How did registering for kids' activities get so competitive?
A fresh look at the endless waitlist battle is on newsstands now.
Hello, Playground Friend! It’s been a minute. So many minutes, for so many reasons. For one, I went back to school! To study climate change and what we can all do about it ✨🌎💪✨
Then, while juggling two virtual classes and two little kids, Vancouver Magazine asked me to investigate why it is so damn hard for parents to find and afford activities for kids — whether its licensed child care, kindergarten, swimming lessons, gymnastics classes or just about anything.
When the magazine’s inquiry dropped in my inbox, I was sitting in the middle of a busy community centre lobby and mindlessly exhaled the biggest, loudest, most mentally exhausted sigh a human could conjure. I knew I had to say yes — this topic is so important — but I already felt streeeeeeeetched so thin.
“Oh no, is everything alright?!” a fellow millennial mom, who happened to be sitting right next to me, immediately responded.
Embarrassment instantly replaced my fatigue. This wasn’t life or death. But, as a mother, I figured she could relate somehow, so I shared my predicament. I don’t remember her response word-for-word, but it was something along the lines of, “You know in your heart what you’re capable of.”
She was right. I said “yes” to the magazine while negotiating an extra week to get it done.
Of course, it wasn’t easy. As I set off in search of experts, advocates and parents to interview, spring “break” kicked off. So naturally, both kids got sick and missed hundreds of dollars worth of pre-booked child care. Then, my partner left for a work trip while the kids and I visited family in California. Determined not to sacrifice precious time with extended family or meeting my deadline, I worked into the wee hours each night after putting the kids to bed.
It wasn’t pretty at all, but the irony was laughable. I was writing about the lack of public support for children and families while falling through the cracks myself.
The article is on newsstands now, in and around Vancouver. If you’re able to purchase a copy of Vancouver Magazine to support local journalism, that would be rad. If not, peep a copy for free online right here. You’ll find my contribution on pages 24-27 😊
Wishing you a fun, safe and sane rest of summer! More Playground Talk to come this fall 💌
-Brittany