It is a HUGE problem. We have no good system. Daycare is often so expensive that it costs as much as one parent’s salary, and so some families just have one parent stay at home to care for their kid(s) because it’s no more expensive than paying for daycare, and at least they get to spend time with their kid that way.

Nannies sound like a luxury, but if your only other option is daycare, and if you have more than one kid, they do end up being the cheaper option for a lot of families, crazily enough. But overall, our country has a serious, serious problem with childcare. There are no decent affordable options for most people. We…

She used to be in that one show, back when we were kids....what was it called?

My mum is a very healthy 59 and even she says a few days with the grandkids is exhausting.

I think a lot of that mindset is cultural. I’m Mexican and it’s the norm to have grandma watch the kids for next to nothing while we go off to work. I don’t live near family and when I discussed daycare options for my child with my mom she was taken aback by it, as if it was an outlandish idea to take my child to…

As someone who was raised by grandparents I can understand how it could be frustrating. My grandparents bent over backwards to help my parents when they got married*, but when I had kids my own parents were too busy/caught up in their own bullshit to help with anything.

Mind you I didn’t bother asking them, because…

My mother is 65, she did a 3 weeks of picking up my brother’s 2 year old and 5 year old from school and looking after them until 6pm. She said at the end she was exhausted and needed a holiday.

I’m a nanny myself, and I’ve been shocked by how easily some people will hand their kids off to me having met me maybe once. Guess they don’t have much of a choice though. There’s also the difficulties that people may not forsee, like when the nanny gets sick or car breaks down and you’re shit out of luck to get to…

My mum did school/nursery drop off and pick up for 3 weeks while my SiL did a course. She liked it but said she would never agree to it full time. She’s a woman in her 60's with a bit of cash who still consults, she doesn’t want to look after kids full time, I don’t think she wanted to look after me and my brother…

And most grandparents are older to start. My parents are 74 this year. Spending all day with a 5 and 9 year old drains them. 2 days in a row and they hibernate for a week after. They are in pretty sound shape too.

Well yeah. Fifty years ago, the average age for a first-time grandmother was probably in the low-mid 40s, and women were far less likely to be working, so “have mom take care of the grandkids” was a valid option for a lot of new parents. Now, with women more likely to work, and work later, a lot of grandparents will…

An individual nanny is absolutely a luxury. High quality centers should be a realistic option. Relying on one individual has its share of difficulties, and risks. Lower quality centers have their shares of risks too. A high quality place with several well-paid workers and plenty of oversight, and you reduce…

Her talents are called “Adderall” and “being a raging mean rage clown to everyone around her while talking really fast.”

That stuff is literally the worst. Have a salad for lunch and two real glasses of wine, ladies. That Skinnygirl shit is nasty.

yes its terrible and over priced

Don’t forget the Skinnyshakes and skinny chocolate! It’s a Skinny Empire.

This type of compassion and decency doesn’t even come at the expense of the letter of the law; it elevates the law.

Depends, do you consider “talent” an ability to make everyone around her as uncomfortable as possible just by being near them?

When you sit in a court of law day in and day out, it’s easy to forget that your litigants are human beings with lives outside of the justice system. Good on Judge Wolf for not forgetting and for not being afraid to sometimes let common sense prevail over the black letter law. She is a credit to the bar.

Wait. Is this story heartwarming or heartbreaking? On the one hand, it seems very sweet of the police to cook for these two and offer them a bit of company. On the other, I cannot get my own Italian grandparents (Nonno and Nonna) out of my head. They are alone in their house and I have never cooked THEM pasta! Nonna…