This week’s family-related news coverage included insights into the far reaching detrimental effects of low pay for child care workers, an interview with the filmmaker of “Loving,” a thought provoking piece on the ethics of using technology to spy on your kids, a look at the intense struggle and strength needed to parent in Haiti today, a real FamilyKind story of parents who peacefully divorced with the help of a skilled mediator, and finally an opinion piece from last month extolling the benefits of evidenced-based parent education.
Poverty Wages for U.S. Child Care Workers May Be Behind High Turnover Jennifer Ludden, NPR, November 7, 2016 Nationwide, average pay for child care workers is less than $10 an hour. Specialists in early education say low pay doesn’t just hurt child care workers, it has an negative effect on babies and toddlers, too, and poses a major challenge in creating high-quality child care.
‘Loving’ Aims to Speak Softly to History Logan Hill, The New York Times, November 8, 2016 In 1958, Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving, an interracial couple, were married in Washington, D.C. A short time later, back home in Virginia, the pregnant Mrs. Loving and her new husband, a bricklayer, were yanked out of their bed by police enforcing the state’s Racial Integrity Act, which prohibited interracial marriage. This film is a touching look at what it means to love in a time of overt racism.
Should You Spy on Your Kids? Nick Wingfield, The New York Times, November 9, 2016 Digital monitoring is becoming common even among people who view themselves as mindful of the boundaries with their children and partners. What are the ethical considerations?
Mothers-To-Be Struggle, Worry in Ruins of Storm-Hit Haiti Association Press, The New York Times, November 10, 2016 Even in the best of times, pregnancy and childbirth is risky in Haiti, which has the highest maternal mortality ratio in the Western Hemisphere. Throughout the disaster zone, health clinics and hospitals have been badly damaged and medicine is in short supply. Parents still have hope. “We lost the things we had. But we’re not lost.”
Finding a New Kind of Partnership Through Divorce NPR Staff, November 10, 2016 “And so our mediators did such a wonderful job of keeping us in the room until we were both satisfied. …Just keeping your eye on the prize. …We’re still a family. We’re just going to be a different kind of family…”
Parenting 101 Meg Akabas, The New York Times, October 18, 2016 The writer is chairwoman-elect of the National Parenting Education Network. Evidence-based parenting education produces more competent parents and provides substantial long-term return on investment in terms of healthier children, better education, and lower crime and drug use. Universal access to parenting education could result in significant human and financial cost savings for our country.
To suggest articles for inclusion in the FamilyKind Weekly News Roundup please email us at info@familykind.org.
Comments