Mommage

The Meaning of Family Vacation

After being encouraged by her doctors to take a family vacation, Jeanine S. chose a Disney cruise so the kids would have a great time, and she could have some time alone with her husband while their children were in the kids club.  I can see how this information on Disney's website might be enticing, but it could also give parents a false impression of a child's cruise experience.  In Jeanine's case, nothing seemed to go as planned, causing her to send a letter to Walt Disney Cruise Line via Planetfeedback expressing her disappointment in the quality of daycare provided on the ship.

I was surprised by some of the comments to Jeanine's letter. 
I thought it was interesting how people formed different opinions about her intentions regarding her children, her husband and the vacation itself.

Hello Mother, Hello Father...

For many parents, Summer Break is looming.  For others, it's already begun.  While the kiddies are counting the hours with gleeful anticipation, many parents are wondering, "What on earth am I going to do with them for six whole weeks?"  It's great to see your kids having fun and relaxing, especially in a time when even 3rd and 4th graders are complaining of a heavy workload, but sometimes a week or two spent kid-free can be a real blessing during the summer months.  And that's where summer camp comes in.  Summer camp can be a great way to give your child a structured but still fun environment, but how do you know which camp to choose?  Every kid is different, but there is help out there.  Summercamp.org has a list of frequently asked questions, and some answers too!

And The Great Debate Continues....

The other morning, while I had a rare hour to myself, I listened to a local radio show. They were having a listener call-in debate regarding stay-at-home moms versus working ones. Listening to each side argue their point made me all the more angry, first because I don't even think this should be a debate to begin with, and second because each side was so convinced their way was the best that they thought it was the only way.

Which side is correct?

MRSA--Methicillin-Resistant Staph Aureus

As some of you may know, my son was hospitalized in early September for four days.  He had Methicillin-Resistant Staph Aureus also known as MRSA.  This particular strain of staph infection used to only be found in hospitals and nursing homes, now it is being found in the community at an alarming rate.  Here in Virginia a 17 year old male athlete died from MRSA on October 15, and since then many, many cases have been reported all over the state. 

This hits particularly close to home for me because of the fact that my son was hospitalized with this.  Luckily my son is okay, but had to be hospitalized to receive intravenous antibiotics.  My son had a bump just under his nose, it looked sort of like a pimple.  I was not that alarmed until I came home from work the next night to find his lip red and swollen.  We took him to Urgent Care where they placed him on Rocephin by IV and told us to bring him back the next day for another dose.  The next day when I took him, the same doctor that he saw the first day, said that he needed to be admitted because the antibiotic given to him the day before was not working and in fact the infection was spreading.

Daycare or No Daycare: What's the Answer?

I have a dilemma.

I've always been pro-daycare. I think it's good for socialization and education. I see this in my 2 1/2 year-old niece; by six months, she knew rudimentary sign language, and she also doesn't have the "stranger fear" that some of our friends' kids have who aren't in daycare. [Dawn's note: Six months seems awfully young. On second thought, it must have been much later that she learned SL, more like 10 months to a year+.]

My husband, on the other hand, is not so much anti-daycare as he is anti-spending-money-for-daycare. Our son will have three grandmothers (and a grandfather) who are willing to take him during the week while we both have to work. Besides the money, my husband feels safer having a family member care for our son than a stranger.

I see his point, and agree the money could go to something else; however, I'm also planning long-term. I will be returning to work on a part-time basis in February (at the latest). In fall, I plan to be back in school, if only a couple of days a week. Then we will definitely need daycare, and I think it will be easier to find a spot if we already have the "in."