wsp (02/03/83)
I'd like to contribute my experiences raising two daughters by myself while I was finishing my doctorate and then later as I was supporting myself, first teaching and then in industry. It is not an easy task to raise children under any circumstances; the plight of a single mother in this country is especially difficult and little understood or supported by society. Carping about latch key children does little to alleviate the problem. I began raising my kids on my own when they were 4 and 1. I was helped through school by a subsidized daycare center, without which I would have had to rely on the catch-as-catch-can of co-operative babysitting. The daycare center was co-operative, requiring me to spend 8 hours a week at the center. I believe this helped me maintain some contact with my girls, but I don't think it was essential. What was essential to them (by their account) was my active participation in the center, building fences, cleaning up, contributing meals, and the quality of the primary caretakers. After I began my career, my girls were starting school. For the first few years, they went to county-licensed neighbor women for afterschool time. This was not always satisfactory because the quality of the care was spotty. I soon found it better for the kids to come home by themselves. Currently, my daughters are 15 and 12. They are fine young women with healthy attitudes about themselves and others. Sometimes I think that it is easier to raise one's children alone, not financially but emotionally, but I will save that discussion for another time. Peter Benson ittdcd-west (619)578-3080