Tag Archives: child care

Babysitting Co-Ops

Babysitters are expensive, and living on one income can make it hard to hire one. So what are you supposed to do when you have to go someplace without the kids? If you are lucky enough, you are blessed to have family and friends who are willing to provide free babysitting services. However, if you are not so lucky, you may want to consider establishing a babysitting co-op with other parents in your area. A babysitting co-op is an arrangement with several parents to swap babysitting services with one another, at no cost. Babysitting co-ops can be started with several … Continue reading →

The Six Options for Child Care 2

Making a decision on the right child care for your family can be huge. Child care comes in many forms, whether you are working full time or just need occasional help. We’ve already discussed three of your child care options. Now, let us take a look at the remaining three. Which options fit well for your family and your life? Parent Co-Opt Care There are two different forms of parent co-opt care. With both forms, four or more parents who get along well share care of their children. This care can be rotated through each home. For example, five parents … Continue reading →

Stay-at-Home-Mom Says Record Game Show Win “Lessens Guilt”

It took three long seasons, but finally, someone landed the top prize on “Deal or No Deal.” Just a few days ago a 27-year-old pregnant stay-at-home mom became the popular game show’s first-ever million-dollar winner. Jessica Robinson, from Sandee, Utah picked the lucky briefcase on Monday’s show and made herself a millionaire. Two things struck me when I saw her follow up interview: A.) The reason she chose the briefcase she did and B.) The reason she tried out for the show. Let’s look at A. first: According to Robinson, she had a winning strategy from the start. The enthusiastic … Continue reading →

What’s Most Important?

Author Mem Fox has created a furor recently by declaring that putting infants in child care is tantamount to child abuse. Of course the comments received critical reaction from working mothers. Recently I was reviewing a book called Before your Teenager Drives you Crazy, Read this! Author, clinical psychologist and parenting expert from New Zealand, Nigel Latta said ‘who we are at 3 years of age is who we are at 26, and odds on at 56 and 86 as well.’ In other words, a child’s personality is shaped during those early years. Surely that should convince couples to make … Continue reading →

Rosie O’Donnell Under Fire for Grabbing Son

Here we go again. Rosie O’Donnell’s back in the headlines for something she says she didn’t do and Donald Trump is there to add his two-cents worth on the entire ordeal. The latest Rosie rant started last week when The Globe ran a cover story with the headline “Abusive Rosie Bullies Son, 12.” The photos that accompany the article show an angry O’Donnell in an apparent argument with her pre-teen son Parker (who by the way has grown a LOT since I last saw him—-heck, he’s nearly as tall as Rosie). In one particular shot the former talk show host … Continue reading →

Single Parents and That Long Winter Break

Just this week I was listening to a colleague talk about the struggle of trying to figure out what to do with a preschooler during the long winter break from school. This is someone who has a spouse and just one child and they are STILL struggling and juggling trying to keep the child care covered this time of year. While I smiled, I remembered my own history of three children, my own single parent status, and that long 2 ½ week winter break… Time off from school can really be tough on a single parent. We have to try … Continue reading →

Try Not to Use a Babysitter as Punishment

The other day, I was out and about and I heard a harried mother threaten: “Next time, you don’t get to come with me, you’ll have to stay home with a babysitter!” She spat out the word babysitter like she was threatening shackles and chains. This got me to thinking about what a treat it was for my own kids when they “got” to have a sitter–instead of presenting it as punishment, we always viewed it as a special date when the kids would get to “play” with the sitter and get a break from Mom! Babysitters have trouble enough … Continue reading →

Mr. Mom (1983)

In “Mr. Mom,” Jack and Caroline Butler are living the typical suburban life of the 1980’s. She’s a stay-at-home mom, he works as an engineer at a car factory, and they are struggling to make ends meet. But they budget and they’re hanging in there, until Jack (Micheal Keaton) loses his job. Wondering what they’ll do to support the family, Jack and Caroline (Teri Garr) both start putting in their applications. When Caroline is hired before Jack, they both agree that Jack will stay home with the kids, but it’s just for a little while until something comes along for … Continue reading →

Is Your Babysitter Doing a Good Job?

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On the upper East side of Manhattan, it is rare for me to see a child’s parents. When I take my kids to their classes, I sit with the babysitters and chat. In fact, it is so rare to see a child’s own parents that upon first meeting me, one babysitter exclaimed, “Wow, isn’t it amazing how much you look like the kids you’re watching!” Uh. . .yeah. I get to watch babysitters all the time and I have to say that there are some pretty good nannies out there. . .and some pretty bad ones. I would think that … Continue reading →

Expenses to Consider when Working at the Office

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People often try to compare and contrast the differences between working in an office, and working at home. I thought that today, we could talk strictly dollars and cents–expenses that you might incur while working in either location. Hopefully these blogs will help you make the decision of where it would be best for you to work. I know that there is a lot more to the decision of where to work than the financial aspect of it, but in many cases, as much as we would like to have it differently, it often does come down to that. It … Continue reading →