Part-time Lover
September 16, 2009
“Are you a stay-at-home mom?” It’s a common question when I’m at the local playground with my two kids, yet I’m finding my answer to be more uncommon than I ever expected.
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Childcare & Early Education
Affordable, quality preschool and childcare---yes please!
September 15, 2009
In a moment of maternal defeat, I decided that my son's future wife will just have to deal with his attachment to pacifiers. Yes, we all have our early challenges. And some, like affordable quality preschool and childcare, are bigger than others. So, it's music to my ears that Congress just introduced the new Early Learning Challenge Fund to Address some key early learning challenges.
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Coming This Fall: Larger Class Sizes
July 26, 2009
Despite billions of dollars in stimulus funds pumped into school systems across the country, districts in urban and rural settings alike will open their doors this fall with as many as 45 students in class. I have written about this before, but still, reading this story by the Associated Press left...
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Gillibrand: Make Child Care Affordable and Take the Burden Off Working Parents
July 6, 2009
More parents than ever are balancing work and raising children. When I was growing up, just over one-third of mothers with young children worked outside the home. Today, it’s nearly two-thirds. The cost of quality child care is steadily increasing across New York. families across New York are...
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Time to Turn Over Those Couch Cushions!
June 19, 2009
If my family budget was in such deep crisis that I didn't have enough money to feed my kids, I would turn over every cushion looking for spare change, get a weekend job, or sell things in a yard sale. I'd do anything I could to find new ways to bring new money in the door before eliminating the...
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In what universe are candy bars NOT junk food?
June 17, 2009
Which of the following is considered a junk food according to national school nutrition standards? A. Hi-C Blast - vitamin fortified sugar water B. Poland Springs seltzer water - water with bubbles C. French fries D. Candy Bars If you guessed A, C or D you'd be wrong. Believe it or not, seltzer...
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Rescuing our kids from too much princess glitter and camo gear: TV
May 28, 2009
When I was a kid I wasn’t allowed to watch anything but PBS. I was completely out of the loop and constantly teased for my lameness. I will never do that to my kids! Kids loving TV is a reality for parents, and it can be a positive force. But a SurveyUSA poll of 1000 parents finds that more...
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Are you working a "Second Shift"?
May 15, 2009
Does the Second Shift still apply? I’m re-reading Arlie Hochschild’s 1989 classic in preparing a syllabus for a course on 21st Century feminism. Hochschild’s findings were clear and familiar to many women: when they get home from work, many women with children work a “second shift” of domestic and...
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