News Roundup
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Some of the articles of interest to working mothers that we’ve seen around the web recently…
Coronavirus-Related News & Resources
- The New York Times offered advice about the safety of kids and grandparents spending time together.
- The Washington Post noted that the tech industry’s adoption of work-from-home policies will likely influence other industries’ decisions.
- The Washington Post also used this ominous headline: “The pandemic upended child care. It could be devastating for women.”
- Writing for GEN, a father described how he’s using his 5-year-old son’s love of everything Pokemon to help him continue learning when school is closed.
- At The Atlantic, a doctor and two researchers wrote an opinion piece strongly advocating for opening summer camps. (Thoughts, readers?)
- NPR invited kids to send a postcard to share what they’re doing during the pandemic. (Also, “quar-baking” is apparently a word now?)
In Other News…
- The New York Times explained how to make ice cream in a Mason jar.
- Lifehacker shared details on Microsoft’s new Family Safety app.
- People noted that Crayola has produced a “Colors of the World” set that represents 40 skin tones.
- For your Laugh of the Week: The New Yorker gave some helpful parenting tips.
Also, do be sure to check out the news update over at Corporette!
On Corporette Recently…
- We talked about how to grow vegetables at home.
- We asked what clothes readers have stopped wearing during quarantine.
- We shared the best online tools for working from home.
- A compliance officer in fin tech in San Francisco shared her Personal Money Snapshot.
Did we miss anything? Add ’em here, or send them to [email protected]. Thank you!
The Atlantic article makes some really good points about opening up summer camps. I think for some families and in some areas, it will make sense. I would have preferred the opinion of an epidemiologist within the article. The lead author is an oncologist and provost at a university. The faculty researchers I follow on social media are making noise that universities are making reopening and fall semester decisions based on money, not faculty and student safety. Universities stand to lose a to of money if they can’t open in the fall and I almost view that as a conflict of interest for the first author. I also don’t think the activity comparisons to countries like Germany and Denmark are completely applicable. Those countries had better testing, stricter shutdowns, and have a stronger public health system. I would bet they have smaller groups in camps and schools too, just because their societies have different priorities than us.
My biggest complaint is that America has made this a political “go your own way” issue. While I might feel comfortable with a small outdoor camp with other families that I knew were social distancing, that option isn’t even on the table because of a lack of a centralized and strong response to the pandemic. My area is reopening. People in my area weren’t taking social distancing seriously anyway (like acquaintances that say they have been quarantined 2 weeks and are safe to visit anyone, but they also have been posting about how they get takeout once a day and go to the grocery store every 5 days and visited with a friend while wearing masks for 2 hours …. dude, that is not a quarantine; and if you had a quarantine bubble during the strict shutdowns, that isn’t social distancing either). States have reopened without regard to the data that should guide those decisions. Things like casinos have opened before daycares.
I am so, so angry that the federal government has left us twisting in the wind like this, making practical and risk-mitigating solutions nearly impossible for families, unless they can afford to do things like hire a private nanny or are lucky enough to be able to form a small pod with another like-minded family or two.
As it stands now, my child will not be attending her beloved summer camp, and everyone in the family is really, really sad about it.