Recently, I saw an article posted on a friend’s face book page titled, State to mom: Stop baby-sitting neighbors' kids . Upon reading the article, I was instantly outraged. “Really?”, I asked over and over in my mind as I was reading. You see, the Michigan Department of Human Services has decided that a mother agreeing to watch her neighbor’s kids for about an hour or so in the morning before the bus arrived would “be violating a law aimed at the operators of unlicensed day care centers.” As if being a good neighbor, helping out another mom is a crime that should be punished? I must ask the question again, really? Being a working mother is difficult enough without the added pressure the state wants to put on you and your support system.
At what point will societies give moms a break-- both the "stay-at-home" working mom and the "outside-the-home" working mom?
Knowing our kids are safe and get to school safe is a big deal. Having a neighbor kind enough to ensure that it happens so that you have peace of mind is a big deal. The fact that she does it for about an hour each morning should only be a big deal (in a good way) for her and her neighbors--not a big deal (in a bad way) to the state or the lawmakers. A little common sense will tell you the intent of the law they say she is breaking was not meant for her.
Give a mom a break--she's helping to raise the leaders of the future. Do you really need to pick on her? As mom I say stop. Stop picking on the moms in the world who are trying to do the right thing. Stop picking on the mom who is paying attention to her child’s needs and the needs of others. Stop saying no to the mom who is doing society a great service by ensuring that children are safe, rather than out on the streets doing whatever it is unsupervised kids do for about an hour each morning. Stop butting into a situation that clearly was not meant to be included in your day care laws. Common sense goes a long way. Michigan Department of Human Services--If you use a little common sense you would back off and allow this mom to continue with what she's doing. In other words, butt out!
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