Westover: Summer childcare challenges parents
For many working parents, summer isn't the care-free respite we've been promised. It's more like a season of discontent.
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It's like an impossible-to-assemble puzzle of disparate pieces that don't fit neatly together: childcare, work obligations, family well-being.
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The challenge is especially acute for parents of tweens and young teens. Too old for traditional daycare but too young for jobs, these 11- to 14-year-olds crave independence, yet default to couches and screens when left to their own devices (pun intended).
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This summer, the refrain I kept hearing from parents was: 'What are you doing with your kids?'
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While our economy now runs on two-income households, our summer infrastructure hasn't caught up with this reality, leaving many families in a state of existential panic. The burden of untangling this Gordian Knot falls disproportionately on mothers; precisely the kind of invisible labour that has us awake at 3 a.m. frantically researching options or block-scheduling calendars before dawn.
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And despite the best-laid plans and the most water-tight preparation, the available solutions are imperfect at best, out of reach at worst.
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Traditional sleepaway camps offer that 'real summer experience,' but they're prohibitively expensive, book up months in advance, and often require lengthy stays. (This is why initiatives like Tim Horton's Camp Day matter so much. They extend opportunities to kids who would otherwise miss out.)
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Sports camps come with their own premium price tags. Even the more affordable city-run programs quickly add up over many weeks. And many of these programs typically run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. — hours misaligned with standard workdays. Parents must somehow cover the gaps at both ends, creating a daily logistical headache. To add insult to injury, oftentimes the kids don't want to be there, so the cost is financial and parental guilt is paid in interest.
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Even those who are counting down to a family vacation quickly discover two weeks away doesn't a summer make.
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While we pay lip service to equity, and lament the COVID-era outflow of women in the workforce, we're not doing much to lighten the load.
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Ottawa Citizen
a day ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Westover: Summer childcare challenges parents
Article content For many working parents, summer isn't the care-free respite we've been promised. It's more like a season of discontent. Article content It's like an impossible-to-assemble puzzle of disparate pieces that don't fit neatly together: childcare, work obligations, family well-being. Article content Article content The challenge is especially acute for parents of tweens and young teens. Too old for traditional daycare but too young for jobs, these 11- to 14-year-olds crave independence, yet default to couches and screens when left to their own devices (pun intended). Article content Article content This summer, the refrain I kept hearing from parents was: 'What are you doing with your kids?' Article content While our economy now runs on two-income households, our summer infrastructure hasn't caught up with this reality, leaving many families in a state of existential panic. The burden of untangling this Gordian Knot falls disproportionately on mothers; precisely the kind of invisible labour that has us awake at 3 a.m. frantically researching options or block-scheduling calendars before dawn. Article content And despite the best-laid plans and the most water-tight preparation, the available solutions are imperfect at best, out of reach at worst. Article content Traditional sleepaway camps offer that 'real summer experience,' but they're prohibitively expensive, book up months in advance, and often require lengthy stays. (This is why initiatives like Tim Horton's Camp Day matter so much. They extend opportunities to kids who would otherwise miss out.) Article content Article content Sports camps come with their own premium price tags. Even the more affordable city-run programs quickly add up over many weeks. And many of these programs typically run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. — hours misaligned with standard workdays. Parents must somehow cover the gaps at both ends, creating a daily logistical headache. To add insult to injury, oftentimes the kids don't want to be there, so the cost is financial and parental guilt is paid in interest. Article content Article content Even those who are counting down to a family vacation quickly discover two weeks away doesn't a summer make. Article content While we pay lip service to equity, and lament the COVID-era outflow of women in the workforce, we're not doing much to lighten the load.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Union recognizing growing role, higher demand for substitute teachers
Substitute teachers, who are in increasingly high demand in Manitoba's public schools, are getting more of a say within their union. The Manitoba Teachers' Society — one of the province's largest public-sector unions — is launching a committee in the fall to better represent the minority of its membership that covers sick calls, short-term absences and other casual postings. The union, which represents 16,600 public school teachers across the province, has long been led by educators who have experience in permanent and term positions. The Manitoba Teachers' Society building in Winnipeg (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files) While that remains the case, president Lillian Klausen said there's a newfound awareness among leadership about their substitute colleagues' unique and changing needs. Klausen cited the COVID-19 pandemic and the related changes to the demographic of people who are subbing. Historically, substitute pools were made up of retirees who were longtime members of MTS, she said. 'Now, we're seeing that our substitute teachers are coming from all over the place,' she said, noting there's a range of early and mid-career professionals who are prioritizing flexible work schedules. The union is hosting its fifth 'substitute seminar' at its Portage Avenue office at the end of the summer. The networking event is designed to mimic the orientation and team-building exercises organized for staff teams in kindergarten-to-Grade 12 schools. Isolation in the workplace is a huge challenge for substitutes, said Audrey Siemens, who has been picking up shifts in Winnipeg classrooms since she retired from the teaching profession in 2018. School officials could do a better job of welcoming them as guests and giving them a heads-up about upcoming events, said Siemens, founding chair of the substitute teacher concerns committee for the Retired Teachers Association of Manitoba. 'If administration takes the time to meet and greet the substitute, pop in a couple of times in the school day, a lot of (issues related to isolation and students' disrespectful behaviour) would be rectified,' she said. Citing feedback from fellow retirees, she said the inability for substitutes to seek compensation if they are injured on the job is a major deterrent to continuing to work part time in the K-12 system. Siemens said she's optimistic working conditions will improve as a result of the growing influence of substitutes in MTS. At its annual general meeting in the spring, the union's membership passed a resolution to create an internal committee 'to explore supports provided by the society to substitute members.' A total of $6,300 was earmarked for the committee's operations. 'Substitute teachers have always been in demand across the province, but never more than now,' wrote the unnamed teacher who submitted the resolution in their explanatory note. Weekday Mornings A quick glance at the news for the upcoming day. 'The society has a responsibility to support all members, including substitutes. More can be done.' The author argued that better support could assist in recruiting and retaining substitutes. A recent survey of 237 retired subs found just over 50 per cent of them plan to quit within four years. Five in 10 of all respondents indicated they were unsure when they would leave teaching permanently. An analysis of the data suggests these figures are likely to exacerbate the sub shortage in many divisions. Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Global News
08-08-2025
- Global News
Surging demand for B.C. charity's food hampers a ‘startling trend'
A Vancouver charity is sounding the alarm about growing food insecurity as it sees a surge in demand for its emergency food hamper service. The Union Gospel Mission launched its food hamper program early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the program, eligible clients can pick up a package of things like pasta, sauce, beans and other pantry staples, along with a grocery store gift card, up to four times a year. 1:58 Food bank demand still surging UGM spokesperson Nick Wells said in 2020 the program handed out 1,200 hampers, but that the need has since grown exponentially. Story continues below advertisement 'This year, as of June, we've already given out 4,200, so we're on pace to crack more than 8,000 this year, which is a startling trend,' he said. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I think it really speaks to the kind of food insecurity and the rising food costs that we're witnessing not just here in Vancouver, but across the province.' The common refrain from clients, Wells said, is that the rising cost of living has increasingly put healthy food out of reach. He said the UGM sees families of all sizes and types coming in, from single parents to multi-child families to grandparents raising their grandchildren like Hazel Arnold. 'We were homeless for like two and a half years at Oppenheimer Park, and without UGM and being allowed to shower here and get food … you just can't make ends meet without this place,' she said. Arnold, who cares for her 10-year-old and 16-year-old granddaughters, has been using the hamper service for about two years. The trio were living in an RV until they got housing last fall, but still face a constant battle to stay afloat. 0:34 BC SPCA pet food bank in need of donations The hampers, she said, have been a lifeline. Story continues below advertisement 'It's all high protein. There's a lot of beans, tuna, spaghetti sauce, there's usually treats in there for the kids, fresh canned fruit, porridge, rice, spaghetti. There is a variety of food, a great amount of essentials that you can use to make a lot meals,' Arnold said. 'I try to make it last at least a week and a half, two weeks, so that's with porridge every morning, rice, you know plain rice with some soy sauce, throw a can of vegetables in there that they provide, and then spaghetti, make spaghetti sauce and freeze it and do the best I can.' Even limiting the hampers to one every three months for clients, Wells said the UGM spends about $10,000 per month on food. 'It's great that we're able to help people, but I think it also speaks to just how much day-to-day expenses are hurting people,' he said. People interested in helping can donate through the UGM website.
