Julie Hack plays the wake-up game."
Who's Takin
Care Of Our
Children?
Peace of mind is hard to find
when the parents go off to work
ELLYCE FIELD
Special to The Jewish News
usan Shapiro and Steven
Sable's luck ran out when
their first daughter, <
Aimee, turned 18
months. Up until then
they had been spoiled by
an ideal day care situation.
While Susan, a clinical social
worker, saw patients in her private
practice, and Steve, then a medical
student, studied and attended classes,
Aimee was cared for at home by a re-
sponsible, newly-married woman in
her early 20's who lived in their con-
dominium development.
"It was a perfect situation," re-
calls Shapiro. "There were no trans-
portation problems because our sitter
lived close by. She came from the same
socio-economic background, had simi- <
lar values and spoke the same English
we did. She took her job seriously and
had the support of her husband, who
had a steady job. Best of all, she loved
babies (she was "practicing" on
Aimee), and she was very creative.
Even when she quit, she gave us a
month's notice."
When their first caregiver left,
their troubles began. Shapiro
chronicles her search for reliable day
care with ironic humor. In 5 1/2 years,
she has used several day care homes,
employed 14 people and was forced at
times to rely on friends, neighbors and
family. Some of the caregivers she em-
ployed stayed as long as a year; others
left after six weeks. Two were hired
and never showed up. One lady worked
for four months, passed out one after-
noon in their home, and died several
months later.
In between daycare provider No. 7
and No. 8, Rebecca was born. Shapiro
took a three-week maternity leave,
then went back to work, leaving
Aimee and Rebecca with an "elderly
Southern lady who used to put Rebecca
into bed to cry herself to sleep." Shap-
iro remembers this caregiver vividly:
"Rebecca lost eight ounces in six
weeks."
If you are nodding your head in
grim sympathy, you are not alone.
Thousands of Detroit-area families
can tell similar stories.
Who will take care of our chil-
dren? What are the alternatives? Is
the Jewish community meeting the
needs of Jewish working mothers?
The National Council of Jewish
Women, Greater Detroit Chapter, rec-
ognizes that finding quality day care is
a serious problem. This fall, they
began a year-long investigation into
the needs of Jewish working women.
Jesse Stern, chairman of the day
care task force, says, "We know there
is a need for day care in the area. We
think there might also be a special
need in the Jewish community for
quality day care in a Jewish setting."
Stern's committee is calling ap-
proximately 100 people randomly cho-
sen from last year's Jewish News birth
announcements, asking new mothers
if they are presently working or if they
would be if they could have found day
care.