'I had to choose being a mother': With no child care or summer camps, women are being edged out of..
If day cares closed because of the novel coronavirus, Aimee Rae Hannaford expected her family to fare better than most. She worked full time as the chief executive of a tech company while her husband stayed home. He’d been taking some time off from his own tech career, managing a rental property while considering his options. He could look after their 3-year-old son, she thought — at least for a while.
“That lasted a grand total of three days,” Hannaford said.
Once her son was home full time, she realized they’d need a different solution. She was holed up in the guest room, wielding dual-monitors at her desk. Her husband was exhausted. “I can’t do it,” she remembers him saying: “I can’t watch him for this long.”
Hannaford, 46, had been logging 70-hour weeks for years — and she was proud of the work she’d done. When she started her career in San Francisco, she was one of two women at a video game company, buying nondescript jeans and hoodies so she could be “one of the guys.” Eventually she came to run a company she co-founded, building open-source websites for clients like Stanford University. Hannaford, who oversaw software development, co-led a diverse team of 13 employees. She was intentional about hiring women, minorities and others who challenged the stereotypes about Silicon Valley.
https://www.thelily.com/i-had-to-choose-being-a-mother-with-no-child-care-or-summer-camps-women-are-being-edged-out-of-the-workforce/?fbclid=IwAR2ly86prcjuEcAQqkEJPi82QhIzusMqpm33G3R_d89oSHOp2JN1kyKTljM
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I remember the '60s and '70s, when I was growing up.
Mother worked. But even when she was home, I often self-entertained. There were woods nearby, a few blocks in two directions until anything close to a "major" street (one lane each direction). There were days I'd leave at 9 am and come back at 1 pm, eat, and vanish until it was dark. I mean, once my friend and I hopped on our bikes because we were bored. We biked 35 miles in one direction, ate lunch, turned around and came back. (No, didn't tell parents where we went. We were 14. Our parents shrugged, and then said, "Really?"
There were other kids around, we'd hang at their house or my parents', play games in the street or swim or climb trees. An adult was never far away. It was seldom the case that an adult actively supervised us. Often an adult would come out, sit and drink or eat something while we played. Not sure if they were actively monitoring or just outside or liked watching us.
Can't do that now. Can't let kids out of the house without supervision. Must provide structure for their every waking moment.
On the other hand, I see the neighborhood kids and they act much like I behaved, when I was their age. Except that now I live where the outside temperature and humidity would kill Superman, instead of more temperate climes. And I know it's not just my street because HS kids where I work are encouraged to post video (to provide social bonding during a time of social isolation) and their videos show groups engaged in activities outside (can't call it "playing" these days).
It doesn't help that new subdivisions have fairly large main thoroughfares adjacent to them, and people assume that the 35 mph sign is a suggestion--perhaps during a foggy snowstorm when the road's covered with ice and it's night with construction.
So many young parents think there will always be progress and forward movement. As long as they plan well, life will be perfect. Unfortunately, that's not true. Younger people need to teach themselves flexibility and patience. Illness, job loss and economic downturns are always with us. Be willing to compromise and downsize if necessary. You'll be a much more content person. P.S. That shit of a husband who didn't want to care for his one small child can be tarred and feathered, as well!
saying she should hire a babysitter or a nanny. Hello, dumbasses... why do you think people are staying at home?! 
Privileged responses.
that he is cheating on her as well 
