Volvos? Unless they cut you off in traffic, you don’t give a crap. But once you have one, you will notice every Volvo in detail, even if parked. Becoming a parent is kinda the same thing. As a parent, you want the best for your Volvo.

Private charter schools in New York City focus on Black and Hispanic kids. They produce outstanding students for a fraction of the public school cost. Many low-income single working parents want their kids to have a better education than they had. Prison inmates generally have one thing in common: they come from broken/chaotic homes. Interestingly, many of the horrific things we see in the news and the sheer volume were less prevalent or absent when I grew up.

It is hard to expect a single mom, after working a full day, to have the time, strength, patience and energy to be calm and nurturing. After eight hours of paid work, then home for unpaid work — make dinner, do laundry, address what happened in school … if they went — the tank is empty.

The best place for a child to grow up is with the mom if she is a caring mom. Raising a small child is a full-time job in itself. Mass daycare overseen by unrelated adults is not ideal. Not every mom is devoted to their child, but most are. Yes, kids need to interact with other kids growing up to be socialized. But the raising of a child should be by the mother (with play dates for the kiddos), not strangers. Many single parents must work at usually low-paid jobs.

Perhaps society should acknowledge that raising a child is WORK. It is, in some cases, a 24-hour JOB in the first 5 years (at least). Some moms want to stay home and raise their child from birth to grade school but must earn an outside income. Let’s pay them a salary to stay home and be the best parent they can be in the formative years of the child. What I have in mind is not another social services program open to everyone. It will be a formal job with a salary paid every two weeks, like any other job, with a small pension (fully vested in five years). A single working parent can apply and interview for this job. The interview process would look into background, etc., like any other job. Some will not be accepted just as charter schools don’t take every child. If it turns out later to be a bad fit, she can be fired or can quit.

Since this would be a job, the parent would be evaluated on a periodic basis by their employer: the government that funds the program. They would not be judged by 24-year-olds with newly minted “sociology” or “early child development” degrees from a private liberal arts college. No Cea Weaver types. It will be fellow single parents who already have raised kids under the same (low income, low security) situations, thus judged by their peers. Yes, there will be guidelines but there will be flexibility as well.

Generations ago, the mom stayed home and the dad went out and earned the bread. The dad got the pension. If he left her, she had no income and a child to take care of. How often are “court-ordered payments” circumvented? This idea proposes an independent salary and pension in recognition for doing a (difficult at times) job. Moms are still on duty at 1 a.m. with a sick child.

The Minnesota Scams are at $9 billion … so far. If we have vast fortunes for taxpayer-funded mass day care fraud, then we have money to recognize the work moms do when they focus on the child. Rather than go to a traditional job and the child be raised by strangers, how about society finally accepts mom does real, tangible work at home and gives her some peace of mind by paying her accordingly? Salary to moms directly for their work will eliminate most (but not all) of the fraud, waste, inefficiency and nonsense that comes with well-meaning but corrupt government programs. You will get a better product for a cheaper price. Think “Breakfast In Brooklyn”: tinyurl.com/2exuxjuz.

Is there another benefit from this idea? Yes. Periodic performance evaluations will give a single parent something solid to put on a resume. Doing a job well for five years is a sign of responsibility and reliability, ask any hiring manager. The moms might also have more self-pride: being employed, not on assistance, even if the money were the same. This idea takes being a nanny to its logical conclusion.

There will always be a place for real mass day care (not Somali scams). Not every single parent will be accepted to this voluntary hypothetical program and some may not want to participate.

This idea is not intended for everyone. No “we give an inch, and they demand a mile” types. If mom could be on Jerry Springer, then probably not a good fit. A mom working in McDonalds hoping to get into NCCC’s nursing program while she finishes her GED probably IS a good fit. The 2007-2008 NCCC nursing class was all women except for just three guys. Many of those women were single moms.

Politicians claim, “We only want what is best for the children!” The best place is with mom if she is a good mom.

Note: You can replace “mom” with “dad” in this little idea. While less common, there are dads in these situations as well.

Just a thought … And … Hi Ma, how was work? The Volvo’s on fire and the dog chewed the remote. What’s for dinner?

——

Ira Weinberg is a resident of Saranac Lake.