Take care of your own kids

society has shifted in the ideology of 2 parent homes. Listen to the rap beats today, seems the message to young men is "Hit it and quit it" the struggle of buying groceries and paying doctors visits rest soley on the females. Have a good time boys and don't worry about 2moro, it will be all HER responsibility.

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If the premise is "families can't make it on one income anymore, I can't accept that. Because the statement isn't true, for all families, all the time, even in this day and age. And I have skin in the game: I have children and we are a one-income family, working hard every day.

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LibbyC wrote, "However, the daycare crisis is not being caused by money-hungry child care centers." So then it must be caused by people who are so poor they can't even afford to stay home.

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All we have to do is take our instructions from the self righteous people with all the answers. Once they render their judgement upon the rest of us and decide for us whether or not we can have children, then we can proceed.

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At some point the money requested, will run out. You can't continue to pay higher wages from a saving account you're not replenishing. It's very hard, especially with the cost of everything going up, to live on one income. One works nights & one works days is an option...it's a tough one but you have to do what you need to survive. Staying home isn't as easy choice as you make it seem. I stay home but have a licensed daycare to...just because you have kids doesn't make this an option for everyone. It's not just "babysitting" & a lot of providers quit because it's not as easy as they thought. The real problem with this bill is the changes they want to make to the teacher ratios. One person shouldn't watch 5 kids under 18 mos nor should the amount be changed for max. numbers from 18 to 30 kids in a group setting. Safety & proper care for each child is at risk. I've paid nearly double the amounts they charge in Minot in other places with my oldest child. Cost of liv

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LibbyC said "...the childcare crisis is just another example of how this wealth is being achieved on the backs of the common people who must live with the negative impacts but not receive any of the benefits."

I couldn't have said it better myself, and like I said before, some people want to blame the victim for the problems that someone else caused.

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EarlyBird, I agree... "your posts echo the new norm of gouging..."

However, the daycare crisis is not being caused by money-hungry child care centers. See the letter to the editor dated February 17th entitled Thanking Legislators written by Alexandra Deufel, Burlington. Alex tells the back story to this crisis very well. The lack of this awareness is why “Take Care of your Own Kids,” is insensitive. The writer should have tried to understand the topic better before offering his “expert” opinion.

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"...you speak as if there has never been a tough time in which families raise children until now. That is a falsehood. The only difference is the number of people who believe that the government needs to cover their alleged needs."

Spot on, disgusted. Most, if not almost all, of parenting is hard work, hard choices, self-sacrifice of parents/children for the good of the whole unit, the family.

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Libby, you speak as if there has never been a tough time in which families raise children until now. That is a falsehood. The only difference is the number of people who believe that the government needs to cover their alleged needs. That thinking is what is killing this country.

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LibbyC your posts echo the new norm of gouging for all you can get. If you are in the Minot area you know what happened to the prices of all necessities, it's crazy.

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Is it the state's fault that ardurous rules and regulations drive folks not to offer childcare, or is the current childcare provider trying to extort as much money as they can, like many of the landlords in the city? I don't know. If it's the state, and they changed the rules would that help? If that's the case, maybe that's where the argument/case should be made.

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Politicians extol ND’s prosperity and the surplus created by the oil industry. But sadly, the childcare crisis is just another example of how this wealth is being achieved on the backs of the common people who must live with the negative impacts but not receive any of the benefits.

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Yes, there are many options that parents must weigh and many difficult decisions will be made.

The fact is that the cost of childcare is rapidly increasing and will undoubtedly go much higher. This is a situation that nobody could have forecast, so the "if you can’t afford kids, don’t have them," argument is invalid, uninformed and insensitive. The issue is being misconstrued as a socialist agenda. Parents should not get free childcare, but there IS a limit to how much families can pay, and there needs to be a market in existence for families to even be able to purchase the service. The market is on the verge of collapse, and if is allowed to, the consequences will be far reaching. This is not a simple case of lazy or entitled parents.

continued...

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Head Start Program is a failure. In the report released by HHS in Oct 2012 shows that by the time the child reaches 3rd grade, there is no benefit. I'm not trying to be mean-spirited, but there are options.

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Hi Libby, in response to your comments may I offer this as an option you may not have considered? How about one parent working one shift and the other parent working a different shift. Is that tough ... you bet it is and was in my case, but that's the price I payed for raising children in this environment and not wanting to go on any government subsidy. You see, I'm not a real big fan of the whole social net program thing. Once the govt starts one, it grows out of control and in excess, and gets really abused. So, once it was an enlightened program ... now becomes a burden for tax payer to keep the abusers in their lifestyle. Welfare and unemployment come to mind. Additionaly, the $8B (yep, Billion)

Cont ...

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"I invite you all to educate yourselves fully on an issue before doling out advice to others on how to live their lives."

LibbyC, plenty of families in ND do live on one income. I know them. It does take hard work by both parents, but it can be done. Plus, my family is a one-income family, so I do have boots on the ground with this issue.

No worries though. Most of the posts on this topic talk about how the state shouldn't have to be responsible for a family's childcare, to be paid for with others' taxes. I agree with that viewpoint.

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Oh, that it were so simple! It’s guaranteed that parents dealing with this issue have already seriously considered the option of one partner stay at home with the kids. How could they not? It’s really too bad that most people need to work (and that families need 2 incomes these days) in order to pay essential bills and keep health insurance. But why should realities such as these complicate the discussion?

This letter and the ensuing comments, demonstrate that the writer and many others have no notion of the scope of the problem and its effects not only on individuals, but on communities as a whole; not to mention the reality of what it takes to raise a family (during the present day) in Western North Dakota. I invite you all to educate yourselves fully on an issue before doling out advice to others on how to live their lives.

p.s. Isn't it a bit cowardly to leave scathing comments anonymously? If an opinion is to be validy, shouldn't it be owned?

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Hey, thanks, guys & gals, for getting me up to speed on this "I better get educated so I can get a better job to pay more taxes" thing.

Just what friends are for...

:-)

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OH, locomotive, no no no, we want them to get higher paying jobs so they can pay higher taxes to pay for the next slub who want the government to pay for their way through life!

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Early Bird that's is exactly where we are going. Obama now wants YOUR KID in his GOPVERNMENT run school at the age of 4. It is against the law not to send your kid to school.

Who runs the schools the Government!!!

Our kids are being raised by the Government. In many schools they now get 3 meals a day. How long will it be before they put up dorms at the taxpayers expense and just keep your kid.

Government schools are what is raising your kids.

Not to funny Early Bird..Its a for sure situation in the future. Look how schools fight home schooling and charter schools and private schools. These are all options to Government run schools and the school districts do not like it at all.

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It's funny old Ginsburgh hasn't passed some sort of law making it illegal for parents to raise their own kids.

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"Then with their improved education they could get higher paying jobs so they could pay more taxes."

Early, I sure hope this was said tongue-in-cheek.

:-)

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People are missing an opportunity to improve their own lives and the lives of their children. Here is a novel idea, the parent who decides to be a homemaker could be awarded with free online college courses for the four years it takes to get the kids to preschool. Then with their improved education they could get higher paying jobs so they could pay more taxes.

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I just can't believe that a parent staying home for 4 years to care for their own children would be to much to ask of them. On that note I also say if you don't want them let somebody adopt them that is willing to care for them during the most impressionable time of their lives.

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