Daycare Closings in Rhode Island

I've been a Rhode Islander most of my life (there was a three year stint in Massachusetts right next door, but that's a different story). And we're accustomed to bad weather, but I think we can all agree that as far as the winter of 2010-2011 goes, it's just been way too much!

Un-white Christmas
So Christmas in little Rhode Island was a bit quiet, with no significant snow or anything. But it was just after Christmas that the first big storm of the season hit us, dumping a good amount on us just in time for the start of another work week. But that was just the beginning...

Let the games begin!
So let's recap, so far in January, it seems like Rhode Island (and surrounding areas of New England of course) has been getting hit with major winter storms at least once a week, and not just small little dustings that we hearty New Englanders know how to handle. We're talking from 3 inches to 15 inches in some parts of the state! And honestly, it seems to be a weekly affair. The first couple of storms seemed to have started late at night and didn't taper off until the next morning, smack in the middle of many people's commutes. You might not think that's a big deal, since we Rhode Islanders are used to driving in this stuff, but add to that slick road conditions and clean-up crews (aka plows) to the normal traffic, and it's really not a pretty sight.

On top of these storms coming weekly and right in the middle of the week, there's the subject of school closings. I've seen some figures in the news, but I can only imagine what this is really costing the average tax payer. Many of the public and private schools across Rhode Island keep shutting down completely during these storms, which leaves many parents scrambling for back-up care, or, at worse, having to call out of work. Daycares are also following suit, closing when the public schools of their town close down. This also leaves many parents using up sick days. And I'm one of those parents.

The hidden effects of snow
When I decided to get pregnant, I honestly hadn't thought about days like this, where I might be forced to take a day out of work to be with my daughter since her daycare has shut down for the day. It's not that I don't want to spend a snow day with the light of my life; however, I work for a good company here in Rhode Island that pretty much never closes, and it's not the only business in this state that services the entire nation, if not the world, and can't afford to shut down for a day. Unfortunately, the daycare I've chosen to send her to each day doesn't see that point of view, and has been closing at least one day a week in January due to the winter storms, which affects myself and many other employees I know at my company. I've used a few sick and vacation days, but those days are precious to me and I want to use them for the many upcoming days when she's ill, or for nicer weather, at that.

The real zinger when it comes to daycare closings is that we parents STILL have to pay the full week's tuition, even if they are closed for a day. I'm extremely lucky that my company provides me with paid sick and vacation time, however, I cannot even fathom how this is effecting the poor parents who DON'T get paid sick time and are forced to stay home with their children on snow days like this.

Couldn't I just choose another daycare?
It's such a messy situation. There are two major strikes against us at this time. Since so many daycares are closing due to the inclement weather, the handful that are always open no matter what have huge waiting lists at this time, because all the parents are in this same bind. On another note, my daughter has been attending her daycare for at least a year now and loves it there, as well as the fact that I feel absolutely comfortable with her there, having gotten to know the teachers and how wonderful they are. So of course, I don't want to uproot her. I know so many parents that are in the same situation, and there's just no easy answer, except to just try to survive this winter and hope that the snow stops soon already!

We are NOT whiny...
I know, I know. If you don't live around here (or even if you do), you're probably sick of hearing us Rhode Islanders complaining about the snow and how much we've gotten. But next time you think that, just consider WHY we're complaining, because more than likely, it's deeper than you think. Most of us aren't bothered by the slower commutes, the 5 feet of snow on my front porch that's becoming ice because it's been too cold to melt at all, or the shoveling even. But this snow affects so many more areas of our lives than anyone can imagine.

And for the record....yes, we're too stubborn to move south like we keep claiming we will.