We interrupt this stream of over-elaborate, handmade doll house posts to bring you this important breaking news: half the parents in the Washington DC area are pulling their kids out of daycare and dropping them at grandma's or the neighbor's or in front of Nickelodeon with a phone, because they can't child care it anymore.
Not to nitpick, but couldn't the Washington Post have punched up the bright side of this story, about how layoffs enable parents to spend more time with their kids? After all, the banks did suspend foreclosures through Christmas. Or how about a trend piece where dads lose their jobs and end up taking care of the kids? [The licensing alone will put Laid-Off Dad's kids through college.] And then if we just hold on until The Obama comes, it'll be Mandarin-speaking nannies and $1500 dollhouses for everyone!
My wife and I have already agreed if one of us gets laid off we'll probably be staying home with the kids. Fingers crossed we still have jobs in 09 of course, but it has been discussed. I'm sure parents everywhere have thought about it.
That's no big news. I have been a trendsetter for years by staying home with my kids rather than lose money every month sending them to daycare.
Same here, happily able to afford to stay at home on Long Island. Renting. One car. LI haircuts;) No vacations for now, got NYC instead. It's awesome to raise a kid myself and watch it become...
I beat the curve by three + years by quitting my job a few months ahead of the baby's arrival (the then unknown Teufelskind) to wrap up a few projects around the house (finishing details to 1k sq ft of travertine flooring, and to build a 'farnsworth-like 12'x4.74' walnut dining table. Figuring that I'd never have the chance once the sprog arrived.)
I've been home with the little devil since the start, and will be until he's in full-day school, which will probably start in 1.5 yrs.
Despite some rough times, I've really loved it, and am eternally grateful for the the opportunity I've had.
We've had to cut back (no annual Caribbean dive vacation, fewer meals out, etc, but in the big picture they were pretty small things to give up to give our son the start we felt he truly deserved.