There was an announcement made by President Obama concerning a possible pandemic with the swine flu situation. If there is a widespread outbreak, there is a high possibility that schools will be closed. This is actually one of the first things I thought about when I heard the media and therefore people around me talking about it everywhere. While I do believe that we tend to take things to the extreme in situations like this, I also understand that even if this time around we luck out, it is quite possible that there will be future occurrences with similar effects.

So what would you do if schools were closed and daycares weren’t open? There are many homes out there that would not be impacted since there is a parent in the home, however there are many more that would be. Most parents have to earn an income and sick and vacation time would probably not be sufficient. Should employers and insurance have to bear the burden by considering it a short-term disability? Isn’t that what it would be? I would say so. Maybe employers would have to set up on-site daycares if there were enough of them with young children?

In my situation, if worst came to worst, I have a retired grandmother that may be able to take over. Another relative is a teacher, so if there wasn’t any school, she may be available. There are local babysitters that may be an option. My school age kid’s dad is already affected by one of our worldly problems and is laid off right now, so he would be taken care of.

However, none of these routes are guaranteed and I think it’s a little ridiculous for all of the weight to fall onto the parents shoulder’s alone. It’s not like in the 1950’s where school & daycare closings would not have been an issue. This wouldn’t affect only parents, it would affect everyone everywhere. Would everyone be home bound? Thank goodness for the internet, we would definitely need it.

On a lighter note, I have discovered a cool site that two mom’s came up with the allow children to not only have fun playing games, but also teaches about having a healthy lifestyle through sports and staying active. You can visit at All Star Buddies/.