At 08:11 PM 1/19/02, "Erik Reuter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>I think that the best point you made is about the cost of child care >rising 5 times faster than household income. I think that is certainly >worth discussing. Was any explanation given for the cause of this? Or >ideas on how to solve that problem? I remember reading that child care >is very expensive these days because of liability and fear of lawsuits. >Perhaps the current childcare regulations and expectations result in >inefficient childcare operations, and we need to find ways to make the >regulations encourage more efficiency? This is obviously a sticky issue >because efficiency and perceived safety are often at odds. But perhaps >it is possible to come up with a system that is both safe and efficient? >Obviously, if you have to devote 1 (well-qualified, unblemished record) >person to watching 1 child, it is going to be expensive. What can be >done to make it less so? The grade-school system in the US seems to do >an acceptable job, in most cases, of keeping children safe. Perhaps it >can be used as a model for daycare? Of course, one difference that comes to mind immediately between grade school and day care is that by the time they reach grade school age, the kids generally don't need such things as their diapers changed. Most working mothers, though, can't take off work until the kid is that old. Then there's the problem of what to do when the child is ill . . . Another point is that some people I know have their school-age children in an educational day-care program because they feel that the public schools do not do a good job of educating them. -- Ronn! :) God bless America, Land that I love! Stand beside her, and guide her Thru the night with a light from above. From the mountains, to the prairies, To the oceans, white with foam� God bless America! My home, sweet home. -- Irving Berlin (1888-1989)
