mothers on the verge

Dear Kate, Stories like this are starting to trickle through the U.S. too. Today on the front page of The New York Times was another piece about tent communities growing. Featured, were two - one in Sacramento, Ca. and another in Fresno, Ca. But they're popping up in Nashville, Tenn., Olympia, Wa. and St. Peterburg, Fl. as well. I spent a summer in St. Petersburg years ago working for the local paper and I'm trying to imagine a "Hooverville" there. (That was the name given to homeless encampments during the depression in the 1930s - for President Hoover.) While there aren't any tent cities in Manhattan, it's still coming close to home. I'm hearing stories within my community- about the single mom who has lost her job, certainly belt-tightening by almost all. Empty storefronts are growing — even within a block or two of my apartment. The Rabbit asked me a few weeks ago if we might lose our home. I realized even at 6, she's still too young for me to ha...

This is hardly news for those of us who have faced unemployment while trying to maintain health insurance at times of our lives, but the recent report from Families USA shows just how widespread this problem is. Nationwide, a COBRA policy eats up on average 84 percent of unemployment benefits in the United States. In nine states it costs more. In Florida for example, the average monthly unemployment benefit is $1,013 — while the average monthly COBRA premium for a family is $1,037. COBRA, the federal act that requires employers to allow workers to maintain their health insurance policy at a group rate for a family, is not to blame here. But a serious overhaul of the insurance industry has long been needed. What to remember here is that these are group rates — which are usually at a substantial discount to what an individual can negotiate on her own. News like this is sobering during our economic turmoil. And particularly worrisome as families will most assuredly not be able to keep up...

So according to a new study , the more stressed a pre-K teacher is, the more likely they are to expel a student. Hmmm. So the more of a misfit a teacher, the more likely an innocent child is to be harmed, perhaps permanently, in school. The numbers are very striking: Of teachers who reported "high stress," 14.3 percent had a student that was expelled, from the 4,000 pre-K classes that were randomly surveyed for the report. But of teachers who reported "low stress," just 4.9 percent expelled a student. Boys? Expelled 4 and a half times more often than girls. Older children and African Americans? Also more at risk, according to the Foundation for Child Development, a private, low-income child-focused organization. Okay, some children are just not ready for school. And many teachers are in impossible situations. But it seems to me we have a serious problem here, some big red flags, and I have to wonder how No Child Left Behind, that munchkin-land like solution to real ...

Bush Vetoes Children's health insurance bill.

A recent row with, who I thought was, a friend has made me think over the last few days about how much I appreciate the friends I do have in my life. Truthfully, most of my closest friends do not even live near me -- not even in the same city. But somehow there's that feeling that I can pick up the phone and just call at any time -- and we're still connecting the same way, even if we can just grab 6 minutes on a ride home from work, or on the way to pick up our rabbits, or late at night, in different time zones, whispering so that babies do not wake. Yes, I miss having a girlfriend near by who I can just grab coffee with, or go shopping -- but let's get real: Like I even have that kind of time any more. I also appreciate those friends who didn't feel I had personally abandoned them when the Rabbit appeared. One of my best friends, who has no children of her own, would never dream of not including my daughter in our plans when I make it into DC to see her on my few, and ...

I am totally ripe for a rebrand; say goodbye to Yummy London Mummy (although I hope you understand that was always ironic) because I have turned into an undeniably Crummy Mummy. Highlights of the week: - I went through an entire day of meetings blissfully unaware of the bright pink 'Well Done' smiley face sticker on my shirt and the three Disney Princess stickers on my bottom. And there I was, thinking my new client was merely a bit of a perv. - My new top-of-the-range steam generator iron broke. A catastrophe of mammoth proportions. Need I say more? - Related to the above, Firstborn has been packed off to school every day under strict instruction to keep her cardigan on At All Times to ensure nobody spots her crinkle-effect shirts (thankfully the rest of her school uniform is 100% polyester). - Again related to the above, I can no longer be picky with my wardrobe choices as it been narrowed down to 'crumpled' or 'not crumpled'. This has resulted in some very in...

Children have a serious design fault. To a child, it seems quite reasonable to shout even simple requests at the top of their voices. To them, a whisper is unthinkable. Life is carried out cranked up to the highest volume and at top speed. It exhausts me just to look at them and as for listening, well, it's no wonder that my hearing is no longer as acute as it used to be. There's a lot of talk about the dangers of youngsters hanging out in nightclubs and dancing too close to the speakers, and the danger this poses to their hearing. But what about parents? Who ever thinks about us? After the daily torment of demands for juice bellowed straight into my ear, it's a surprise my ears drums haven't perforated and that I still manage to cling on to the small amount of cognitive function remaining. After the 13th tantrum of the day my ears continue to ring long into the night, a fitting accompaniment to the jangling of my nerves. And these are just the high points to endless da...