Blog 6

Chaundy presents various type child care choices working low income mothers use. Among the most popular are kin, household or center based, and family based care (pg45,34).In the second chapter of the book we are presented with the story of Brittany and Bethany. Chaundry states the she used a type of patch work care which is simply using a type of care at the time and then changing it when another resource is presented.Brittany first used Bethany’s uncle then his father. In order to save money or time to be with her daughter.
Some of the care options “were not ideal, however, in terms of these relatives’ commitment to being care providers, the location, or their long-term availability.” (Chaudry,35) I think however, that is more than just saving money or the hassle is more of need. These women work with what they have not because they are being picky. Although it may seem like it at first because of the many changes in child care but I know first hand that these mothers are trying their best to have some peace of mind when working for their children.

As a working mother and student it has been really helpful all the support that my parents have given me from the start. I did not have the resources to look for a child care facility to take care of my son. Growing up in a household in which my mother was a housewife I personally never experience the child care atmosphere. In the beginging I did think of getting assistance with child care but my mother insisted in helping me out. Being close from school but far from work she has made my life a bit easier. She has taken care of my son as if he is her own. She provides all the care he needs and helps out a great deal. My siblings have helped as well. Having a background in education I know the importance of a child development. I have provided my mother with educational videos,books, and activities to help my son cognitive development. However it is all in Spanish. It worries me at times because knowing and working for a brief time as a research assistant in the speech and hearing department at ASU I noticed that children with bilingual backgrounds tend to be slower in speech. Not in understanding it but in verbally expressing it. It has occurred with my son. He has delayed in speech but is really advancing in sign language which I tend to be ok with but like any mother I worry if he is getting all he needs. I still do not complain about the help I get from my mother and father. I really don’t run into personal conflicts with her, I don’t worry about how much to give her, I am always certain that he is taken good care of maybe even better care than I give him and more attention being the first grandson. Chaudry presents a very interesting table 2.2 “The Grounded Model of Child Care Choices” where supply factors such as; costs and demand factors such as; child, mother, household care, all contribute,to the choices mothers make when choosing a type of care. (Chaundry 41,42).

Another important factor that I look at is babysitting vs. nurturing. I think this is of great importance to me. I personally as discussed in the begiging I was thinking of putting my son in a child care facility however after speaking with my mother I realized that it was not going to be the same. I wanted my son to be nurtured and taken care of as if he did not have to feel I was leaving him for long periods of hours. I wanted him to grow in an environment that he felt loved. I am not saying other centers will no provide the help but I know the focus of attention would not be him. This is why I decide on my mother, I never really knew that she was going to be of soo much help as she has become.
From previous child development classes that I took as a sophomore in college I saw the effects of child care in children and also the lack of quality child care. I examined the numbers of the cost of a good child care facility and even observed some of the children of a good standing child care facility. I never realized that two years later I had to think deeper and beyond child care options. I have not explored child care and the research on what the government is doing to help low income mothers/child care providers as I have for these blogs and assignments with sincerity. It was truly shocking to see how the ARC (Applied Research Center) there is a large increase in the number of caregivers who are unlicensed. For the begingin of my college career I wanted to become a teacher due to my family history in teaching; my dad, my uncles, and my grandpa. However I never really paid attention to the needs of mothers as of now. I worked a number of years for the Mesa Public School Community Center for an after school program. This program was on site of the school and once children got out of class they could go to the center which was located in one of the schools classroom where they would have some time to be taken care of, have time to do homework, play and then have a snack. The time for pick up was 6 p.m sharp. This was convenient for parents. Most of them worked it was just the rite time. They did not have to worry about homework because their kids had done it or maybe snacks. However the pay was pretty expensive however there were some scholarships and grants the district gave out which was convenient for those parents that needed it. Well after rambling off I wanted to get out of this that this is needed a national help to assist working mothers beyond the help that they are already getting.
There is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child, it is certainly true. There is a need for being preoccupied for mothers that are struggling to make ends meet. The answer is not just giving them partial help and let them figure it out however they can. It is a necessarily to go beyond and help mothers become supportive and independent individuals. We have to stop bird feeding mothers. Giving them only a little and making them figure out a way to get the next bite. If the government really wants to help the working poor mothers they should really help them by providing everything at once not little by little because precious time is at risk. The enough time it takes for our children to grow in poverty and difficulty.