They serve an ever-expanding number of children whose parents work
non-standard and unpredictable hours. The parents might be working two
service or retail jobs or they may be night nurses. According to the
National Women’s Law Center, 9% of daycare center care is now provided
during evenings or weekends...
Nearly 40% of Americans now work non-traditional employment hours.
Almost two-thirds (64.2%) of women with children under age six are
working, and one in five working moms of small children work at low-wage
jobs that typically pay $10.50 an hour. They all need to earn more if
they are to truly be able to afford daycare, and in a cruel twist, many
must work more and stranger hours to do so...
Diana’s mother works two jobs because neither employer will give her
more than 29 hours of work. By keeping her hours down, the companies can
avoid offering benefits that come with full-time employment...
The rest of the story is at
The Guardian.
I can sympathize with the need for more flexible daycare. I'm currently working as a substitute teacher and awaiting the birth of my 2nd child in late May. (Working a full-time teaching job was so stressful with my first that I ended up on bedrest and in the hospital for most of the 2nd & 3rd trimesters!)
ReplyDeleteI rarely know when I'll be working until 5-6am that morning, so I have to have my daughter enrolled in full-time daycare. But it's so expensive that I need to pick up evening and weekend tutoring hours as well.
Years ago, living in Seattle, we passed a daycare that was decorated with a soothing nighttime theme. It was for children whose parents worked night shifts and operated only during the evening and night hours and it was the only one I've seen in the years since. A 24 hour center must be such a relief to parents whose jobs require them to work nights.
ReplyDelete