling of the issues that prevent parents from parenting with authority and children from accepting it. She is a tough woman. I like how she stands up to parents who tear her down by forcefully reorienting their attention back to the real issue: dysfunction in their family.

http://www.thecluelesscrafter.com/

We're a no-TV house until

Leighbra — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:31:32 -0500

We're a no-TV house until January (family resolution), but the kids and I used to watch SuperNanny....

I'm pretty sure that they loved it the way that I love zombie movies. They would be sitting with me, with this face- :O glued on for 50 minutes, thinking "Oh, those kids are gonna get it"

Occasionally I even reference back to the show, "Do you remember how EMBARRASSING it was to watch those kids on SuperNanny!? Why are we having this conversation in front of other people?!"

And *whip cracks* they're back in line! Nanny Jo has no idea the good she does, even without using her tips and tricks.

command of the English language

debontherocks — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:17:12 -0500

Oh, then you may have the ability to invoke a Supernanny accent if you need the world to snap to your command. I have an accent like that, but it's fake, and as I speak it tend to veer towards Cockney, then German, then who knows what, so it's not too convincing.

Deb
www.debontherocks.com blog
www.3smartgirlz.com consulting

Me too

Expat Mum — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:59:44 -0500

Jo makes me sit up straight and I'm English!

SAME IN THE UK

BETTYG — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:08:38 -0500

I live in London, and we have the same issues. Next week my kids will be out of school for half term. What to do? Luckily, I work from home. But it will really limit the amount of work I get done.

The after school program is fair. But it's in a church about 1/4 mile from school. The child care workers pick them up at school, and then walk them to the church. The thing is, I usually run into them as they're walking to school to pick up the kids. The majority of them are not well dressed and smoking. It just doesn't instill a lot of confidence. So the question remains. What to do? Unfortunately, I don't have the answer. BettyG

I'm in Australia so the

jaycee — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:27:35 -0500

I'm in Australia so the options are probably different here. My son goes to after school care at the school and they also offer vacation care for nearly all of the holidays so it works out pretty well for us. We've got our summer holidays coming up at the end of the year and I've just asked for and had approved a 6 week break from work (I'm due holidays and long service leave).

This is only an option while he's in primary school. Once he's in high school (around 13) then that option is over so I'm gonna have to rely on friends and hope like hell he's a responsible 13 year old.

Jen at Semantically driven

Some ideas

Beverly Flaxington — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:58:29 -0500

I have three children, 13 down to 6 and have worked all throughout so we've been through many, many iterations of this problem. It isn't easy and it actually does seem to get harder as they get older. I feel like my 13 year old needs constant supervision -- so much for the dream of having her watch the younger two!

But, some ideas -- we found a wonderful woman who was with us for 5 years at our church. If you don't belong to one, you can inquire at the offices of churches or temples nearby if there are older folks who want something to do but don't need to be paid a lot. I've also definitely seen the barter idea and the "mother's helper" idea (tween/teens helping out with smaller children after school) work well in our neighborhood for other families. There are also some great online resources such as sittercity.com and babysittertime.com where we've had some great success -- summertime is really easy using these resources. Our current sitter is actually the mother of our former day care provider. I've just learned to talk with everyone about our desire to have someone reasonably, responsible and reliable -- the three R's!

Beverly Flaxington

Blog: Dealing with Difficult People

Book: Understanding Other People: The Five Secrets

Good ideas -- all.

Rita Arens — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:00:46 -0500

I'm particularly interested in what mesullivan26 said about waiting to have a second child to swing the childcare payments. Are other people doing this?

Rita Arens writes at Surrender Dorothy and BlogHer and is the editor of Sleep is for the Weak.

Summer Weeklong programs

Elana Centor — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:40:22 -0500

Okay, so its been a decade or two since I dealt with this issue but I did have to deal with it and in Minneapolis the community ed program offers weeklong summer programs for kids, so do the Y's and our parks and recreations department also had programs ( not sure what the situation is since budget cuts)

My son really loved the week long sessions at the Y..they had great hours and took them on field trips... Good luck with that.

elana Blogher Contributing Editor,Business&CareersFunnyBusiness

have you considered

j.c. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:30:48 -0500

have you considered bartering for a lower rate...doin laundry, volunteering your professional skills for a day, filing, organizing a storage shed, washing outdoor toys or bikes? there is always a task that a school needs help with. when i was a director i was open to bartering. there were many jobs that were worth the trade.

www.smilelaughordie.com

I feel your pain

mesullivan26 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:07:49 -0500

It's so difficult to find something that is reliable and affordable. We found an in-home person whom we love but if she gets sick or one of her kids get sick, we have to take the day off and can't really call it a sick day. Plus she lives about 40 minutes away from where we work. My daughter is only 15-months-old but I've already started worrying about what we will do when she is in school. The cost of a second child in daycare is part of the reason we are planning to wait to have another child.

Yikes!

amenopausalmom — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:58:25 -0500

It's tough! What do you do?! We have someone in the neighborhood that will take in kids periodically - no more than X number at a time, but it does help out in situations like this. But it's tough. Not only is it hard to find good providers, it's also quite expensive. Our teenagers without any experience, a car and etc are $10 per hour! We once paid $12 per hour a few times and she was one of the lowest priced teens in our neighborhood.

Wishing you luck on whatever you find - ask around, esp. other parents in the same situation whom you trust/like.

A Menopausal Mom

Snakes and Spiders Don't Scare Me. Getting Old Does.

Thank you!

Suzanne Reisman — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 11:20:20 -0500

That's so awesome.

Suzanne Reisman, Contributing Editor - Feminism & Gender
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants