Balancing Act

How many young moms and dads are trying to juggle way too many things at once?  Kids, taking care of your home, school, work, friends, family, etc etc and the list goes on and on.. I find it EXTREMELY hard to set aside time for myself, I find myself neglecting me very often.  However, there is still that negative connotation of young parents as being lazy, that horrible term "welfare mommies", bad parents , neglectful, and always out partying/drinking rather than taking care of their kids.  I resent these views SO much, being a mom who is trying to juggle so many things at once, I hate that I always have to deal with those negative stereotypes and comments I've heard in the past here and there.  I work hard, I am tired ALL the time, I never get to "pamper" myself anymore, buy myself nice clothes, or even hang out with friends.  Between my daughter, school, and housework, I am constantly busy, over loaded with work, and exhausted.  Not to mention the lack of social service programs there are out there for young parents or single parents, it's really hard to find adequate support that we so greatly need.  Speaking of which though, there is a sign outside my daycare saying they are opening this "Jane Street Hub" not too far from me, which will apparently be a drop-in center for parents in the area, doctors/dentists etc, play area, counselling, and all other sorts of great resources.  THIS is what I am talking about.  I was so happy to see this poster up.  Anyways, thats what I'm thinking right now.  Any thoughts?

First Rant - CHILDCARE!

How many of you have had to/are currently dealing with subsidy or daycare issues?  Subsidy is ridicously hard to come by; not to mention all of the cuts they made this past summer - there is a serious issue with lack of funding, especially in areas of Toronto that need it most.  I know of too many mothers who are trying to start school, or work, but who can't get subsidy, or are told their child is so old that there is a two year wait, or who can't find a spot in a decent daycare.  This should not be happening! A lot of us may be young mothers, single mothers, whatever the case may be, and access to childcare and funding is what we need in order to succeed, get off of government assistance for those on it, get out of public housing, build equity, and just build a future for us and our children.  Why can the government not see it like that?  This is what I don't get - they WANT all of the mothers to get off welfare, but then they don't offer enough funding for subsidy (not to mention the strict rules - you must be working for 2 weeks to get subsidy, how the hell can you do that if you dont have childcare????, or the letters that keep getting sent to my daycare threatening to remove my child from subsidy because I'm a DAY LATE in sending in my proof of enrollement, like really??), so therefore, if there isn't enough funding for susbsidy, thousands of moms are forced to remain on welfare until their child is school age so that they can go to school finally.  How does this make sense - I don't think the government has thought about their subsidy cuts in this way.  Not to mention the fact that once you are in daycare and have funding, if you are a minute late, at most daycares, thats gonna cost you a dollar! And what if you have to be at work at 7am, but your daycare doesn't open till then, or what if you have to work until 6pm but that's when your daycare closes?  In our city, there are VERY few daycares that are available evenings or weekends, they have extremely long waitlists, and most do not accept subsidy.  Why is it becoming so impossible for young mothers, or fathers, to work, or complete their school? There is a serious need for more government attention on daycare availability, and subsidy funding!!