“Child care is so substandard in the United States…. Child care centers can’t afford to invest in training and there is high turnover because the workers have to feed their families. And, ironically, parents still can’t afford it!” reiterates Blades.
In a phone interview last week, Blades outlined tragic statistics that show how having a child in America is the leading cause of “a poverty spill” for families. Trying to pay for child care has stretched family budgets so severely that a USA Today article last year reported some families spend more than thirty percent of their incomes on child care alone. For some, that results in dramatic decisions for the family—such as leaving a job, selling a house, or moving to another state with cheaper housing and child care costs.
Just three years ago, I made my own personal sacrifice. For working moms, it isn’t anything new, we all understand and accept these as just what women do in America. When living in Los Angeles, I was offered an amazing job as a journalism instructor at an LA university with the caveat of mentoring the university newspaper. I was completely excited about the opportunity and was told I would be able to continue freelance endeavors as I didn’t want to give up writing for certain magazines. I had mentally decided to take the job until I visited the campus day care facility.
Insert sound of a record rip here.
I wasn’t prepared to leave my then fifteen-month-old son in an over-crowded center, regardless of its good reputation. One of my friends had been on its waiting list for six months and couldn’t believe I didn’t approve. But, I spent three hours at the center and felt differently. I found myself sitting in the hot sun while 30+ toddlers were playing with water hoses and running around water tables under a make-shift tent in a parking lot area outside the center. Teachers were gossiping to one another and not interacting with the children very much. One was on her cell phone. I saw one child sitting in the bright sun just staring in the distance. I put a hat on him and then walked away. And do you know what? That center would have eaten almost half—yes half—of my salary. (Clearly, journalists don’t earn a lot and Los Angeles has some of the highest child care costs in the country, but still!)
