Jennifer Jenniss, Terrace Standard

Dear Sir:

I am a 34 year-old single parent and I have emailed various politicians …I would like to lodge a complaint. I’m a single parent of two boys. I worked every day possible as I am their sole provider. Their father has been ordered to pay maintenance, however there have been difficulties collecting.

I was working a full time position as a pharmacy assistant and had been for the last 11 years.

However that changed when I renewed the child care subsidy. They reduced the amount they would pay to $83 per child per month come September, and I believe $367 per child a month during the summer.

Daycare costs $800 a month per child for full time care.

Now, with some simple addition for the summer for two kids, $800 plus $800 equals $1600. Subtract $734 for the subsidy and that comes to $866. Adding $60 a month for after hours baby sitting and that total equals $926 – half a month’s wages.

Please tell me how I can afford to pay rent of $700 and groceries and back- to-school gear, and that’s just the summer months!

Now let’s look at September with $400 a child for part-time care so again let’s look at the math.

At two children that’s $800. Subtract the $167 for the subsidy for both and add in the after hours baby sitting of $60 and I’m still looking at $797 a month for the cost – still approximately half a month’s wages. When I phoned to question this, the answer I got is I make too much money.

Please tell how a single mom with daycare costs listed above makes too much money and is supposed to make ends meet? I can’t collect E.I. because daycare costs aren’t a good enough reason to quit.

So what is a single parent suppose to do if they can’t afford daycare? Leave the child at home alone?

Because that is what this crazy, insane system is saying. Can’t go on welfare because child care costs aren’t a good enough reason to quit.

Please tell me how single parents are suppose to get ahead or even survive for that matter?

And I challenge you to make ends meet and survive with $1,850 a month and raise two kids (alone) with daycare costing $1,600 a month while only getting $734 from subsidy, no family maintenance from the other parent, and you need to pay $700 a month for rent (you don’t have to worry about cable or hydro or natural gas because it is included, lucky you), $125 month car insurance plus groceries, phone bill, cell bill, daycare, dental/medical, maintenance on your vehicle, clothing and gas for your vehicle. Do that for three months.