Man, some weeks parenting is a real bugger. Bugger! Wait, did I say bugger? Let me rephrase cause 'bugger' sounds too Euro-cutesy. Some weeks suck to be a parent, SUCK! Some weeks are so super hard they take all your strength just to keep from blowing out and burning up. Parenting isn't easy (all the parents nod and stare blankly). Now, please know that I am not writing this to simply bitch about the hard week I am experiencing, though it does feel good to talk about it! I am writing as always because this situation points out a superb social entrepreneur opportunity.
The hard week back story- For me the reason is simple, lack of sleep. This week is all about sleep deprivation in my family and sleep deprivation makes everyone a little crazy, a little mean and a lot grumpy. Throw in full time work and my wife's consulting freelance work and you get a crabhole week.
Perhaps solar flares are messing with the cosmic peace that my wife and I enjoyed the last two weeks. Maybe it's growth spurts? Change of season? Who knows. Either way our boys have decided it's a party all night week and the house seems a giant mess and dinner is harder than usual to plan and, and, and it's real hard for dad (me) AND especially hard on Mom.
What is crazy to think about is how good my family actually has it. As I have said before, my wife is a saint and a beautiful saint at that! Everyday I count my blessings that we are stable and lucky enough that my wife can stay home with the kids only having to work if she decides to work. We aren't wealthy but we don't worry about want. Our lack of want and blessings provided got me thinking about how much harder parenting could be and that got me thinking about opportunity solutions.
Honestly, I cannot comprehend what it would be like to be a single parent raising two kids on limited means and no extended family nearby. Cooking, cleaning, working, planning, doctors appts, school, shopping, not to mention fighting with bedtime and potty training and never ending toddler questions and lack of personal time, etc etc...seriously, if parenting is hard for me it is way harder for others, especially those single parents out there who are getting by on low wage part time service jobs that make up so much of the US economy. Throw in the sleep deprivation that comes with being Mom or Dad and you get a recipe that is less than savory and frankly problematic for society moving forward.
If it takes a village to raise a child (I agree with frankly) then it also takes stable, full time jobs and companies that recognize the importance of those jobs with relation to the long social view vs short quarterly profits (yep I am talking about you American retailers and service industry).
Now, before I start taking pot shots at certain wackjobs who'd lead you to think that these single parents are lazy bones who need to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and stop being a burden on those who for reasons of luck and randomness have the means or the right circumstances have enough to take care of themselves I will make my value pitch. This time it's a non-profit, a social entrepreneur opportunity to create a social volunteer network dedicated to lending a helping hand to single parents especially during the "hard" weeks.
The non profit would link volunteers to single parents who need a little extra help with the simple things that make a huge difference during the hardest weeks such as, laundry, cleaning, babysitting and simple errands. Sometimes all a parent needs is fifteen minutes to get the dishes out of the way or one hour to get through the laundry. The parent would post a "help!" request including simple explanation of needs. The request would be broadcast to a network of approved volunteers who could pick up and fulfill the request Agile project management style. Having a helper to take care of those tasks or to run interference with the kids (chore babysitting) while Mom or Dad get the chore done would go a long way to making life a little less stressful and home life more hospitable. Details and service opportunities galore exist but the little just started cryin so...
As I said, I feel my family is lucky. We have much provided and many blessings. My wife and I have each other to fall back on. We have great community resources to fall back on as well. Still we face hard weeks as parents...maddeningly hard weeks! As I said before I can't imagine what it would be like to work all day (or night), be a single parent and raise two kids. I know people do it. I know some do it very well. It can't be easy. Hopefully, something like this social entrepreneur opportunity might help some great people get through their complex and busy day a little easier.
Ok, gotta run. Enjoy the typeO's
Chad!
The hard week back story- For me the reason is simple, lack of sleep. This week is all about sleep deprivation in my family and sleep deprivation makes everyone a little crazy, a little mean and a lot grumpy. Throw in full time work and my wife's consulting freelance work and you get a crabhole week.
Perhaps solar flares are messing with the cosmic peace that my wife and I enjoyed the last two weeks. Maybe it's growth spurts? Change of season? Who knows. Either way our boys have decided it's a party all night week and the house seems a giant mess and dinner is harder than usual to plan and, and, and it's real hard for dad (me) AND especially hard on Mom.
What is crazy to think about is how good my family actually has it. As I have said before, my wife is a saint and a beautiful saint at that! Everyday I count my blessings that we are stable and lucky enough that my wife can stay home with the kids only having to work if she decides to work. We aren't wealthy but we don't worry about want. Our lack of want and blessings provided got me thinking about how much harder parenting could be and that got me thinking about opportunity solutions.
Honestly, I cannot comprehend what it would be like to be a single parent raising two kids on limited means and no extended family nearby. Cooking, cleaning, working, planning, doctors appts, school, shopping, not to mention fighting with bedtime and potty training and never ending toddler questions and lack of personal time, etc etc...seriously, if parenting is hard for me it is way harder for others, especially those single parents out there who are getting by on low wage part time service jobs that make up so much of the US economy. Throw in the sleep deprivation that comes with being Mom or Dad and you get a recipe that is less than savory and frankly problematic for society moving forward.
If it takes a village to raise a child (I agree with frankly) then it also takes stable, full time jobs and companies that recognize the importance of those jobs with relation to the long social view vs short quarterly profits (yep I am talking about you American retailers and service industry).
Now, before I start taking pot shots at certain wackjobs who'd lead you to think that these single parents are lazy bones who need to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and stop being a burden on those who for reasons of luck and randomness have the means or the right circumstances have enough to take care of themselves I will make my value pitch. This time it's a non-profit, a social entrepreneur opportunity to create a social volunteer network dedicated to lending a helping hand to single parents especially during the "hard" weeks.
The non profit would link volunteers to single parents who need a little extra help with the simple things that make a huge difference during the hardest weeks such as, laundry, cleaning, babysitting and simple errands. Sometimes all a parent needs is fifteen minutes to get the dishes out of the way or one hour to get through the laundry. The parent would post a "help!" request including simple explanation of needs. The request would be broadcast to a network of approved volunteers who could pick up and fulfill the request Agile project management style. Having a helper to take care of those tasks or to run interference with the kids (chore babysitting) while Mom or Dad get the chore done would go a long way to making life a little less stressful and home life more hospitable. Details and service opportunities galore exist but the little just started cryin so...
As I said, I feel my family is lucky. We have much provided and many blessings. My wife and I have each other to fall back on. We have great community resources to fall back on as well. Still we face hard weeks as parents...maddeningly hard weeks! As I said before I can't imagine what it would be like to work all day (or night), be a single parent and raise two kids. I know people do it. I know some do it very well. It can't be easy. Hopefully, something like this social entrepreneur opportunity might help some great people get through their complex and busy day a little easier.
Ok, gotta run. Enjoy the typeO's
Chad!
Pocket hotline is A+ and much better presented than my rambling! The slide share is a fun watch as well. http://www.slideshare.net/scottmagee/pocket-hotline-pitch
Posted by: cL | 08/22/2011 at 12:18 PM
Reminds me a bit of AC4D 'Pocket Hotline' good idea and cool stuff.... Do good for goodness sake http://www.ac4d.com/2011/03/11/pocket-hotline-pitch-ac4d-q3-recap/
Posted by: Startshouting | 08/18/2011 at 10:36 PM