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by prostoalex 3763 days ago
> Society does not owe any special treatment to a single mom, not more than any other mom.

Just playing the devil's advocate here:

1) Society also does not provide any particular path for her kid's pre-school, which she must cover out out of pocket, unlike, let's say, creches in France.

2) When her kid grows up, society (in California at least) also doesn't provide any meaningful transportation options to/from school. She will have to handle the driving. Her best hope is to find other parents who'd agree to a carpool, so that at least it's not daily.

3) Most work hours are 8 to 6. Most school hours are conveniently 9 to 3, which means that she ought to explain to the coworkers that she'll be late in the morning as she needs to drop off the kid at school and then pay someone (after-school care) to pick the kid up at 3, or drive herself, if feasible.

4) In some states leaving the kids at home alone would be a reason for neighbors to call Child Protection Services, so there's a need to hire someone to accompany the kid from 3 till 6 until mother gets home.

So while society may not owe a single mother much, it seems to have gone to incredible lengths to complicate their lives and annihilate any possibility of them having a career and any modicum of social mobility.

1 comments

I was going to reply do your #2 and ask why doesn't her kid just take the school bus like everyone else, but did a quick search and learned today that California does not require schools to provide busses! WTF is up with that? We force parents to send their kids to school, but don't provide a way to get them to school, and punish the kid with detention when they're late or don't come? Now THAT is messed up.

How do kids in CA expected to get to school if they're not within walking distance and have no public transportation?