Childcare or “daycare” is one of the most commonly used resources among Americans in the United States. There are many options for childcare that parents could choose from. They have many choices for childcare, ranging from: in-home care, childcare facilities, after school or government-funded Head Start programs. . “Head Start is a federally funded governmental program with the explicit goal of preparing underprivileged children for primary education” (Conley). This program is another option for the pre-k program. The cost of childcare has risen dramatically over the past year, and no one really knows whom to blame for it. The government offers families subsidies for childcare, but that is only if your income is low. But, what about the hard working, middle class families, that are still struggling to pay the high cost of childcare without government assistant? How will they provide childcare for their kids?
Paying a babysitter to watch your children while you are at work may seem like a smart idea and at the same time it may be cheap, but some people are not responsible to care after kids. They may have a good resume and background check but still, they are not what you are looking for. Some parents make the mistake of hiring babysitters and while in the care of the sitter, their child may come up missing, abused, etc. All babysitters are not bad caretakers; however, but you should just watch who you have watching your children.
Having your child in an In-Home daycare facility may not be such a great idea either. After reading the article The Hell of American Day Care, many parents vowed not to let their kids go to In-Home facilities. Because the rules and regulations for In-home daycare workers aren’t strictly enforced.
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Smith, Kristin and Adams, Nicholas, "Child care subsidies critical for low-income families amid rising child care expenses" (2013). The Carsey Institute at the Scholars' Repository. 5 May 2013. Paper. 19 Nov. 2013.
United States. U.S Department of Health & Human Services. Office of Child Care. Home | Administration for Children and Families. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
"Newsroom." Child Care Costs on the Upswing, Census Bureau Reports. United States Census Bureau, 03 Apr. 2013. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.
Stein, Rob. "Study Finds That Effects of Low-quality Child Care Last into Adolescence." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 14 May 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.
Roberts, Sam. "As Child Care Costs Rise, Families Seek Alternatives." New York Times. N.p., 03 Apr. 2013. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.
"Child Care Subsidies." Weblog post. Clasp.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Changing demographics in America are leading to an increased need for preschools. In 1950, only 14% of mothers of children under six worked outside the home (Williams 351), but in 1995, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 63.5% of mothers of children under age six worked outside the home (Garey 4). The number of families with two working parents is steadily rising; the number of single-parent families is also increasing. Many families cannot afford to have a parent at home full time but have a hard time affording preschool or childcare costs. A publication by L.M. Casper, printed by the U.S. Census Bureau, found that on average, parents spend 8% of their family's income on childcare (Kinch 68). Many of these parents make great sacr...
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There is a problem in Texas impacting children’s futures; many childcare centers and homes are not providing children with quality care. In an article about cost and quality in Texas childcare, child development experts Susan Eitel and Joyce Nuner quote a study stating “that [nationally] only 10% of infants and toddlers are in high quality [childcare] programs” (34). The term ratio describes the number of children one caregiver is watching. This number is one of the major factors in the quality of a childcare program. Organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children know as NAEYC release recommendations regarding ratios and accredit programs based on their compliance. Childcare centers and homes must comply with certain minimum standards enforced by Texas regarding ratios; however, these standards often set the bar lower than recommendations made by these early childhood experts. The current standards in Texas do not ensure that all young children receive quality care; for this reason, the Texas Department of Family Protective Services should strengthen the minimum standards regarding ratios to better regulate the quality of care children receive.
Most parents would probably prefer a family member would take care of their child; it could possibly be no cost and would make them feel as though they weren’t having someone else raise their child because they have to work. This is not an option for many parents so they go outside the family to make their choice of care. A day care center and an individual caregiver both have their pros and cons. Day care centers are open longer hours and have more workers in case of illness, caregivers could become ill and the parents would have to take the child to an emergency back up or miss work entirely. Children are very much individuals and have to be considered in the choice the family makes for care of their child. Every family must decide first what they can afford and then weigh the options to provide the best care available to them.
Working families often cannot pay their rent, or sometimes food. According to an article in The Bill Moyers & Company “Three Steps We Can Take to Solve Poverty, From Someone Who Knows Firsthand” by Tianna Turner, U.S. government should give good tax breaks for companies that provide secure jobs, encourage them to have paid sick and family leave, and invest in affordable and high-quality child care. (Turner) It is true that companies that have tax breaks can utilize tax money to raise the surplus for living wages. Moreover, employees who have paid sick and family leave are more likely perform better in their work because they do not have to worry about the lost hours that result in lost pay. Childcare has always been neglected in the U.S. for a very long time. Many research show that kids in high-quality preschools have better graduation rate from high school, and they tend earn more as adults. If the U.S. childcare system is fix, the parents will have more time to focus on their job, and the overall quality of U.S. citizen will change
In the 1980s, child care was back on the national agenda due to the education reform movement (Tejada, 2010). Tejada further disclosed that several states even launched pre-kindergarten programs for disadvantaged children. Why the Need for Universal Preschool Two-thirds of 4-year-old children in the United States attend preschool, as well as 40% of 3-year-olds (Tejada, 2010). Half of those are enrolled in a public program, such as state prekindergarten (preK), Head Start, or special education, and the other half are in a private program (Adams, 2009). Despite such a large enrollment of children in these programs, there is still a handful of children who are missing out on obtaining a head start in obtaining a good quality education.... ...
Phillips, Deborah, and Natasha J. Cabrera. Beyond the Blueprint: Directions for Research on Head Start's Families. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press, 1996. Internet resource.
U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services. Administration for Children and Families. (2011). TANF - Data and Reports. Washington D.C.: U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/data-reports/index.htm.
(June 2011). The AFCARS Report Preliminary FY 2010 Estimates as of June 2011 (18). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System.
Downs-Whitelaw, S., Moore, E., &McFadden, E. J. (2009). Child welfare and family services: Policies and practice, USA: Parson Education Inc.
Downs, S., Moore, E., McFadden, E., & Costin, L. (2004). Child welfare and family services: Policies and practice. (7th. Ed., pp. 319-363) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Bidgood, J. (2014, April 8). Number of Mothers in U.S. Who Stay at Home Rises. The New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/us/number-of-stay-at-home-mothers-in-us-rises.html?_r=0
With all said and done, I think day-care is not a bad place for a child to be after all, as long as no one takes advantage of the situation. This means that the people supervising the children in day-care centers should not take advantage of their parents’ absence to mistreat them, and neither should the parents use day-care as an excuse not to spend quality time with their young ones.
Many studies illustrate that high quality child care helps children who have been brought up in poverty to develop skills that enable better education, jobs and earnings (Adelman). It would help to reduce poverty if more parents would invest money `into high quality child care, because children would be able to learn the skills that they should know to get a good education. In an article entitled “9 Ways to Reduce Poverty,” Larry Adelman stated that “Investments in infrastructure—fixing old bridges, building mass transit, converting to clean energy sources—and investments in vital services such as schools, childcare and eldercare generate both public benefits and jobs.” Investments in the most important buildings and structures in a community would help to create job opportunities, which could benefit people who are in poverty by allowing them the opportunity to get a job. Poverty reduction would benefit the economy and the people who suffer from
"Better benefits for working moms ." Jobs & Economy. CNN Money, 21 Sept. 2004. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.