I see a big difference in the young Moms of my daycare kids. They will have a day off and still bring the kids to daycare. Im thinking, you are crazy. Spend some time with your kids. They grow up too fast. Babs

some young moms have appointments that htey cant take children too hence daycare is acceptable on "days off" but all day is not ok when your not at work! as a young mom (im only 26 with an 8 and 6 year old) some of us in my generation didnt get to "play" like kids so we have the delayed "stil wanna play" mindset. i do, i dont know for all moms but i still have that wanna play and not be responsible urge, but just because i have it, doesnt mean i act upon it......most of the moms i know that are my age, DONT have thier kids because they have "pawned" them off on anyone and everyone, thier parents are raising thier kids or even better, they still live at home with thier parents and their parents are still raising the grandkids......case in point, my step sister who is 12 years older then me, she had her first at 15 still lived with my dad and stepmom till she was 35, then moved out with her 20 year old daughter and has a now 2 year old......my neice was raised by my dad and stepmom, another example.......this girl i know was 19 when she had her son, her son is now almost 4, and the kid lives with his gramma cause even if she lived with them, gramma still takes care of the kid........the worst example, this girl i went to school with has 4 kids now and all of them are in state care..........older moms usually get the "play" out of them before they have kids....my point being with this, i am the only young mom i know, that doesnt live at home, doesnt pawn the kids off, and doesnt get help from family........its really hard to be a young mom, and some of us hold resentment on the older moms who got to play first.......yes we all make choices, and every action has a reaction,  but these are just possible explanations as to why young moms dont volunteer (in my case its not cause i dont want to, its i CANT due to not driving) but  if i lived closer to the school, yeah id volunteer all the time

I'm not thinking so much the age you were when you had kids, just 20 and early 30 something moms versus those in their mid 30's to 40's-  They have said that Gen X's are extending adolescence- not settling on a career or college, living at home, not working fulltime or worrying about benenfits, traveling more- until the mid-twenties instead of 18.  I know our health insurance, that we have for afew more weeks, just extended the dependent status from age 22 with high school or college enrollment sent in to 25 with no school enrollment needed!  A sign of the times-

I know I played more with my first- took vacations to Wyoming, NYC, went camping in Boundary Waters, went to the park- as a young single mom than I have with the 40's kids, when I have more responsibilities-and less time.

Latte, wish the buses were easier for you, maybe you'll live closer to things in your new city!  Are the kids excited?  I get crabby right before moving, too much work- the day after the move I'm very happy. 

Since we are a very multi-cultural community (recent study most multi-cultural place in Canada lots of different backgrounds) and when a study was done and then the school principal spoke and say it is the immigrant parents that help out more then the reg. white middle class which mostly live around the school. 

I agree yes as a older mom you have the play out of you before kids, still want to have fun though. but at the stage of looking at a event or outing with the eye of is it worth staying up past 10pm for :)  but the downside is the lack of energy compared to your 20's. I worked all day, partied all night, slept a bit, worked 6 - 7 days a week and plenty of energy.  That energy comes in handy with the sleep deprivation of kids.   I guess there is a reasont they say your 20's are the best time to have kids.  No matter what age  family support is great!

by the way most of the kids in my dd class are from reg. 2 parent families with reg age moms and dads. The only one that was a bit flaky was (3 kids under 5 different fathers) just moved to the school, kids in daycare, I think pay by govt (respite care) and then one day soon after apparently moved to a different province with a days notice.  Kids aren't bussed in etc. You have to bring your kid to the door of the class (all classrooms open to the outside) and wait until the teacher comes and vice versa when you pick them up.

I think being a teenage mom is very hard but I don't think most plan it that way.  Also I know plenty of moms in my age group who aren't that interested in their kids. its more well we are 35 and married, guess we should have one though I don't what to be around them all day.  I don't think that changes whatever the age. dads included in that too.

Latenight, doesn't your place have a policy for sick kids not allowed. I know here with daycare and most other places it is very common not to be allowed to bring sick kids and you get in trouble for it.   If I bought sick kids to moms group or playgroups, I would hear it. and they don't have to be that sick. but if I brought a kid from er like that, I probably would be asked not to ever come back!

My one thing I schedule around (because we all need a break) is my wed morning moms group (not the only one who does it :)  )  but the kids love it too. Sometimes it was my only break that 1 1/2hr out of the 24/7 away from my kids all week. they tend to be up all the time I am awake plus ds sleeping with us most of the time.   We plan and have a series of crafts, talks, ideas etc. We all take turns bringing food to share. I donate towards the childcare.  Downstairs the care givers are great and the older kids, its more like preschool, with planned crafts, sing a longs at the end etc.  Since my dd can't go because she switched to mornings at school. I don't really mention that we are going there because she loved it so much.  she missed her final one because it was cancelled because of snow.  That is why the kids always went to preschool tues/thurs instead of mon/wed :)

 MFI- yes, we have the same policies there are for schools, but people treat us like nannies- I think some of it is the economic difference between the members and the workers- or the precieved difference members feel.  

I have taken mom's classes in the past, for the most part really enjoy them.  Actually looking at a spring class- raising your toddler with older children.

This has been a good discussion, I have enjoyed reading viewpoints from all of us.  I think we all try to do the best we can.

participation only a fraction of the parents show up. Durring DS Kindergarten Graduation only 1/2 the parents showed up. Don't these parents care or think their kids have feelings?

I did not attend the kindergarten graduation, neither did my child. He did go to preschool graduation and it was just craptastic! So was the christmas show.  I could not even see my child in these events, and had to sit through both of them by myself as my husband had to work late. If I am having any kind of illness or mental issues on the day of a chorus program or whatever, we will not go.  At my son's school, you could not get a seat or see your child. If you did get a seat, you better not move or you would lose it. So many people brought crying babies, you couldn't relax and enjoy yourself anyway.  When my son was in kindgergarten, I tried to volunteer with his class. I worked part time from 8-12. I could have been there from 12 noon-until? His teacher told me no, she only needs help at 10:00 in the morning.  For years, I have sent snacks, supplies, whatever for my child's classes, now I have lost my job, and haven't been doing it.  As far as field trips, I love my child, but I don't like crowds and really don't want to be surrounded by 100 of children or adults for that matter. Every year I go to meet the teacher night at the beginning of the year to meet the teacher, but my child has honor roll, so I haven't gone back since that time.  My parents never volunteered or when on field trips and it didn't affect me at all.  I am always honest with my child if I don't want to go somewhere and he understands.

Parent participation is huge , huge problem and my son's school.  He goes to an execellent  k-8  charter school .  There are about 250 students but we only get a turnout of about 10 parents at every PTO meeting.  The same parents every time.  Other parents dont seem to care about what goes on at the school.  There are a lot of extra activities enrichment  that the school provides like Friday Fun Days,  where they have a little party for the kids, talent shows , fashion shows, dance class, mentoring groups and many other things where parents dont have to pay a dime for anything.    The school is already cash strapped but they still go out of their way to give the students these little extras because they strive to nurture the whole child .All of this is put on by staff who volunteer their time after work hours to help the students.  Parents of the participating students rarely help with these events.  We are thinking of implementing a policy next year where if your child wants to participate in these extras then a parent or other responsible adult must volunteer somewhere between  30 minutes to 2 hours ( depending upon the extent of the event) of their time towards the event.  If no one can give time on behalf of your child then unfortunately the child will not be able to participate in said event.  I know it seems really harsh but desperate times call for desperate measures and we are in dire need of more parent involvement.  Maybe once the parents realize their children cant participate in the talent show because they could'nt find a few minutes out of  their busy schedule to help with the planning, clean-up or printing out fliers , hopefully they will be more inclined to participate.  If we happen to have a talent show, fashion show, etc with only 2 acts next year, then so be it.

Ok, now that I'm done with my extra long rant,  Does anyone have any other methods for getting more parent involvement so maybe we can avoid these drastic requirements???? HELLLLPPPPPPPP  !!!!!!!!!

 As a charter school, you could require 10 hours a year of parent participation per parent in the home, and send a a survey, much like a church's time and talent sheet, to find out the parent's interests.  then some of the parents would call and get the parents at the events.  Works well here.  Some of the private schools have a 50 hour commitment.   You sign the contract when you sign up.  It really keeps costs down and programs in place.