From 54 cents to 5 cents in a day

It seems so wrong, doesn't it?

You have touched on an important point. Here in the US, many parents, especially in the lower socio-economic strata, have abdicated responsibility for raising their children to day care and the schools.

@DWDavis Being busy working is never an excuse to poor parenting. If only these parents who abdicate their responsibilities can see the consequences of their actions and the face of the future they might have a change of priorities.

@flapiz My wife and I never let our busy work schedules keep us from being involved in everything our boys were involved in from sports to Scouts to school activities. Our sons' friends parents were doctors, lawyers, CPAs, and business executives. Somehow they found time to be there for their kids too. So we have very little patience for parents who claim to be too busy to be part of their kids lives.

I don't think they'll go back either and I think the government wants it that way. It gets the kids into pre-schools and schools much sooner so they can be indoctrinated into the idea the government knows what's best for them better than their parents do.

Stay-at-home parents *don't* (left out the don't the first time) earn taxable income and governments will use any propaganda they can to convince people to become active taxpayers.

@pgntwo Getting the kids out of the home and into the "system" as young as possible allows the government to indoctrinate the kids into looking to the government rather than their parents for guidance and leadership.

@DWDavis And handing over responsibility for the child to a (qualified) stranger is meant to help society, or the next generation of it, how? (I'm trying to find out if my thought process is flawed, it's not mean to sound like an interrogation!)

Did you have a babysitter in your home, did you stay at the babysitter's home, or did you stay at a daycare center? I think it makes a world of difference if the children are cared for in their own home by a dedicated au pair or nanny.

@DWDavis We were cared for at home once I was about 2and my older brother was 8. Before that we were at a babysitters house. I don't think there were day care centres 60 years ago.

I didn't realize it was so in Switzerland, also. It seems to be the case everywhere in the developed world these days.

@DWDavis l think our biggest problem here is the high cost of living,we earn well $25 Macdonalds worker(maybe abit more or less,but this is the cheapest paid job),but if you have to pay over $1,800 for a 4 room apartment then the money does not go very far. Grocery is definately not cheap either

I agree completely. My mother ran a home daycare when I was ten or eleven. When my youngest sister was old enough to start kindergarten, my mom closed her home daycare and took a part time job that let her be home when we got home from school.

I've know teaching colleagues who, when they had their third child, realized that once their spouse recalculated withholding at married claiming five and the amount they would save on daycare and other related expenses to having my colleague keep teaching, it made more sense for her to stay home than to work. Of course that's based on NC teacher pay, which is among the lowest in the nation.

I have studied a lot of those statistics and you are right. However, many daycares don't help the children learn to interact in a socially appropriate way. The adults do not have the time, with so many to care for, to model and enforce appropriate social behavior.

I agree about the bad parenting, and daycare and after school programs have improved a lot over the last ten to twelve years. Here in NC, they started requiring day care providers to be qualified and licensed, which had not been in affect before. Prior to that, most of the daycares I visited were basically of the warehousing mentality with very little structure and minimum supervision.

I wholeheartedly agree. That is one of the many reasons I left public accounting. 60 hours a week or more most of the year and 70+ hours a week during tax season left me no time for my sons. I've never regretted my decision.

It was a vicious cycle that began decades ago. As the stay-at-home parent started working part time to bring in some extra money, businesses began to raise prices and governments began to raise taxes to take advantage of this. Thus, just to be able to afford what one income used to buy, more stay-at-home parents had to find work, which led to a second round or price and tax increases, and so on.

I don't think the mom is always the one best suited to spend time with the kids. In my personal case, I think me letting my career in accounting go to be able to spend more time with the boys while my wife continued to advance in her corporate career made a lot more sense. Being a teacher let me have a fulfilling occupation and let me have as much time with my sons as they needed. I do agree with your solution that, with the realities of today's world, parents should spend as much time with their children as much attentive and instructive time with their children as possible.

After school programs for school age children are not a bad idea. I'd like to see more extra-curricular activities offered such as 4-H and Scouts at elementary and middle schools.