Cljarlotte
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1996
9A
LIFESTYLES
In house child
care not just for
big companies
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Child care in the United States
did not become a national issue until “Rosie the Riveter” and her
counterparts entered the work force en masse in the 1940s.
With so many women working away from the home and so
many men away at war, finding a place to leave the kids became
a dilemma. Child care as we know it today was bom.
Since then, employers have found it necessary to create child
care centers at the office or at least provide financial alternatives
that make the costs more affordable for employees.
But smaller employers often have to come up with more cre
ative, less expensive alternatives.
When Tracy Ames, an Oil City resident and employee at Clark
Manufactured Homes in Mount Pleasant, told her boss she was
going to need some time off when her baby was bom, he said he
couldn't afford to lose her that long. He asked if she would be
willing to take two weeks off, then keep the baby at the office
until it was a year old. Ames agreed.
Her daughter, Alexandra, was bom June 22 and Ames was at
home for her agreed two weeks. During her maternity leave,
though, some of her co-workers did something unexpected.
“They called me and told me to come up to the office,” Ames
said.
When she arrived, she found a bassinet and all the extras that
would make keeping Alexandra at work a little easier. They had
all pitched in and purchased the office nursery equipment for her.
Mount Pleasant veterinarian Cathy Lindstrand found herself in
a similar position before she gave birth to her son, Clay, in May.
Lindstrand works at the Mount Pleasant Animal Clinic, anoth
er clinic in Clare and at the equine practice she owns with her
husband. With her busy schedule and need to nurse Clay during
the day, she decided to keep him with her and found a baby sitter
who would accommodate her schedule.
“I hate the thought of someone else spending more time with
my son than I do,” Lindstrand said. “It’s hard to leave them,
because you feel like you’re missing out on the little things.”
Lindstrand said she keeps Clay at the office in the mornings,
where the baby sitter stays with him while she sees patients. In
the afternoon, she takes him to another baby sitter.
“It just sort of worked out that way,” Lindstrand said, saying
neither baby sitter could keep Clay all day.
Sometimes Lindstrand doesn't need a baby sitter at all. She can
leave Clay in his bassinet and, because employees at the clinics
pitch in, can check in on him between patients.
Lindstrand said she would probably have to cut back her work
hours if she was not able to keep Clay at work. “I probably would
n't practice as much,” she said. “I’ll have to slow down eventually,
though, when I have more kids.”
Some large employers do provide day care for their employees'
children, including Central Michigan University in Mount
Pleasant and the Michigan Masonic Home in Alma.
Brigid Daly, manager of the Human Growth and Development
Lab at CMU, said a half-day preschool program is provided to the
community as well as CMU employees. She said about half of the
students are the children of employees.
In Alma, the Masonic Home provides full-day child care for
employees of the home, Alma College, Bank of Alma and Gratiot
Community Hospital.
Nancy Stoewsand, director of child care at the Masonic Home,
said home employees pay 25 percent less than employees of other
businesses. “They pay a higher amount, but it's market rate,” she
said.
The center provides child care Monday through Friday from
5:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Stoewsand said about 50 children attend
the center regularly, but emergency care is available when there
Kids without bias possible for the diUigent
PHOTOS/ SUE ANN JOHNSON
A group of children share a puppy at a local park. From left Felicia Tyson, 7, shares her puppy Savannah with Almesha
Torrence, 7, and Jasmine Wilson, 2. Non racist children are possible, new book shows.
By Jeri Young
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Few African Americans can
deny the pervasiveness of
racial issues.
Recent studies have shown
that the high instance of
hypertension in African
Americans can in part be
attributed to the stress caused
by racial dissension.
Studies also show that
racism can keep young
African Americans from
achieving, both socially and
academically.
Mary Ann French is well
aware of this. For her, there is
an even simpler reason to
teach children, both black and
white about the ramifications
of race.
“There is no reason for
racism,” she said. “It can not
be numerically justified for
one culture to dominate.
There is no such thing as a
dominant culture. We will
need to be position for us all to
be on equal footing.” ;
In her new work with co
author Barbara Mathias,
French suggests ways to raise
children that are non racist
and culturally sensitive.
“All African Americans think
about race relations,” she said.
“Motherhood made me even
more thoughtful - wanting a
better world for my child.”
French and Mathias, both
journalists with The
Washington Post, discuss race
and its ramifications in “40
Ways to Raise a Nonracist
Child.”
“I don’t think any one of
ways is more important than
any of the others,” she said.
“It simply boils down to a mat
ter of respect. All of them are
golden.”
Theip fuggesfecms are sim
ple, many simply encouraging
parents to think more about
the images of ethnic groups
they present to their children.
“All minorities are multi-cul
tural,” said French. “You have
to know your culture and you
have to know the majority cul
ture to survive. It begins at
birth. The book is about how
we can take a small step to
create a better world.”
French and Mathias encour
age parents, both black and
white, to look deeply at them
selves and discuss their feel
ing about people of different
cultures. It also reprimands
those who subscribe to cultur
al tourism-the practice of
skimming other cultures, see
ing only a few*practiqea. *
’ “Cultural toiii-ism' is widely
used term among people who
work with putting together
anti-bias literature for
preschool children,” she said.
“It just doesn’t really work. It
gives a hmited view.”
French says she tries to live
by her principles daily, but is
the first to admit it is difficult.
“It is something that can not
be accomplished through a
program," she said. “All of us
have to be involved in it every
day.”
Author offers tips for raising balanced children
Tips for raising a non racist
child: ' ■*
•Make friends across racial,
lines. Remember, not ever
person you meet will be a
friend. Just look at people
objectively.
•Trace your family’s history
of racial prejudices. Ask your
self where your ideas came
from.
•Do not present slaves as
helpless victims. Let children
know that slaves did resist on
many levels and in many
ways.
•Know who your child’s role
models are and why.
Encourage respect for people
of other races.
•Help broaden you child’s
social circle. Encourage them
to play with someone they
normally wouldn’t.
•Expose racism in entertain
ment and sports. Watch tele
vision with your child. Try to
imagine what they are seeing.
•Select diverse schools.
•Don’t use or allow your
children to use racism as a
crutch.
Aids rampage not over Sigma Gamma Rho says “thanks” to five
By Tara Meyer
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA - The number of
people with AIDS rose in 1995,
but the government says the
killer seems to be slowing its
pace.
Now, health officials want to
loosen the disease's hold on
women arid blacks, the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention said Thursday.
The latest figures, for 1995,
show that AIDS is still growing,
only slower. There were 62,600
Cases of AIDS diagnosed in
1995, up 2 percent firom 61,500
cases the year before. The num
ber of cases grew 5 percent
between 1993 and 1994.
But growth in AIDS among
women has remained steady
pach year since 1992. The CDC
said 11,500 women had AIDS
last year, up 9 percent from
[10,500 in 1994.
i That's about the same per-
jcentage jump between 1992 and
'1993 and between 1993 and
[l994.
! “The rates of increase of AIDS
among women have outpaced
that of men,” said Dr. John
Ward, chief of the CDC's AIDS
surveillance branch.
The CDC said 50,500 men
were diagnosed with AIDS last
year, up less than 1 percent
from the 50,300 men in 1994.
The cases grew by 4 percent
between 1993 and 1994, after
falhng 1 percent between 1992
and 1993.
There were 25,000 cases of
AIDS among whites last year,
down 2 percent from 25,600 in
1994. That's about the same
drop between 1993 to 1994,
after falhng 4 percent between
1992 and 1993.
There were 25,100 cases of
ADDS among blacks in 1995, up
5.5 percent fi*om 23,800 in 1994.
The number of cases grew 8 per
cent between 1993 and 1994
and 6 percent in 1992 and 1993.
AIDS loosened its grip on chil
dren in 1995. The CDC said
there were 650 cases of AIDS
among children imder age 13, a
19 percent drop fium 800 cases
in 1994.The CDC has received
548,102 reports of AIDS in the
United States since 1981.
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Sigma Gamma Rho
Sorority will celebrate its
74th anniversary by saying
thanks to some of
Charlotte’s most dedicated
individuals.
On Sunday the group will
honor five Charlotteans in
its “Thanks to People Who
Care” Program.
“We wanted to go beyond
the sorority,” said chapter
basileus Helen Bourne
Moore. “We wanted to rec
ognize the achievements of
others in community ser
vice.”
Honorees were chosen by
committees for their service
to the community and
achievements.
Among those to be honored
are Mattie Caldwell, of the
Black Women Caucus,
Isaiah Tidwell of Wachovia,
independent photographer
Willie Bullock, Madie
Simpson of the AME Zion
Church, businessman Ron
Goodwin and Afro American
Cultural Center executive
director Wanda
Montgomery.
The grroup will also present
the “Sigma of the Year
Award” to Betty Harris
Jackson. Jackson is a past
recipient of the Order of the
Long Leaf Pine, the state’s
highest honor.
Policy makers wrong; welfare dads in home
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON - Fathers with
children on welfare are more
involved parents than is com
monly believed, according to a
six-year study released recent
ly
The federally funded study
found that 70 percent of wel
fare fathers have had contact
with their children during the
past year, and 35 percent visit
once a month or more.
In the 436 families surveyed,
those children who did main
tain contact with their fathers
found them as importeuit emo
tionally as their mothers.
“Welfare policy has always
assumed that the father is
nowhere to be found,” said
Ellen Bassuk, a professor of
psychiatry at Harvard
Medical School who lead the
investigation. “In fact, many
of these men are tr3dng to be
involved in their children's
lives, and their children value
this contact.”
The study was conducted by
the University of
Massachusetts Medical
Center' and the Better Homes
Fund, a national non-profit
organization that promotes
policies to benefit low-income
families. It was scheduled to
be published this month in the
American Journal of
Orthopsychiatry.
Bassuk said the results show
that policy - makers should
consider the importance of
fathers as well as mothers in
developing welfare programs.
The study also showed that
60 percent of the fathers were
unemployed. Those fathers
without jobs were more than
twice as likely to be in jail or
bn probation as those with
jobs. They were four times as
likely to experience health
problems and more likely to
be violent toward women.
“That may seem obvious, but
it's an important point,” said
John Kellogg, a spokesman for
See STUDY on page 16A