Post #10

For the women in Chaudry’s book, life is learning to constantly adapt to the curveballs they are thrown, balance life, and becoming as flexible as they can. This includes everything from reorganizing budgets, trying to find affordable and safe childcare, and trying to organize work schedules.

Life is filled with finding balance between work and childcare situations. “Mothers in the sample spent enormous amounts of time and energy developing strategies for work and childcare”. Some women scheduled work around childcare, others schedule childcare around work, and Chaudry points out that all of the mothers had a hard time determining which to prioritize because of the importance of each.

We know that preschools and childcare centers are the best situations to have children in. However, when the government does not step up and force all childcare centers to be certified and force caregivers to be certified teachers or social workers, the centers are become unsafe for children in multiple ways. “Quality preschool programs can serve as both a balm and a developing force for children coping with the severe stresses of their family’s poverty,” Chaudry says. Why do we continue to provide substandard services to the nation’s poor?

After finishing this book, I have come to realize that the United States does not provide adequate childcare and policies for all families. The government absolutely needs to reform our welfare system and public services so that people have a chance at improving their lives. There are so many people struggling to make ends meet and live day-to-day, paycheck-to-paycheck. Chaudry argues that the government needs to increase funding for childcare programs. The government also needs to reform their policies to make life easier for single working mothers. Chaudry argues that there should be a government-approved limit on the amount of income a person can spend on childcare. Chaudry says that a family should not have to spend more than 10% of their income on childcare. If you compare that to the 18% that most families spend, being able to save the extra 8% in income could make the difference in families’ abilities to fulfill other financial obligations.

Chaudry argues that kin care was extremely important in helping mothers keep their jobs, but it was unreliable at best. Workingwomen cannot constantly expect that their family members will be able to provide permanent care for their children.

If we look at the statistics, we find that millions of children are living in poverty. One in five children in the US are impoverished, and this needs to change. Too many families fall below the poverty line. The poverty measure itself is an inadequate method for determining who deserves help and who does not. As the National Center for Children in Poverty states, “Research consistently shows that, on average, families need an income of about twice the federal poverty level to make ends meet.” This needs to change.

When their primary form of employment did not provide enough income, some women turned to alternative forms of income, unfortunately turning to drug money and possibly prostitution. This needs to change.

Welfare policy in the United States needs to be changed to help people. If it stands the way it is, we will continue to systematically force people to stay impoverished. Not only does it need to be completely reformed, it needs to be made a much easier system for families.

Chaudry argues the following:
- There needs to be an increase in the available care options and supports for families with infants;
- There needs to be more educational investments to foster early childhood development;
- There needs to be improved access to childcare systems and continuity in care needs to be promoted;
- And all eligible families must be provided with childcare assistance.

I almost feel embarrassed that the US treats millions of people like they do not matter, like they are not worth helping. I think that Chuadry’s arguments are well-founded and something needs to be done quickly if we want to see any difference in the numbers of people in poverty. The political mentality in the United States needs to change from being one of constant subordination and no support to one that sees the working poor as people too.