MillieF

Absolutely, but if you can't afford child care, it's often the woman, rather than the man, who gets penalized...not always, but more often. Many European countries (yes, let's hear it for all those wonderful Scandanavians) have taken this on board and ensured affordable, great child care.

Oink

Couldn't you combine the two and work from home while looking after the kids or take them with you? Or you even get them to help with the work. Are they old enough to operate a lawn mower or pick up dog poo?

Dashie

The youngest isn't old enough to sit up on her own yet lol!

Find me a job that allows for either. Even working from home they need occupying. If I forego sleep completely then maybe... or a decent part time job that pays more than minimum wage retail. I've not had any luck with that here either.

Oink

What about proof-reading for manuscripts for a publishing company? I believe you can take a course, probably online, that'll give you the necessary skills. Then you just pick them up or have them sent you and you edit them at home.

ExKiwilass

the problem is that while we frame this as a 'women's' issue it's easy to stick it in that ghetto and ignore it. And I don't even think it's true. It's not like you can divide out what effects the mother and child and say it doesn't effect the father - this issue effects the whole family. If a parent is staying home because child care is too expensive, that effects the whole family because of the pressure that goes on the sole breadwinner and the financial sacrifices in general. This is NOT a women's issue, it's a human family issue.

Dashie

I've looked into that, and almost took the course based on the company selling it telling me exactly that, then I got to know a couple of people in publishing. Most publishers either use in house proof-readers/copy editors, and expect a few years of working under their watchful eye before they let you work from home, or agencies, who again want experience before they take you on, neither are particularly keen on those online courses and would rather you did something like the publishing course at Ryerson. Freelancing is very hard to get into, and it's pretty well impossible to start that way apparently.

Shame really, because I think I would enjoy that. Now I just need to find someone to watch the children while I train and work... Oh. Ah.

MillieF

No! This is absolutely NOT a women's issue. However...women are so poorly represented in North America by a) women b)men c) companies and corporate policies d) politicians and political policies that I fear one might as well throw the towel in.....don't you find it positively backward here with regard to females in general? I am hoping that this might just be the fault of backward NB? If it is I apologise profusely....but this Province is really 'quite' the pits

ExKiwilass

I don't find it backward in Vancouver, I find it enlightened in lots of ways. But Vancouver is not conservative and I don't think Van is typical of a lot of Canada. More unbelievers here than in most other parts of Canada, for example.

Howefamily

We found it more expensive in the UK for summer childcare tbh. The summer camp is $60 a week here, or our childminder has ours for $50 a day (for two)... It was GBP87 a day per child in the UK (nursery). For us, its way more affordable here for childcare at any time than it was back in Blighty

Eddmac

When we do the move, my wife will initially be staying at home. Partially due to child care costs and mostly due to wanting to help our 8 year old boy settle in.

The reason it's my wife staying at home, is that I have been offered a job in BC and she hasn't, nothing to do with sex. If she had the job and I didn't, I would be staying at home ( a reason I think she hasn't been looking too hard lol)

Our costs in the UK are £27 per day, for comparison.

Almost Canadian

I wonder how many people actually believe that their children are better off with a day care provider than with one of their parents. Family law Judges, from my experience, appear to believe the complete opposite.

ExKiwilass

I think it depends on the carer, AC. And on the parent.

Almost Canadian

I don't disagree. However, I have never seen a judge make an Order that a child is to be parented by a parent that will place them into day care, if the other parent is at home, all other things being equal. When lawyers attempt to argue against such a position, the Judge will usually deliver the lawyer's head to them on a platter and will make references such as, "... I have attended countless seminars by the leading experts on the subject that lead me to believe that ..."

ExKiwilass

ok, not sure what that has to do with this thread, but ok. However you do live in AB... more conservative there.

Almost Canadian

The experts are not, necessarily, from AB

Apologies for thread drift