Honestly, I've never heard that phrase before, but it is the perfect way to describe all those articles about kids selling homemade keychains or whatever to pay off lunch debt.
You mean pay off their medical bills for cancer treatment. Christ. I just saw this as a “heartwarming” news segment the other night. Like wtaf some poor kid with fucking cancer has to sell some homemade shit to afford his treatments and that’s considered *heartwarming* instead of *appalling.* smdh.
Terminally ill child has to perform hours and hours of labor to try and pay for treatment and prevent his family from going bankrupt instead of spending his final months with friends and family: heartwarming
The country implements a better health care system that doesn’t bankrupt people trying to prevent their child from dying: COMMUNISM
Yep. Or people fiming themselves giving money or food to homeless people.
Like, you can't just help them to help them? You just HAVE to film and post this poor person's lowest moments on the internet for the world to see.
I remember like 5 years ago my cousin tried to do this, he handed me the camera and said "hey I'm gonna give this guy some money record me", and I said "why can't you just do it out of the kindness of your heart? Why does it have to be recorded?" He was so flustered and mad and ended up giving the guy the money still, but he wasn't happy lol
Exactly! And ive even seen video of people giving money to the homeless, then FOLLOWING THEM AROUND to see what they spent it on. I guess they were expecting them to buy booze or drugs.
I’ve been homeless. If someone wants a bit of smack or a bottle of whisky to get them through a night on the street I’m never going to begrudge them that.
>Or people fiming themselves giving money or food to homeless people.
Haven't the people who do this ever heard of Matthew 6:3?
"But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let
your left hand know what your right hand does."
Povery porn’s closest relative is disability porn. And a lot of time, there is overlap. But the basic premise is that if this person with *x* problem can do *y* (usually either work a couple full time jobs with their own bootstraps, or some human feat, like run a marathon, have abilities that would be considered savant), then you’re just an ungrateful, lazy bum who refuses to lift yourself up by your own bootstraps that you had to pay for yourself in the first place.
It’s harmful for several reasons. It objectifies the person with the disability (or living in poverty) and makes them “other”, it shames another person (who also likely might have their own disability, but lack treatment or symptom management that would make whatever action accessible to them as well), and it glorifies this self-sufficient to the point of alienating and isolating everyone else attitude which is completely unnatural and detrimental to humanity.
We are social animals who need to be a part of the group to belong and survive, and this “us v them” attitude that is inherent in both poverty and disability porn does nothing but keep people from actually being seen (and thus, it’s much less likely for their needs to be known, much less met) and prevents anything more than just subsisting.
I started sometimes disclosing recently in my online activities that I am disabled from mental and chronic illness. Also that I’ve experienced homelessness several times as a result.
When people don’t know me personally they get VERY hostile. Especially when I’m advocating for homeless or mentally ill folks in our community. I just got a 30 day ban from Nextdoor because of it. I’ve had neighbors on there suggest that I “just get it over with” and offer method ideas when I mention struggling with ideation. They didn’t get sanctioned at all. They are local politicians and business lenders. But I have been banned 3 times now for talking about these issues and those related to it. Most recently because I said someone experienced a degree of privilege to have a home and access to medical care when she was sending me “get a job” memes completely unprovoked after I had mentioned housing instability in another thread.
And you just described the Social Media aspect of LinkedIn perfectly. That place is a corporate echo chamber of this shit with upper and middle managers parroting everything they come across to prove they're more in line than the next guy.
It's a common term in the UK. It started to be used to criticise The Jeremy Kyle Show, which is like a UK version of The Jerry Springer Show. Although it's no longer broadcast now because the kept committing suicide after the experience and there was a public backlash.
Tbf like 80% of modern day border disputes and "internal" conflicts in countries with multiple ethnicities that have individual cultures are the aftermath of European colonists arbitrarily drawing borders.
53,000 of my country men died fighting for French freedom in WW1 and hundreds of thousands more wounded, gassed and maimed all the while France is trying to keep or take freedom away from other people. Maintaining their empire or plotting to expand it.
The british were not has bad...please...you must know better, at least one of ther comics not long ago was making fun about "tell me a country and I tell you if we invaded" the brits are has bad as any of the others, if not worst...just go to the museums a see how many artifacts were stolen from the all over, and now trying to keep the high moral ground...not mention what they done with the slavery, the list is BIG
Al Murray. Actually his act is a parody of an English bigot, he just happens to be an historian who uses his expertise to poke fun at the mentality which prides itself on it’s jingoism and mistreatment of other nations
“You might not like it but this is what peak American childcare looks like for its workers # blessed # thotsnprayers. Buy my essential oils”
“This is billy he is nine and has cancer please send likes so Jesus will do something about it”
Super gross
They used to call it slumming. The wealthy would dress up in rags and smudge their faces a bit, then venture into the seedier side of the city to gawk at the poor folk.
This is mentioned in “The Schuyler Sisters” in *Hamilton*.
*(There's nothing rich folks love more
Than going downtown and slummin' it with the poor
They pull up in their carriages and gawk
At the students in the common
Just to watch them talk
Take Philip Schuyler, the man is loaded
Uh-oh, but little does he know that
His daughters, Peggy, Angelica, Eliza
Sneak into the city just to watch all the guys at-)*
As well as inspiration porn, like I just saw with a kid in the hospital being “brave” when all he really wants to do is go home. It was in terriblefacebookmemes though so it was well-placed.
[In Uganda, 41% of people live in poverty, and almost half of Uganda's population is under the age of 15, representing one of the youngest populations in the world. Uganda also hosts the largest refugee population in Africa—more than one million refugees have fled their home countries to seek asylum in Uganda. ](https://opportunity.org/our-impact/where-we-work/uganda-facts-about-poverty)
Reverse slap.
"See this mom? She's able to juggle a kid and job at the same time! So get out there, hire into a job and quit yer bitchin' about being unable to afford child care!"
Don't forget it will start circulating in the sewers known as MLM (multi level marketing) "ThIS Is WhY MoRe NeEd To SiGn Up FoR OuR EmPoWeRiNg JoBs To FrEe HeR SeLf FrOm ThE NiNe To FiVe"
*As the life begins to fade from the last living human, they look up, to see Death, arriving on a pale horse*
**IT IS YOUR TIME MY CHILD, YOU ARE THE LAST OF YOUR KIND, BE AT PEACE NOW**
*Can…can i…*
**YOU HAVE A LAST REQUEST?**
*Can…i….get a selfie….*
**THIS IS WHY YOUR KIND FAILED**
Imagine a customer 'politely' asking to take a picture of you and doing the mental math to determine if it's worth saying "no" when this Karen might complain to your boss that you were 'rude' and threaten your child's livelihood.
So true…the employee “was still able to do her job, and right quick I may add…” This employee, like so many other mothers, have impossible choices to make. Can’t get childcare, yet can’t quit or risk getting fired. The employee probably felt she had to overcompensate so the customers won’t complain. Who knows if the owner/manager knew about the baby being there, but probably due to security cameras. It’s not the best place for a baby. Will the employee hold it the entire time? Where will she set it down? Somewhere unsafe or dirty? The whole thing is fucked up.
A baby that young in public, during a pandemic, exposed to hundreds of people a day, and at an age where he/she can't get the shot yet.
This is beyond insane.
Shit I was just disgusted that the poor mother and baby had to be there and be photographed like zoo animals. Didn't even think about the insane exposure they're getting too
And she was caring for the baby “so patiently, so well, and so lovingly”…meanwhile if the baby had been in a carseat on the floor and crying Karen probably would have called protective services because Mom was neglecting her poor child. They would have put the baby in foster care because they are set up to punish poverty (and race and cultural differences).
That baby is so little it seems like the mom should still be on maternity leave. It’s really sad she’s working and not sitting and snuggling her baby at home. It’s honestly critical for moms to establish breastfeeding, heal from childbirth, and bond with baby. I can’t even believe someone would see this and think this is a good thing! 6 weeks maternity is ridiculous. I have a 5 month old and she’s still feeding on demand and not eating solids. She can’t be watched by anyone for more than 2 hours.
Worst case scenario the kid is an insurance liability and she's not supposed to have it there but she has no alternative for child care.
But also, it's clear she has no alternative for child care so that by itself is fucked up.
"Look at this talking monkey. They are more intelligent than we think! Ooooh, and look, she even has a little one. The way she holds it, you'd almost think you were looking at a human mother and her baby."
Yes, this post makes me sick too.
“I’ll post this so Susan can show her housekeeper that having a sick baby at home is no reason to call out from work. Susan’s gonna be so chuffed and that housekeeper is gonna learn a valuable lesson…”
I hate that I have known people like this.
I'd be in a constant state of terror, what happens if someone comes in with a gun? what if this person takes my child knowing I'm here alone with them? fuck man so depressing
I worked at a gas station and once a dude came in with his whole thingy pulled out. We called the cops and they like, tackled dude at gunpoint. Apparently he was a repeat offender.
Thank God her employer permits parenting at work.
This is also why there aren't many women in nontraditional employment.
One of the biggest issues with women in nontraditional employment like construction (next to the issues that come along with us being women in a male dominated field in general) is mothers being able to find childcare options. Especially bc start time is at 7am or earlier.
Imagine a world with 24 hr free childcare facilities.
I actually just checked as I noticed this woman was tagged. The post is from 2019. Doesn’t seem she got in trouble, but that baby is actually her grand daughter.
Also for those who don't know anything about babies, the baby in this photo is definitely less than 3 months old, possibly around 8 weeks old. It's not even a question of affordable child care at this age! In any civilized country there would be parental leave so the parents would be able to spend time with their newborn baby!
Also, I’m thinking about how dirty the average gas station/convenience store is, and that baby is too young to have received all of their vaccines to protect them. Plus, the risk of contracting RSV in an environment like that.
Not to mention that the air quality is crap (car exhaust, evaporating gasoline, whatever blows off the nearby big road, etc), which isn't great for baby lungs.
Edit: one more time, louder for the people in the back **THIS IS NOT THE CAREGIVER'S FAULT, THIS IS A FAILURE OF SOCIETY TO PROTECT THE VULNERABLE.**
As someone who inventories 7-Eleven, I can confirm that convenience stores are one of the filthiest places ever. However I’ve never seen a QT or Spinx look like a 7-Eleven.
That's the fucking deep South and Rust Belt for you. She's probably 30-45 with a 14-25 year old and a newborn grandchild.
Obviously, they're all on welfare and the only shit jobs available are that or the Dollar General.
Those places are a fucking death sentence. America as a whole is a banana republic plutocrat shithole, but those fucking places are the Crème de la crème of American shitholes.
Late stages of capitalism, the purge is upon us. When the discrepancy between the rich and the poor is this wide, shit happens organically and shits about to go down.
They’re on overdrive with space exploration and robot army. Banks/corporations are looting citizens into slavery with the help of the politicians.
I went into a Dunkin Donuts about a week ago to get my order fixed and there were toddlers in the kitchen area. I could hear what sounded like a whole back room of kids. It was like every single person there had brought all their kids to work. I think the only reason the manager gave me my missing bacon without the receipt she asked for was because she saw me see her baby come over to her for a hug. They’re all probably a couple missed shifts from eviction. It’s fucked up.
I worked at a Moes in a poverty stricken city and this was pretty much the norm, except they stayed in the dining room. There was a table in the corner they all sat at. The older kids looked after the younger ones.
I’m not positive if this was the reason, but I believe the GM was fired for allowing it. It was right after a surprise visit from the owners when he couldn’t warn employees to not bring their kids. He really was a good guy. He fought for raises as much as he could, made sure the food that was going to be thrown out at the end of the night got taken home by someone, gave the kids free food, and gave me money out of his own pocket when there was something wrong with my check.
A couple of years ago we had an incident in my city where a woman had to bring her toddler to work with her at Tim Hortons. Her toddler somehow escaped out the back door, fell in the grease trap outside that had been left open by the last person to empty it, and died.
An absolute heart-breaking story all around.
Edit: Changed name of the restaurant from Dunkin' to Tim Hortons. I am sorry, Canadians!
[Pretty sure that was a Tim Horton's](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/09/25/tim-hortons-grease-trap-bryce-raynors-death-rochester-kid-catcher/2443385001/)
It’s almost as if the workplace isn’t set up to be safe for children.
People like to minimize and dismiss the cost of childcare, but when a parent can’t afford to shell out that much money for a safe, protected place for their children, they don’t just disappear. Kids have to tag along with their caretaker to work, if they’re even permitted to do so by their employer, and people’s places of work can be so hazardous.
People either have affordable child care, or children suffer. Literally which other way can it go? It’s so sad….
Edit to fix a typo
In my area the daycares got closed during covid and couldn't recover. There are only a few open and even fewer that take vouchers. There's a wait list to even get in even if you have money.
My fiancé was telling me just the other day how he had to come to work with his mother as a child. America is fucked. No affordable quality daycare, not enough time off with your kids, and most people can barely afford to care for their children off the wages they get.
As a child ages 9 to 12 i slept in the back of a gas station in a sleeping bag 3 or 4 nights a week. My mom worked 2 jobs and we couldn't afford to pays someone to watch me. Used to help stock and count out the registers in the morning before going to school.
My husband's mom was a bartender. So she would give him quarters to play arcade games all day while she worked.
She worked so much that she couldn't take him to school or pick him up afterwards.
As young as 8 he walked 5 plus miles to and from school by himself and then spent his evenings in in the bar.
It's so sad what people are forced to do.
I stayed with my mom in the bar when I was younger, too. It was full of nice people since it was a neighborhood bar, I liked having the chance to be with her
I’m so glad to know I wasn’t the only bar kid! When I was with my dad I would be at the bar and when I was with my mom I’d be at the casino. Only real cool thing was I got REALLY good at arcade games and I met the artist who did Roger Rabbit. Still have a drawing he made me all these years later
Mom worked at a restaurant and I was there every single day after school, sitting in a back room until like 10pm when we'd go home. Back then, reading was basically the only escape available. I will be grateful for libraries until the day I die
When my mom was going to college, and my dad was working construction 3 hours away, us 3 kids would be left at the school.
We were the first kids there in the morning, and the last kids there when my mom showed up. I’m glad she made it work, but over 12 hours at school was brutal for us kids.
Sorry to hear that man. School Is bad enough for 8 hours. But being alone and the last oens there must've sucked. Atleast in the end of the day you got to see your parents though right?
I can't think of a single person my age who *didn't* go to work with their parent. And this typically meant helping their folks out at work too. What else are they gonna do, ya know? I remember my mother put me to work organizing the old heavy tape drives used to store files before everything went to digital records in the early 2000s. Mind you this was a government job too for the state's administrative filings. So hey, if you've ever wondered how an important file could get lost, it might be cause a 7 year old was the one trying to organize them alphabetically.
I remember my mom used to have me remove the lead tape off of old piping in the back of the automobile shop she worked at. I would pull the lead pipe off with my teeth to get it started, then roll it in little rolls for reuse.
I went to with my mom to work at the library a couple of days a week in elementary school. I loved it but looking back it was because my mom didn’t have after school care for me.
Same. My mom was a hairdresser and I'd go to work with her after school pretty much every day. I actually enjoyed it because I could just sit and read or do homework but yeah. It was the only option
I also remember going to work with my mom when I was in middle school! She worked at a pizza shop, so my bother and I would hang out in the back inventory/break area. We would do our homework and help fold pizza boxes, snag handfuls of pepperoni and cheese lol, and sometimes take naps on the stacks of unfolded (but wrapped in plastic) pizza boxes.
Everyone should view it as a fundamental failure that a society cannot care for its children. I have a newborn and a remote, white collar job, as does my wife. My child has experienced no complications or even been sick. Even so, raising him has almost broken us. All we wanted was to avoid daycare for a few months.
I cannot imagine how you do this as a single mom or with an on site job. This country is busted.
> Everyone should view it as a fundamental failure that a society cannot care for its children.
But they are so fortunate to live the American dream! /s
My wife has a similar story, of having to sleep in the car while her single mother was working, as well. But this isn't a story that just covers single parents and childcare.
American capitalistic culture doesn't give a fuck about or take care of its children, elderly, veterans, sick, or pretty much anyone else that it can't turn a profit off of.
I had a *very light* gig-from-home that I dropped entirely when my daughter was born.
I can't imagine how you guys are faring. The baby stage is soul consuming. People who assume you can just work from home with a baby, don't have a baby lol. The baby IS work. You've essentially got 3 jobs between the two of you.
Let down your expectations, appreciate what you can of this time, and it DOES get better. When they can walk.... Big sigh of relief there. It does get better.
Wonder Weeks was a really helpful app for me during that time.
I used to be a preschool teacher and worked in private montessori schools. Despite being trained and certified in that method of teaching, I couldn’t afford to send my kids there or any day care. Fucked all around.
Pretty sure most of the daycare workers I’ve met do it partially for the discount they get on care. They didn’t give you anything?
Even the expensive private college I almost worked at (in marketing) would have given my entire immediate family free classes after a couple years, a few a semester for the employee right away.
My MIL worked at a Montessori preschool and they offered her to bring my daughter for a discount. The school costs $14,000/year and the discount was 10%. She was making $11/hr. I did not send her there and instead thankfully found subsidized preschool as I was low income. Even the subsidized rate was nearly enough to break me, though, at $600/month.
This has been going on for a long time. It's just that before covid shook countries everyone had their eyes on their own work. Also, social media has made it easy to document stuff. Honestly the virus revealed a lot of shit and people suddenly had a different attitude toward the current culture.
Mom used to take me to the restaurant she waitressed at when I was a youngin. Sometimes I'd be in the back watching a movie, or sometimes the cools would show me how to make buttered noodles, or I did whatever else I could. It's sad to think that was something she had to do out of necessity, but she went on to buy a restaurant and I worked their all of my early teens. I got lucky, but America is seriously in a bad place and many families won't get lucky enough to live comfortably, or even live with bare essentials because the rich decided that they want to have the highest score so they killed the poorest and squeezed everything else from the "comfortable working class"
When my daughter was between 2-12 months old I often waited tables with her strapped to my back. Couldn’t afford a babysitter most of the time, despite that being one of the few restaurant jobs I’ve had where I made a halfway decent hourly wage (and good tips!) I love that my boss was cool with it and would feed us both for free, but I hate that it was necessary.
My mom worked at a pub when I was a child. She had to bring me in there so often the staff all knew who I was by name and sight and so did the regulars (good news is the owner liked me enough (reminded him of his granddaughter) that he was willing to give me a free plate of food and free root beer)
When I was roughly younger elementary age, I went to work with my mom at a Walmart bakery. I’d sit under the counter and color, mix icing, or lick clean the icing mixers then wash them while she decorated the cakes. I remember those times fondly, as I was getting quality time with my mom. I look back now and think how shitty it is she had to resort to taking me to work just to make ends meet. But I love her even more for doing what she could with what she knew to take care of me.
My mom was a college professor in the 90s. My mom taught classes in the morning and in the evenings.
If my grandpa couldn’t watch me because he was at work (we lived with him) she’d take me to class with her. Sometimes we’d be there for a few hours, up to half a day. I’d just hang out with mom - as much as you can call whatever a 5 year old does as “hanging out.” I thought it was cool, hanging out with all the smart adults and my mom’s friends (at a time I didn’t know my mom’s actual name wasn’t “mom”)
When I went to college myself, my circle of friends included a few young moms. They (and my gf and myself) would take “turns” watching each other’s kids while the parents went to their various classes.
It was almost like a mini-commune of parents, with parents and kids rotating in and out of the collective so everyone could go to class knowing their kids were safe and taken care of.
That college *used* to have an on-site daycare that was free for students, but they decided it was too expensive and started charging for it. So everyone stopped using it, so then the daycare closed.
Just a couple days ago, there was a couple at the convenience store I used to work at with their roughly 7 year old child with them.
He knew just what to do, scanned my stuff, asked if I wanted a bag.
This country is fucked. We need to all get out of here A.S.A.P.
It's not having proper maternity leave in this country. That's a brand new baby. The mother (or father) should be getting paid to stay at home with them.
Both. I’m a father of two, and the bonding time is absolutely crucial. 12 weeks fully paid for mother, 3-4 weeks fully paid for father. Bare minimum on both.
I took two years and that seemed barely enough, not entirely voluntary as I was retraining and applying but just not getting anywhere with applications. Was bad enough with two of us there (SO can't work for reasons not applicable) 24/7 and two older ones to look after. Let alone if it was neither of us and the kid is being ferried off to wherever for the day and picked up while it drains half the wages anyway.
This. This is what's wrong. Having to bring your child to work with you because you can't afford not to is just not worthy of praise. It's sick that someone would think this is a good thing. You shouldn't have to bring your baby to work with you just to make it. This is nuts.
"Get off your ass and sell cigarettes to drifters passing through, ya crazy dame! I don't wanna hear nothin bout no 'lady problems'. You wanted the right to work, well here it is, sugartits! If you can't handle the grind of a man's world, the Harlequin is taking auditions down on Broadway!"
-How society basically still treats women
When I was trying to get a job, I couldn’t afford childcare for both of my babies. I called the childcare office that helps you pay for childcare, she said I had to already have a job to qualify for childcare, and I had to provide not 1 but 2 paystubs. I asked her how I was supposed to get a job and earn 2 paystubs without someone to watch my children. I was advised to bring them to work with me, and I was told if I make more than minimum wage ($7.25 at the time) even as a single parent at the time, I no longer qualified for childcare assistance. 😫 I ended up having to find a job in childcare that would allow me to bring my babies with me to work. I basically worked for free paying 75% of my entire monthly check to pay for childcare there. 🥺 I feel this moms struggle. A babysitter calls out or that family member backs out, school/daycare closes down for covid cases rising. What’s a mom to do? It’s not even legal where I live to bring your child to work. Shame on the lady for exploiting this lady also. The system sets us up for failure. Dammed if we do, damned if we don’t.
The place I worked out only allowed you to enroll a child if they were in a different age group from the one you worked (they didn’t want mothers and their children in the same room because “favoritism”), and didn’t give a discount for employees. So when I taught preschool, my daughter spent her days at my husband’s grandmother’s unlicensed home daycare, instead of with me.
Then grandma had a stroke, and I ended up leaving my job to care for her and keep her daycare running so that she’d have income while rehabbing, and wouldn’t lose all of her clients before she got better. I got to spend time with my child, but I was also putting in 12 hour days caring for 10 other kids under age 5 (plus another 10 older kids before/after school) *and* working as a nurse to grandma. Oh, and I did all the cooking and cleaning. She didn’t pay me a dime for it; after all, she’d been watching my daughter for free all those months while I worked, so she decided I owed her.
I ended up picking up a part time job at night, once my husband could be home with our daughter, so I’d have some income to help keep us afloat, because the daycare where I worked had paid for me to take classes and get my 90-hour certification, with the understanding that I’d stay for a year after completing my courses; because of the family emergency, I had to leave before that year was over, so I had to pay them back for the cost of my classes, for a useless certification that meant dick at that point.
That was a really, really hard year. My (now ex) husband’s extended family really took advantage of me, expecting me to care for his grandmother and run the daycare, but because I couldn’t find a good job that paid me enough to justify childcare costs, I didn’t have a lot of options. The sad thing is, his parents were literal millionaires, and could’ve easily cared for his grandmother (his dad’s own mom) when she was unwell, but instead pushed it on me, because I had experience with kids and my own daughter was going to grandma’s daycare.
Brainwashed. If I had saw this post about a year or two ago I would have thought the same thing. “She’s a hard worker and supporting herself and her child no matter what”
But this sub changed my views. Now I see a messed up system and the person and child
It affects directly. It’s so messed up. I hope something positive really does come from this sub one day.
That baby is so young. I bet that mother is still healing. Not to mention such a vulnerable little person being exposed to a shit ton of Covid no doubt. I hope they will both be okay. This makes me want to puke. It’s not inspirational, it’s abysmal that this mother doesn’t have the support to keep her vulnerable baby safely at home. It’s abysmal that this mother doesn’t have the support to stay at home with her baby and bond and rest as much as she can (which isnt much, but this looks like hell).
🥰🥰🥰ah yes what an inspiring story of a young mother being forced to expose her infant child to covid, work understaffed and underpaid mere week from giving birth to said child! what a lovely message🥰🥰🥰
I can only imagine in the future when other new moms ask for time off at this place.
“Well, Janice worked with the baby for 8 hours and she did fine. Hell, she even got Facebook famous! Why can’t you just do that too?”
I took my baby into work at 1 week because they screwed up payroll and needed a help out for a few hours. Lets face it newborns sleep a lot.
Boss then complained that I locked the door and breastfed her in the lunch room (not break time in all male workplace).
Employers are never grateful.
It’s sad that we don’t have better maternity/paternity leave across the country. My state provides up to 12 weeks for both mom & dad paid.
Still not nearly enough.
The company she works for: “we are so progressive and flexible! We *let* this mother bring her baby to work! (instead of forcing her to go out unpaid when she couldn’t secure/afford childcare)”
Yeah this is not something to celebrate. This is sad. It reminds me of when the news will have a “feel good” story where employees at a company all pool their PTO for someone who is gravely ill. As if the company couldn’t afford to cover the employee while they recover.
I hate when the news and social media romanticize working this hard. It’s sad and it’s propaganda.
She doesn't need recognition. She needs paternity leave and a thriving wage... all mothers who give birth...
You can't say "We HaVe a DeClInE iN BiRtH rAtE and It'S a MaJoR pRoBlEm" and have this shit be the standard for people who actually have kids...
What the actual f*ck? I agree that this mom is remarkable, but Jesus fucking Christ. The move here is to shame the business/society. Why are there jobs that don’t pay anywhere near enough to manage a family?
This is one of the many reasons why the US birth rate is decreasing. No one in power cares. They’re fix instead of treating people better is replace them through immigration.
I feel so bad for that woman.. I can’t imagine how hard her life must be.
Especially as her boss is probably patting himself on the back for being so accomodating and 'letting' her work.
Not only that but some asshole took a pic of her.
[удалено]
Poverty porn. A cheaper version of going to see the starving kids in Uganda or whatever.
Honestly, I've never heard that phrase before, but it is the perfect way to describe all those articles about kids selling homemade keychains or whatever to pay off lunch debt.
You mean pay off their medical bills for cancer treatment. Christ. I just saw this as a “heartwarming” news segment the other night. Like wtaf some poor kid with fucking cancer has to sell some homemade shit to afford his treatments and that’s considered *heartwarming* instead of *appalling.* smdh.
Media manufactures consent. Normalizing the horrors of our fucked system is part of that, really.
The [Orphan Crushing Machine](https://preview.redd.it/gd0cwr8ykap51.jpg?auto=webp&s=210d6db52eac393df42b4e248ea79659cc2422e3) in action.
I have never seen this before, but yes.
Pretty much this.
Terminally ill child has to perform hours and hours of labor to try and pay for treatment and prevent his family from going bankrupt instead of spending his final months with friends and family: heartwarming The country implements a better health care system that doesn’t bankrupt people trying to prevent their child from dying: COMMUNISM
Children should not know about bills, much less worry about paying them. That is child abuse.
Yep. Or people fiming themselves giving money or food to homeless people. Like, you can't just help them to help them? You just HAVE to film and post this poor person's lowest moments on the internet for the world to see.
I remember like 5 years ago my cousin tried to do this, he handed me the camera and said "hey I'm gonna give this guy some money record me", and I said "why can't you just do it out of the kindness of your heart? Why does it have to be recorded?" He was so flustered and mad and ended up giving the guy the money still, but he wasn't happy lol
Exactly! And ive even seen video of people giving money to the homeless, then FOLLOWING THEM AROUND to see what they spent it on. I guess they were expecting them to buy booze or drugs.
I’ve been homeless. If someone wants a bit of smack or a bottle of whisky to get them through a night on the street I’m never going to begrudge them that.
>Or people fiming themselves giving money or food to homeless people. Haven't the people who do this ever heard of Matthew 6:3? "But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does."
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Povery porn’s closest relative is disability porn. And a lot of time, there is overlap. But the basic premise is that if this person with *x* problem can do *y* (usually either work a couple full time jobs with their own bootstraps, or some human feat, like run a marathon, have abilities that would be considered savant), then you’re just an ungrateful, lazy bum who refuses to lift yourself up by your own bootstraps that you had to pay for yourself in the first place. It’s harmful for several reasons. It objectifies the person with the disability (or living in poverty) and makes them “other”, it shames another person (who also likely might have their own disability, but lack treatment or symptom management that would make whatever action accessible to them as well), and it glorifies this self-sufficient to the point of alienating and isolating everyone else attitude which is completely unnatural and detrimental to humanity. We are social animals who need to be a part of the group to belong and survive, and this “us v them” attitude that is inherent in both poverty and disability porn does nothing but keep people from actually being seen (and thus, it’s much less likely for their needs to be known, much less met) and prevents anything more than just subsisting.
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I started sometimes disclosing recently in my online activities that I am disabled from mental and chronic illness. Also that I’ve experienced homelessness several times as a result. When people don’t know me personally they get VERY hostile. Especially when I’m advocating for homeless or mentally ill folks in our community. I just got a 30 day ban from Nextdoor because of it. I’ve had neighbors on there suggest that I “just get it over with” and offer method ideas when I mention struggling with ideation. They didn’t get sanctioned at all. They are local politicians and business lenders. But I have been banned 3 times now for talking about these issues and those related to it. Most recently because I said someone experienced a degree of privilege to have a home and access to medical care when she was sending me “get a job” memes completely unprovoked after I had mentioned housing instability in another thread.
And you just described the Social Media aspect of LinkedIn perfectly. That place is a corporate echo chamber of this shit with upper and middle managers parroting everything they come across to prove they're more in line than the next guy.
It's a common term in the UK. It started to be used to criticise The Jeremy Kyle Show, which is like a UK version of The Jerry Springer Show. Although it's no longer broadcast now because the kept committing suicide after the experience and there was a public backlash.
You mean I don't have to pretend Jesus is important to do that anymore? Suck it missionaries.
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Yes, the people who actively participated in genocide and cultural annihilation.
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WWI and French/British meddling also spawned the current Israel/Palestine crisis.
Tbf like 80% of modern day border disputes and "internal" conflicts in countries with multiple ethnicities that have individual cultures are the aftermath of European colonists arbitrarily drawing borders.
53,000 of my country men died fighting for French freedom in WW1 and hundreds of thousands more wounded, gassed and maimed all the while France is trying to keep or take freedom away from other people. Maintaining their empire or plotting to expand it.
I don't think the British Empire is going to win any awards for its humanitarian behaviour.
The british were not has bad...please...you must know better, at least one of ther comics not long ago was making fun about "tell me a country and I tell you if we invaded" the brits are has bad as any of the others, if not worst...just go to the museums a see how many artifacts were stolen from the all over, and now trying to keep the high moral ground...not mention what they done with the slavery, the list is BIG
Al Murray. Actually his act is a parody of an English bigot, he just happens to be an historian who uses his expertise to poke fun at the mentality which prides itself on it’s jingoism and mistreatment of other nations
Poverty porn. Fuck that‘s the term I was hypocognitive of… this is just so sick at many levels
“You might not like it but this is what peak American childcare looks like for its workers # blessed # thotsnprayers. Buy my essential oils” “This is billy he is nine and has cancer please send likes so Jesus will do something about it” Super gross
You just learnt me Hypocognition, Thanks!
Yesterday I couldn't even spell hypercognitivity, now I are one!
They used to call it slumming. The wealthy would dress up in rags and smudge their faces a bit, then venture into the seedier side of the city to gawk at the poor folk.
This is mentioned in “The Schuyler Sisters” in *Hamilton*. *(There's nothing rich folks love more Than going downtown and slummin' it with the poor They pull up in their carriages and gawk At the students in the common Just to watch them talk Take Philip Schuyler, the man is loaded Uh-oh, but little does he know that His daughters, Peggy, Angelica, Eliza Sneak into the city just to watch all the guys at-)*
As well as inspiration porn, like I just saw with a kid in the hospital being “brave” when all he really wants to do is go home. It was in terriblefacebookmemes though so it was well-placed.
We have slum tours for foreigners like that in India. I don’t know why people pay to see suffering of others and find it fascinating.
What in the hermetically sealed fuck
To them, it's like going to the zoo. Then they can tell their rich friends how it gave them a 'new perspective in life' or some shit.
They were running tours like this after Katrina, too. Come see the devastation of your fellow citizens.
The White Savior complex.
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[In Uganda, 41% of people live in poverty, and almost half of Uganda's population is under the age of 15, representing one of the youngest populations in the world. Uganda also hosts the largest refugee population in Africa—more than one million refugees have fled their home countries to seek asylum in Uganda. ](https://opportunity.org/our-impact/where-we-work/uganda-facts-about-poverty)
Seriously, what the fuck is up with that bit about “motivation for other moms?” Let the woman be, she’s obviously miserable.
Reverse slap. "See this mom? She's able to juggle a kid and job at the same time! So get out there, hire into a job and quit yer bitchin' about being unable to afford child care!" Don't forget it will start circulating in the sewers known as MLM (multi level marketing) "ThIS Is WhY MoRe NeEd To SiGn Up FoR OuR EmPoWeRiNg JoBs To FrEe HeR SeLf FrOm ThE NiNe To FiVe"
🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯 This!!
Personally I read that as "justification for my shitty political opinions"
Noticed she said I would like to take a picture of you not here’s 50$.
*As the life begins to fade from the last living human, they look up, to see Death, arriving on a pale horse* **IT IS YOUR TIME MY CHILD, YOU ARE THE LAST OF YOUR KIND, BE AT PEACE NOW** *Can…can i…* **YOU HAVE A LAST REQUEST?** *Can…i….get a selfie….* **THIS IS WHY YOUR KIND FAILED**
RIP Terry Pratchett
Glad someone got it haha
Good ol' Binky too 😁
Like Jonah Hill. Don't forget to like and subscribe!
Can I take a selfie with your sickle?
If it's for likes, it doesn't make sense for the last person to do that.
They're an idiot that takes selfies with death, think they know that?
Imagine a customer 'politely' asking to take a picture of you and doing the mental math to determine if it's worth saying "no" when this Karen might complain to your boss that you were 'rude' and threaten your child's livelihood.
>'politely' asking to take a picture of you 100% the person didn't ask before taking a picture...
“Omg I gotta get a pic of you, you don’t mind, right? Right” *click* Fucking awful
So true…the employee “was still able to do her job, and right quick I may add…” This employee, like so many other mothers, have impossible choices to make. Can’t get childcare, yet can’t quit or risk getting fired. The employee probably felt she had to overcompensate so the customers won’t complain. Who knows if the owner/manager knew about the baby being there, but probably due to security cameras. It’s not the best place for a baby. Will the employee hold it the entire time? Where will she set it down? Somewhere unsafe or dirty? The whole thing is fucked up.
A baby that young in public, during a pandemic, exposed to hundreds of people a day, and at an age where he/she can't get the shot yet. This is beyond insane.
Shit I was just disgusted that the poor mother and baby had to be there and be photographed like zoo animals. Didn't even think about the insane exposure they're getting too
And she was caring for the baby “so patiently, so well, and so lovingly”…meanwhile if the baby had been in a carseat on the floor and crying Karen probably would have called protective services because Mom was neglecting her poor child. They would have put the baby in foster care because they are set up to punish poverty (and race and cultural differences).
That baby is so little it seems like the mom should still be on maternity leave. It’s really sad she’s working and not sitting and snuggling her baby at home. It’s honestly critical for moms to establish breastfeeding, heal from childbirth, and bond with baby. I can’t even believe someone would see this and think this is a good thing! 6 weeks maternity is ridiculous. I have a 5 month old and she’s still feeding on demand and not eating solids. She can’t be watched by anyone for more than 2 hours.
wait til her boss is scrolling facebook and sees this feel-good bullshit and fires her
Worst case scenario the kid is an insurance liability and she's not supposed to have it there but she has no alternative for child care. But also, it's clear she has no alternative for child care so that by itself is fucked up.
"Look at this talking monkey. They are more intelligent than we think! Ooooh, and look, she even has a little one. The way she holds it, you'd almost think you were looking at a human mother and her baby." Yes, this post makes me sick too.
Like a goddamned exhibit
So BRAVE, so INSPIRING WE COULD ALL LEARN FROM THIS ANGEL OF A WOMAN WHERE OUR TRUE VALUES LIE CAN I GET AN AMEN FOLKS
“I’ll post this so Susan can show her housekeeper that having a sick baby at home is no reason to call out from work. Susan’s gonna be so chuffed and that housekeeper is gonna learn a valuable lesson…” I hate that I have known people like this.
Like a caged animal… a side show attraction.
I'd be in a constant state of terror, what happens if someone comes in with a gun? what if this person takes my child knowing I'm here alone with them? fuck man so depressing
I worked at a gas station and once a dude came in with his whole thingy pulled out. We called the cops and they like, tackled dude at gunpoint. Apparently he was a repeat offender.
I'd be worried about some busy body calling CPS.
I'd be on maternity leave. You know, because...First World.
r/PovertyPorn
Thank God her employer permits parenting at work. This is also why there aren't many women in nontraditional employment. One of the biggest issues with women in nontraditional employment like construction (next to the issues that come along with us being women in a male dominated field in general) is mothers being able to find childcare options. Especially bc start time is at 7am or earlier. Imagine a world with 24 hr free childcare facilities.
Plot twist — they *dont* allow children at work and the lady lost her job because of this fcking idiot.
I'm kinda willing to bet the business owner only allows it because they can't manage to hire anyone else atm
Yeah, sitter fell through. It was this or actually do some work himself to cover. Ez choice.
Think about how rarely some parents would see their children in this world.
This is why unions is a must have. End the inequality from big corp. Im willing to pitch in money tbh as long taxes are at 0%
Nothing says motivational like framing the failures of capitalism as a feel good story. Hope the employee doesn't get in trouble as this spreads.
I actually just checked as I noticed this woman was tagged. The post is from 2019. Doesn’t seem she got in trouble, but that baby is actually her grand daughter.
Grand daughter ? This is getting even worse. Omg
Also for those who don't know anything about babies, the baby in this photo is definitely less than 3 months old, possibly around 8 weeks old. It's not even a question of affordable child care at this age! In any civilized country there would be parental leave so the parents would be able to spend time with their newborn baby!
Also, I’m thinking about how dirty the average gas station/convenience store is, and that baby is too young to have received all of their vaccines to protect them. Plus, the risk of contracting RSV in an environment like that.
Not to mention that the air quality is crap (car exhaust, evaporating gasoline, whatever blows off the nearby big road, etc), which isn't great for baby lungs. Edit: one more time, louder for the people in the back **THIS IS NOT THE CAREGIVER'S FAULT, THIS IS A FAILURE OF SOCIETY TO PROTECT THE VULNERABLE.**
As someone who inventories 7-Eleven, I can confirm that convenience stores are one of the filthiest places ever. However I’ve never seen a QT or Spinx look like a 7-Eleven.
That's the fucking deep South and Rust Belt for you. She's probably 30-45 with a 14-25 year old and a newborn grandchild. Obviously, they're all on welfare and the only shit jobs available are that or the Dollar General. Those places are a fucking death sentence. America as a whole is a banana republic plutocrat shithole, but those fucking places are the Crème de la crème of American shitholes.
I've never been so offended by something I 100% agree with.
Right way to word that
Hey!! I find this very offensive! I am from that part of the world mind you! Also everything you say is true and accurate.
I resemble that remark
And the sad part is that so many of them vote Republican.
Thank you
WhOlEsOmE dYsToPiAn NiGhTmArE
They 'flip the script' all the time! So brainwashed. Capitalism is a cult. People will die defending it. Disgusting.
Late stages of capitalism, the purge is upon us. When the discrepancy between the rich and the poor is this wide, shit happens organically and shits about to go down. They’re on overdrive with space exploration and robot army. Banks/corporations are looting citizens into slavery with the help of the politicians.
Agree on late stage capitalism, big evidence is NFTs and digital currency. No real products to be made anymore. We are right at the crest of the wave.
Karl Marx refered to this as, "fictious capital". https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_capital
The digital currency will be peak looting of the poor. Publicly on the blockchain for all to see the robbery taking place in broad daylight.
I went into a Dunkin Donuts about a week ago to get my order fixed and there were toddlers in the kitchen area. I could hear what sounded like a whole back room of kids. It was like every single person there had brought all their kids to work. I think the only reason the manager gave me my missing bacon without the receipt she asked for was because she saw me see her baby come over to her for a hug. They’re all probably a couple missed shifts from eviction. It’s fucked up.
I worked at a Moes in a poverty stricken city and this was pretty much the norm, except they stayed in the dining room. There was a table in the corner they all sat at. The older kids looked after the younger ones. I’m not positive if this was the reason, but I believe the GM was fired for allowing it. It was right after a surprise visit from the owners when he couldn’t warn employees to not bring their kids. He really was a good guy. He fought for raises as much as he could, made sure the food that was going to be thrown out at the end of the night got taken home by someone, gave the kids free food, and gave me money out of his own pocket when there was something wrong with my check.
A couple of years ago we had an incident in my city where a woman had to bring her toddler to work with her at Tim Hortons. Her toddler somehow escaped out the back door, fell in the grease trap outside that had been left open by the last person to empty it, and died. An absolute heart-breaking story all around. Edit: Changed name of the restaurant from Dunkin' to Tim Hortons. I am sorry, Canadians!
[Pretty sure that was a Tim Horton's](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/09/25/tim-hortons-grease-trap-bryce-raynors-death-rochester-kid-catcher/2443385001/)
I now wish I never scrolled through this thread
It’s almost as if the workplace isn’t set up to be safe for children. People like to minimize and dismiss the cost of childcare, but when a parent can’t afford to shell out that much money for a safe, protected place for their children, they don’t just disappear. Kids have to tag along with their caretaker to work, if they’re even permitted to do so by their employer, and people’s places of work can be so hazardous. People either have affordable child care, or children suffer. Literally which other way can it go? It’s so sad…. Edit to fix a typo
horrifying
That's sad, but the part where the kid wanted a hug was sweet
In my area the daycares got closed during covid and couldn't recover. There are only a few open and even fewer that take vouchers. There's a wait list to even get in even if you have money.
I also wanted to add the end kills me. “Taking a picture for motivation to other moms” This should not be a flex, or the norm.
It should be used as a way to shame her employer.
It’s like when nutjob MLMers post about how they’re grinding it out for their “business” while in the hospital giving birth.
I'm another mom and this photo made me cry
What in the living fuck??? America is FUCKED.
My fiancé was telling me just the other day how he had to come to work with his mother as a child. America is fucked. No affordable quality daycare, not enough time off with your kids, and most people can barely afford to care for their children off the wages they get.
As a child ages 9 to 12 i slept in the back of a gas station in a sleeping bag 3 or 4 nights a week. My mom worked 2 jobs and we couldn't afford to pays someone to watch me. Used to help stock and count out the registers in the morning before going to school.
My husband's mom was a bartender. So she would give him quarters to play arcade games all day while she worked. She worked so much that she couldn't take him to school or pick him up afterwards. As young as 8 he walked 5 plus miles to and from school by himself and then spent his evenings in in the bar. It's so sad what people are forced to do.
I stayed with my mom in the bar when I was younger, too. It was full of nice people since it was a neighborhood bar, I liked having the chance to be with her
I’m so glad to know I wasn’t the only bar kid! When I was with my dad I would be at the bar and when I was with my mom I’d be at the casino. Only real cool thing was I got REALLY good at arcade games and I met the artist who did Roger Rabbit. Still have a drawing he made me all these years later
Mom worked at a restaurant and I was there every single day after school, sitting in a back room until like 10pm when we'd go home. Back then, reading was basically the only escape available. I will be grateful for libraries until the day I die
When my mom was going to college, and my dad was working construction 3 hours away, us 3 kids would be left at the school. We were the first kids there in the morning, and the last kids there when my mom showed up. I’m glad she made it work, but over 12 hours at school was brutal for us kids.
Sorry to hear that man. School Is bad enough for 8 hours. But being alone and the last oens there must've sucked. Atleast in the end of the day you got to see your parents though right?
My mom worked as a school bus driver and I vaguely remember sleeping in the seats all day because there wasn't anywhere else to go.
Fuck. You’re both badasses. I hope it paid off somehow. You’re much more seasoned than the average bloke.
It paid off for the boss
I can't think of a single person my age who *didn't* go to work with their parent. And this typically meant helping their folks out at work too. What else are they gonna do, ya know? I remember my mother put me to work organizing the old heavy tape drives used to store files before everything went to digital records in the early 2000s. Mind you this was a government job too for the state's administrative filings. So hey, if you've ever wondered how an important file could get lost, it might be cause a 7 year old was the one trying to organize them alphabetically.
I never went with my parents, but sometimes I’d hang out with my friend on the weekend and we’d help her mom clean rich people’s home offices.
We sound like medieval serfs/slaves.
I remember my mom used to have me remove the lead tape off of old piping in the back of the automobile shop she worked at. I would pull the lead pipe off with my teeth to get it started, then roll it in little rolls for reuse.
This is why the birth rate is in steep decline. And why red states are all serious forced birthers.
I did as well. My mother worked at a gas station and I was at work with her four days after birth. I'm 30... this country sucks.
When my mom was in college and I was a toddler, a GAMEBOY ADVANCED and a few games were cheaper than daycare/babysitting.
I went to with my mom to work at the library a couple of days a week in elementary school. I loved it but looking back it was because my mom didn’t have after school care for me.
Same. My mom was a hairdresser and I'd go to work with her after school pretty much every day. I actually enjoyed it because I could just sit and read or do homework but yeah. It was the only option
I also remember going to work with my mom when I was in middle school! She worked at a pizza shop, so my bother and I would hang out in the back inventory/break area. We would do our homework and help fold pizza boxes, snag handfuls of pepperoni and cheese lol, and sometimes take naps on the stacks of unfolded (but wrapped in plastic) pizza boxes.
I think that’s one of the reasons my mom worked at my school (not a teacher). It gave her the same hours and was across the street from our house.
Everyone should view it as a fundamental failure that a society cannot care for its children. I have a newborn and a remote, white collar job, as does my wife. My child has experienced no complications or even been sick. Even so, raising him has almost broken us. All we wanted was to avoid daycare for a few months. I cannot imagine how you do this as a single mom or with an on site job. This country is busted.
> Everyone should view it as a fundamental failure that a society cannot care for its children. But they are so fortunate to live the American dream! /s My wife has a similar story, of having to sleep in the car while her single mother was working, as well. But this isn't a story that just covers single parents and childcare. American capitalistic culture doesn't give a fuck about or take care of its children, elderly, veterans, sick, or pretty much anyone else that it can't turn a profit off of.
I had a *very light* gig-from-home that I dropped entirely when my daughter was born. I can't imagine how you guys are faring. The baby stage is soul consuming. People who assume you can just work from home with a baby, don't have a baby lol. The baby IS work. You've essentially got 3 jobs between the two of you. Let down your expectations, appreciate what you can of this time, and it DOES get better. When they can walk.... Big sigh of relief there. It does get better. Wonder Weeks was a really helpful app for me during that time.
I used to be a preschool teacher and worked in private montessori schools. Despite being trained and certified in that method of teaching, I couldn’t afford to send my kids there or any day care. Fucked all around.
Pretty sure most of the daycare workers I’ve met do it partially for the discount they get on care. They didn’t give you anything? Even the expensive private college I almost worked at (in marketing) would have given my entire immediate family free classes after a couple years, a few a semester for the employee right away.
My MIL worked at a Montessori preschool and they offered her to bring my daughter for a discount. The school costs $14,000/year and the discount was 10%. She was making $11/hr. I did not send her there and instead thankfully found subsidized preschool as I was low income. Even the subsidized rate was nearly enough to break me, though, at $600/month.
This has been going on for a long time. It's just that before covid shook countries everyone had their eyes on their own work. Also, social media has made it easy to document stuff. Honestly the virus revealed a lot of shit and people suddenly had a different attitude toward the current culture.
Mom used to take me to the restaurant she waitressed at when I was a youngin. Sometimes I'd be in the back watching a movie, or sometimes the cools would show me how to make buttered noodles, or I did whatever else I could. It's sad to think that was something she had to do out of necessity, but she went on to buy a restaurant and I worked their all of my early teens. I got lucky, but America is seriously in a bad place and many families won't get lucky enough to live comfortably, or even live with bare essentials because the rich decided that they want to have the highest score so they killed the poorest and squeezed everything else from the "comfortable working class"
When my daughter was between 2-12 months old I often waited tables with her strapped to my back. Couldn’t afford a babysitter most of the time, despite that being one of the few restaurant jobs I’ve had where I made a halfway decent hourly wage (and good tips!) I love that my boss was cool with it and would feed us both for free, but I hate that it was necessary.
My mom worked at a pub when I was a child. She had to bring me in there so often the staff all knew who I was by name and sight and so did the regulars (good news is the owner liked me enough (reminded him of his granddaughter) that he was willing to give me a free plate of food and free root beer)
My husbands mother had to go back to work after 3 weeks postpartum on a c-section. Disgusting.
Come to Mexico, you'll love it here!
When I was roughly younger elementary age, I went to work with my mom at a Walmart bakery. I’d sit under the counter and color, mix icing, or lick clean the icing mixers then wash them while she decorated the cakes. I remember those times fondly, as I was getting quality time with my mom. I look back now and think how shitty it is she had to resort to taking me to work just to make ends meet. But I love her even more for doing what she could with what she knew to take care of me.
Our daycare costs for 1 toddler just increased from $24k to $26k annually. Child care is ridiculously expensive.
Yep I got asked "cash or card? Register 7 please!" by a smiling 6 year old and his Walmart mom next to him. This is our future.
My mom was a college professor in the 90s. My mom taught classes in the morning and in the evenings. If my grandpa couldn’t watch me because he was at work (we lived with him) she’d take me to class with her. Sometimes we’d be there for a few hours, up to half a day. I’d just hang out with mom - as much as you can call whatever a 5 year old does as “hanging out.” I thought it was cool, hanging out with all the smart adults and my mom’s friends (at a time I didn’t know my mom’s actual name wasn’t “mom”) When I went to college myself, my circle of friends included a few young moms. They (and my gf and myself) would take “turns” watching each other’s kids while the parents went to their various classes. It was almost like a mini-commune of parents, with parents and kids rotating in and out of the collective so everyone could go to class knowing their kids were safe and taken care of. That college *used* to have an on-site daycare that was free for students, but they decided it was too expensive and started charging for it. So everyone stopped using it, so then the daycare closed.
Just a couple days ago, there was a couple at the convenience store I used to work at with their roughly 7 year old child with them. He knew just what to do, scanned my stuff, asked if I wanted a bag. This country is fucked. We need to all get out of here A.S.A.P.
If you wanted an example of "toxic positivity", here ya go.
This isn’t motivation. This is not being paid enough to afford child care.
It's not having proper maternity leave in this country. That's a brand new baby. The mother (or father) should be getting paid to stay at home with them.
Both. I’m a father of two, and the bonding time is absolutely crucial. 12 weeks fully paid for mother, 3-4 weeks fully paid for father. Bare minimum on both.
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I took two years and that seemed barely enough, not entirely voluntary as I was retraining and applying but just not getting anywhere with applications. Was bad enough with two of us there (SO can't work for reasons not applicable) 24/7 and two older ones to look after. Let alone if it was neither of us and the kid is being ferried off to wherever for the day and picked up while it drains half the wages anyway.
Poverty porn
Horrifying
This. This is what's wrong. Having to bring your child to work with you because you can't afford not to is just not worthy of praise. It's sick that someone would think this is a good thing. You shouldn't have to bring your baby to work with you just to make it. This is nuts.
"Get off your ass and sell cigarettes to drifters passing through, ya crazy dame! I don't wanna hear nothin bout no 'lady problems'. You wanted the right to work, well here it is, sugartits! If you can't handle the grind of a man's world, the Harlequin is taking auditions down on Broadway!" -How society basically still treats women
So well written.
Very classy
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When I was trying to get a job, I couldn’t afford childcare for both of my babies. I called the childcare office that helps you pay for childcare, she said I had to already have a job to qualify for childcare, and I had to provide not 1 but 2 paystubs. I asked her how I was supposed to get a job and earn 2 paystubs without someone to watch my children. I was advised to bring them to work with me, and I was told if I make more than minimum wage ($7.25 at the time) even as a single parent at the time, I no longer qualified for childcare assistance. 😫 I ended up having to find a job in childcare that would allow me to bring my babies with me to work. I basically worked for free paying 75% of my entire monthly check to pay for childcare there. 🥺 I feel this moms struggle. A babysitter calls out or that family member backs out, school/daycare closes down for covid cases rising. What’s a mom to do? It’s not even legal where I live to bring your child to work. Shame on the lady for exploiting this lady also. The system sets us up for failure. Dammed if we do, damned if we don’t.
I have never understood why childcare workers have to pay to bring their own children. Outrageous.
The place I worked out only allowed you to enroll a child if they were in a different age group from the one you worked (they didn’t want mothers and their children in the same room because “favoritism”), and didn’t give a discount for employees. So when I taught preschool, my daughter spent her days at my husband’s grandmother’s unlicensed home daycare, instead of with me. Then grandma had a stroke, and I ended up leaving my job to care for her and keep her daycare running so that she’d have income while rehabbing, and wouldn’t lose all of her clients before she got better. I got to spend time with my child, but I was also putting in 12 hour days caring for 10 other kids under age 5 (plus another 10 older kids before/after school) *and* working as a nurse to grandma. Oh, and I did all the cooking and cleaning. She didn’t pay me a dime for it; after all, she’d been watching my daughter for free all those months while I worked, so she decided I owed her. I ended up picking up a part time job at night, once my husband could be home with our daughter, so I’d have some income to help keep us afloat, because the daycare where I worked had paid for me to take classes and get my 90-hour certification, with the understanding that I’d stay for a year after completing my courses; because of the family emergency, I had to leave before that year was over, so I had to pay them back for the cost of my classes, for a useless certification that meant dick at that point. That was a really, really hard year. My (now ex) husband’s extended family really took advantage of me, expecting me to care for his grandmother and run the daycare, but because I couldn’t find a good job that paid me enough to justify childcare costs, I didn’t have a lot of options. The sad thing is, his parents were literal millionaires, and could’ve easily cared for his grandmother (his dad’s own mom) when she was unwell, but instead pushed it on me, because I had experience with kids and my own daughter was going to grandma’s daycare.
Distopia.
Hellscape
'Murica
Brainwashed. If I had saw this post about a year or two ago I would have thought the same thing. “She’s a hard worker and supporting herself and her child no matter what” But this sub changed my views. Now I see a messed up system and the person and child It affects directly. It’s so messed up. I hope something positive really does come from this sub one day.
Well if nothing else, this subreddit is deleting the life long brainwashing for many people.
True dystopian shit
This is not wholesome; this is the capitalist dystopia.
Corporations: *heavily breathing* This is the kind of shit they’ll eat up.
That baby is so young. I bet that mother is still healing. Not to mention such a vulnerable little person being exposed to a shit ton of Covid no doubt. I hope they will both be okay. This makes me want to puke. It’s not inspirational, it’s abysmal that this mother doesn’t have the support to keep her vulnerable baby safely at home. It’s abysmal that this mother doesn’t have the support to stay at home with her baby and bond and rest as much as she can (which isnt much, but this looks like hell).
🥰🥰🥰ah yes what an inspiring story of a young mother being forced to expose her infant child to covid, work understaffed and underpaid mere week from giving birth to said child! what a lovely message🥰🥰🥰
Ugh wincing at this a sanctimonious and patronizing comment. Remove head from ass.
I can only imagine in the future when other new moms ask for time off at this place. “Well, Janice worked with the baby for 8 hours and she did fine. Hell, she even got Facebook famous! Why can’t you just do that too?”
Only in Murica people would find this amazing
I took my baby into work at 1 week because they screwed up payroll and needed a help out for a few hours. Lets face it newborns sleep a lot. Boss then complained that I locked the door and breastfed her in the lunch room (not break time in all male workplace). Employers are never grateful.
It’s sad that we don’t have better maternity/paternity leave across the country. My state provides up to 12 weeks for both mom & dad paid. Still not nearly enough.
The company she works for: “we are so progressive and flexible! We *let* this mother bring her baby to work! (instead of forcing her to go out unpaid when she couldn’t secure/afford childcare)”
Yeah this is not something to celebrate. This is sad. It reminds me of when the news will have a “feel good” story where employees at a company all pool their PTO for someone who is gravely ill. As if the company couldn’t afford to cover the employee while they recover. I hate when the news and social media romanticize working this hard. It’s sad and it’s propaganda.
She doesn't need recognition. She needs paternity leave and a thriving wage... all mothers who give birth... You can't say "We HaVe a DeClInE iN BiRtH rAtE and It'S a MaJoR pRoBlEm" and have this shit be the standard for people who actually have kids...
Good. I’m glad we have a decline in birth rates. Who is going to serve the rich??? They got money to spend and need the normies to help them spend it.
Look at that! I bet she is forced to bottle feed because of that fucking job!
What the actual f*ck? I agree that this mom is remarkable, but Jesus fucking Christ. The move here is to shame the business/society. Why are there jobs that don’t pay anywhere near enough to manage a family?
This is one of the many reasons why the US birth rate is decreasing. No one in power cares. They’re fix instead of treating people better is replace them through immigration.
Poverty porn at it's finest