Keeping It in the Family

I'm taking advantage of Max's nap-a-thon to write about another issue that's quickly becoming kind of a passion of mine. . . family child care advocacy!  Let me throw some stats at you first, Gentle Reader (courtesy of a 2009 survey from NACCRRA, the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agency).  These are averages from the state of California:

• Number of children (age 0-6) needing care due to one or both working parents: 1,700,796 (over 50% of all the children in the state)
• Average yearly fees for infant care in a full-time child care center: $11,580 (!)
• Average yearly fees for infant care in a full-time family child care: $7,937 (!!)
• Average annual tuition for a 4-year state college: $5,346 (!!!)
• Number of family child care homes in CA: 38,132
• Percentage of family child care homes that are nationally-accredited: a measly 0.82% (the rate of accredited child care centers is higher at 6.5%)
• 65% of total available slots are in child care centers; 35% are in family child cares

Times are Hard but You Can Still Feel Good About Shopping

My friend Adam gave me the head's up on Mamabargains.com.  It's like Gilt Group for the playground set- limited amounts of high-end goods on super discount.  Check it out!  I'm all for supporting small business, dare I say, mom-preneurs. 

Mamabargains.com