I had been dreading last week for two months. I couldn’t imagine being away, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., every day, for nine days. My folks came down to help out, but I was still uptight about it. I made sure the fridge was stocked. I made a calendar for the week of our daughter’s simple schedule, and attached a list of playmates’ phone numbers and emergency contacts. My folks kept saying, “Don’t worry.” It wasn’t so much that I was worried; I just wasn’t sure I could let go of the household reins.
In the end, it wasn’t that difficult. I said goodbye every morning, went to class, and came home. Every night Mom made dinner, I played with my girl, got her to bed, and then sat down to study. It was an easy routine. I got used to it, and liked it, real quick.
On the last day of our class, a few of us got talking about children, work schedules and priorities. Two of us are already parents and two others are in the pre-parenting when-and-if stage. I and another new parent offered advice, saying how we found that after our kids were born we really wanted to spend time with them. Along with our spouses, we shifted our money and career priorities to put the children in the center, and then worked everything around them. I admitted, however, that after the week in class, I could easily get used to being gone every day. But I can’t imagine doing it without my folks here.
Then I came home and read that 40,000 kindergarteners, and a total of 14,000,000 school age children, are home alone every day after school. This number could soon double or even triple. President Bush proposes cutting federal after-school funds by $300 million dollars and issuing vouchers instead. Those against the budget cuts argue that many after-school programs will simply shut down due to lack of funding and parents will have nowhere to use their vouchers, leaving more children out of care programs. In Colorado alone, a projected 3,000 children would be adversely affected by the proposed cuts.
The facts are that after-school programs do more than just give kids a safe place to be until mom or dad comes home from work. Children enrolled in after-school programs have higher academic scores, do better socially, get into fewer fights, drugs, alcohol, and sexual activities, and are more likely to graduate from high school.  (See afterschoolalliance.org article from Monday, February 25, 2008, for facts and information on the proposed cuts.)
The lesson to take away: look into and support your local after-school programs! Right here in Norwood, kids ages 6 to 12 can spend Monday afternoons at the Charlie Fowler climbing wall, not only getting a good workout, but mastering their physical abilities, learning how to work as a team, tame frustration, and gain self-confidence. The Green Club meets on Thursdays, and Wednesdays are game days. Call 327-0555 for information on the B.A.S.E. program.