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The Great Juggling Act:
Childcare, Employment, and Military Life
A recent question on our MSCCN Facebook page, “Do you put your job search on hold in the summer because the kids are home,” prompted the following response, “Yes. I resume in August. I still don’t know how working moms do it with kids under five…need advice on that.”
The juggling act of work, education, and childcare throughout the year, but especially in the summer when older children are home—it’s one many of us know too well and one we share with civilian parents too.
But regular relocations that impact support networks, insufficient childcare resources, and unpredictable and uncompromising spouse schedules, as well as deployments, create a perfect storm that makes it hard to keep all the balls in the air. And the reality is, even in the most balanced households, the responsibilities surrounding parenting often fall on the military spouse.
The MFAN report quotes an Air Force Spouse: “The CDC on base has a year waitlist. This is ridiculous. No one can wait on a list for a year.” A Navy Spouse recounted: “The only thing that I truly would like is some help with childcare. There has to be a better way. If I’m in a waiting list for over a year, then I’m not the only one and there is a need for more options…Maybe I’m missing something, but for families that are constantly moving, there has to be more options.” Families know it’s a problem.
In early 2015, the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission identified childcare as a force readiness issue and advised that the DOD provide better access to on-base childcare and decrease waitlist times. The government knows it’s a problem.
It’s a KNOWN Problem…
The Military Family Advisory Network’s (MFAN) 2015 Military Family Support Program Survey recently confirmed the need for additional family support. MFAN explains, “25 percent of respondents identified family life as an area where they need more support. The most common subcategories were the needs for more childcare; more support for deployed families; more family activities…” Military organizations know it’s a problem.