This is why we need public childcare. Much like public transit and other tax funded goods it is something that services a greater societal and economic good, but is a huge burden on the non wealthy. The individual system we currently have doesnt work when businesses are trying to make a profit and when money is spread around like it is.

Even outside of places like NYC the cost of childcare is bonkers. Like obviously the city has it bad but even that “cheap” quote that is a weight off that woman’s shoulders is kind of bonkers when you think about it. 50 a day would be $250 a week. That’s about $13,000 a YEAR. And its all well and good when we’re talking about someone making $200k with their dream midtown job(and they dont even mention if she’s married and if so what they make) but like low cost areas have lower wages to boot.

So sure if you’re making 280-300k+ a year that sounds generous, but suddenly when you’re making 50k, 60, hell even 90k. After taxes, healthcare, groceries, rent/mortgage, utilities, car payments(cause you cant get away with living without a car in most of the country outside NYC) and you’re barely breaking even IF you’re breaking even at all.

That doesnt even count emergencies. Car breaking down, medical bills, home repairs , and etc. We need universal childcare and we needed it yesterday!

I dont think giving kids access to technology is inherently bad and having a smartphone/tablet/laptop/etc can be a good learning experience. I’m a bit of a nerd who grew up on message boards, uses linux, and enjoys his gaming pc. At the same time I then think about the websites I went to and the things that influenced me when I was younger and I get anxious over how I’m supposed to handle this with my future kids.

Abrasive big message board culture made me into a bit of an edgy jerk and then I found 4chan. I was already 16 when this happened, but even before then I’d already spent my tween years cutting my teeth on edgy and(when parents and family were out erotic) newgrounds content. I’d seen gore stuff on sites like rotten. The porn side of the internet was way sketchier than it was now. A casual search would lead you down malware infested rabbit holes of popups where next thing you know your softcore centerfold pose is next to something illegal like bestiality or worse.

There are tools to fix this, but I worry that these tools would lead to an internet so devoid of content I might as well give them a dumbphone, or it may be loose enough for them to find ways around it. (and if they arent getting their porn from big names like pornhub then their next stop is probably something sketchy and less moderated). As the article mentions as well there’s also the “normal” internet and social media are also toxic with algorithms pushing boys and young men to get red pilled, and girls and young women towards eating disorders.

My child isnt even born yet, and I know all I can do is my best. At the end of it all I turned out alright even in spite of what I encountered online, and that was with two parents who had no idea what I was looking at or didnt really think much about the internet.