Childcare
When Single Mothers Make Too Much for Government Help But Too Little to Pay the Bills
For a single mom with two children in Jefferson County, covering life’s most basic expenses — rent, food, some health insurance — costs about $49,000 a year. A new report from the Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham surveyed single mothers who work full-time, and who earn less than $30,000 a year. WBHM’s Gigi Douban spoke […]
What Alabamians Think About The Free Range Parenting Debate
In a scene from the film adaptation from of Harper Lee’s "To Kill a Mocking Bird," Scout, Jim and Dill walk unaccompanied through town. Adults they pass just smile and nod. Now take into account these kids are ten, six and seven-years-old. Back then, that didn’t seem out of the ordinary. But recently, there’s been a rise in the number of parents getting in trouble with authorities for letting their kids walk or play alone outside. Nick Patterson is the editor of the weekly newspaper WELD, and he wrote about free range parenting in this week’s edition. Patterson tells WBHM’s Rachel Lindley about this new—and old—parental philosophy.
Family Values? Politicians On Maternity and Paternity Benefits For Alabama Patents
Sunday was Mother's Day and the love was flowing around the state and the nation, but there's not so much love for mothers and fathers when it comes to paternity and maternity benefits for Alabama parents. Despite all of our talk about family values, Alabama Media Group political columnist says the United States has family leave laws that are antiquated by even the healthcare standards of third world countries, and Alabama has an infant mortality rate worse than Ukraine. Whitmire discusses the landscape of political morality versus taking action with WBHM's Chris Osborne.
Childcare in Birmingham
For families with young children in the Birmingham area, a report released Monday may present an already familiar reality. The survey by the non-profit Childcare Resources found the number of childcare programs in the area dropping while costs are on the rise. WBHM's Andrew Yeager spoke with Executive Director Joan Wright about this snapshot of childcare from 2003 to 2007. He began by asking what's behind that drop in the number of childcare programs.
