fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetitor.com, themomproject.com photo credit via Glassdoor
May 2, 2019,
Do they still sing this song on the playground?
Remember The kissing Song. Here goes:
(Girl’s name) and (boy’s name) sitting in the tree
K-i-s-s-i-n-g!
Yes, please spell it out, then tilt your head left and right with a smile on your face as you croon.
First comes love.
Then comes marriage.
Then comes baby, in the baby carriage.
Maybe they don’t sing this anymore because in terms of women having children, society has really changed.
First of all, the two love birds wouldn’t be sitting up in the tree because the school leadership would politely and firmly ask them to get down. Legal issues. You understand.
Most likely they’ll be electronically kissing through selfies and other online pathways.
Second, initially, first comes something else that is not called love. Mostly it is called sex or hooking up.
Love may come, but then again, it may not.
Okay, after all of that, if protection is not properly used, then comes baby, not necessarily in the carriage, but instead a stroller, with lots of compartments.
And a good Child Support Lawyer.
Marriage?
In the United States, since the 1960s, there has been a marked increase in the number of children living with a single parent. The 1980 United States Census reported that 19.5% were single parent households. From 1980 to 2009, the percentage of single-parent households jumped to 29.5%.
The newest census bureau reports that between 1960 and 2016, the percentage of children living in families with two parents decreased from 88 to 69. Of those 50.7 million children living in families with two parents, 47.7 million live with two married parents and 3.0 million live with two unmarried parents.
Well that little school yard song was nice while it lasted.
This is the new world and there is good news and bad news.
Which one do you want to hear first?
We’ll start with the troubling, but we promise it will get better.
As reported at the respected global news source nbcnews.com, “According to a new report from Child Care Aware of America, an advocacy group, the national average cost for child care is nearly $8,700 a year. Single parents pay nearly 36 percent of their income for child care expenses for one child, while married couples pay 10 percent.”
A whopping 36 percent of their income?
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recommended child-care costs should account for no more than 7% of family income.
And you know what else?
The American work day has gotten longer and the demands to hold on to a good paying job even harder.
The longer the work day, the more you have to pay for childcare.
That creates a new problem.
Who do you think are working at childcare centers?
People who don’t make a lot of money.
Now, while we won’t make a nursery rhyme out of this, we sense you can sing the rest of these lyrics.
People who get paid low wages, but live in large cities where homes costs $500,000-$1,000,000…
Where do they live?
How do they stay in business?
Okay, we’ll sing just a little.
First comes debt, then comes the creditors, then comes the exit in the financial carriage.
In an open letter to the San Jose Mercury News, a concerned citizen, Mr. John Jones shared, “An average family child care provider will work 40-60 hours a week. Their hourly rate can easily fall below the “livable” minimum wage set by the state. The number of child care openings is declining.”
So what are some possible solutions to this growing concern?
We’ll start in India.
On November 4, 2018, the innovative team at entrepreneur.com posted, “So what did the government of India do to aid the quality of life for the working population of India and the betterment of the working mothers? It introduced the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act. Passed in the year 2017, this landmark act provides working mothers with 26 weeks of paid maternity leave as well as mandating the provisions of childcare facilities at their place of work. This long-awaited act places India in the league of progressive, developed countries, and the third country in the world after Canada and Norway that provides working mothers with such benefits.”
Hopefully great ideas spread.
The introduction of the maternity act in India has also opened the gates for the establishment of a new industry.
Corporate daycare centers.
More and more companies are providing on-site childcare centers where employees can have a fraction of their pay deducted to allow for the parents to receive quality day care for their child while they work.
That is an incredible employee benefit that will make top talent attracted to work at those companies.
Then there is more good news coming from Washington D.C.
As reported at the political industry insider thehill.com on February 1, 2019, “The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) celebrates its 26th anniversary on Feb. 5. A serious limitation of the FMLA is that the leaves are unpaid.
The Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which will be reintroduced in both houses of Congress soon after the FMLA anniversary, creates an insurance fund that provides benefits that replace part of a worker’s lost wages. It may be one legislative initiative that can garner sufficient support from both Democrats and Republicans to pass.”
We sure hope so.
There is a growing movement towards improvement in this critical need for a family prosperous society.
The always progressive state of Washington became the fifth in the union to mandate that employers pay workers’ salaries when they need to take time off for the birth of a child. Their law allows a longer leave at higher rates of pay than many others.
The Seattle Times adds, “The law takes effect in 2020 for new moms and dads (by birth or adoption) with guaranteed pay for 12 weeks, plus another two for complicated pregnancies. That is more than three times the allowance made in Rhode Island. In addition, low-wage workers may collect at least 90 percent of their weekly income.”
Whether you are single or married and have young children, you might want to write your representative to help persuade them to make sure that this bill passes and more benefits are added as it evolves.
For you single mothers there is even better news.
There is a group that can be extremely helpful to single mothers living in those large expensive cities we previously spoke of that has creative ideas about childcare.
Please meet Urban Sitter.
At their child friendly website urbansitter.com, “As busy parents, we know that life is a balancing act and you need childcare that’s reliable, trustworthy, and available‚ even at the last minute. That’s why we’ve completely reinvented the process of finding a babysitter, so with a tap you can hire the sitters most trusted by your local community of parent-friends and neighbors.
We’ve also eliminated the hassle that comes along with hiring a babysitter, from scheduling to payment, so all you have to do is say “yes” to date nights, parent-teacher conferences, time for yourself and time with friends. At UrbanSitter, we celebrate parents who take care of their kids and themselves. Our hats are off to you‚ the ones who pull off the world’s greatest balancing act.”
Good for them and good for you.
So let’s say you are a single mom and you need to go for a job interview. Who is going to watch your wonderful child?
Hey, the news keeps getting better.
Please read this.
The Mom Project Partners with UrbanSitter to Provide Moms Free Childcare to Attend Job Interviews
New Babysitting Coverage Program is a Critical Step in Building a Holistic Support System to Help Women Achieve Their Career Goals
CHICAGO, Feb. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — The Mom Project, the leading career destination for moms, today announced a new partnership with UrbanSitter, an online and mobile service that connects parents and babysitters through people they know, which will give moms access to free babysitting when they are interviewing for jobs. This first-of-its-kind partnership joins two major national marketplaces, providing a novel solution and support system for mothers who are balancing looking for a new job with childcare responsibilities.
The partnership was borne out of feedback from the more than 100,000 women who are part of The Mom Project’s marketplace, who explained that a lack of childcare created challenges preparing for, or even attending, job interviews.
“It was evident that job-seeking moms were in need of an innovative, trustworthy and often ‘on short notice’ childcare solution to focus fully on bringing their best selves to the interview process,” said Mom Project CEO Allison Robinson. “This partnership underscores our commitment at The Mom Project to build a comprehensive support system for moms as they set, pursue and achieve their career goals. Our work with UrbanSitter is the first of many partnership initiatives we will bring to market to further support moms.”
The new partnership will offer any mom who secures an employer interview through The Mom Project marketplace a $75 babysitting credit from UrbanSitter. Every single member of The Mom Project will also receive a free first month of membership on UrbanSitter.
“At UrbanSitter we strive to meet the diverse demands of childcare,” said Lynn Perkins, CEO and co-founder of UrbanSitter. “As a company created by women for women, we are proud to work with The Mom Project to provide a crucial support network for thousands of mothers across the country who are pursuing their career goals in 2019.”
To learn more about the partnership, or to sign up for the program, please visit www.themomproject.com.
The Mom Project is the leading career destination for moms. With a community of over 100,000 talented professionals and more than 1,000 companies, The Mom Project is committed to building a better workplace for mothers and the businesses they support.
UrbanSitter is an app and website that’s making it easier than ever for parents to find, book and pay trusted childcare, from date nights to full-time care. Only UrbanSitter taps into a parent’s personal network to connect them with sitters of friends, co-workers, moms groups and parents from their kid’s school—to find a sitter they trust. With more than 1 million registered users in more than 50 cities, UrbanSitter is solving the childcare dilemma for families everywhere. The company is backed by Advance Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, DBL Investors, First Round Capital, Match Group – a division of IAC, Menlo Ventures, Rustic Canyon, Aspect Ventures, A-Grade Investments and several angel investors.
SOURCE The Mom Project; UrbanSitter
Related Links
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Opening photo, themomproject.com photo credit via Glassdoor
https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=111&c=23
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_parent
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/02/08/letter-cost-rises-as-quality-child-care-becomes-more-scarce/
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/child-care-costs-just-hit-a-new-high-2018-10-22
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326660
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/428042-legislation-even-a-divided-congress-can-pass
https://www.urbansitter.com/about-us
