This is a serious topic that deserves much more than an entitled host who throws around half truths and absurd assumptions.

Love the start!

This research is only new to the United States, it has been going on this way in eastern culture. China was the first I think to even see the value in early childcare. The western world was slow to finally see its truth after it has been proven already in other countries. This is great that U.S. is finally stepping up to taking care of its people. It’s just sad that it’s last one to do it and very late in the game, but better late than never. It just feels like this podcast trying to say it’s as new and exciting discovery that U.S. has made just isn’t true. The truth is that they only decided to finally study it after the mental health crisis which involves homelessness crisis and prison crisis got so out of control that they almost had too do something or just hemorrhage even more til they can’t get any control back. Even Maria Montessori tried to help Americas when schools curriculum was being established and she was from the 1800s. Not new but sadly late.

Boring

As a working mom who helps other working moms, I can’t think of a more important pod to listen to - both to better understand our history and to better imagine a future where all American women are valued in the workplace and where families thrive. That’s my American dream. Thank you for creating this.

Leftist Garbage

What a phenomenal resource! Gloria is wonderful and this is so well produced! 100% recommend.

I was given a 16 month old child with a 2 hour warning. Mom was a drug addict and I wasn’t even a registered foster, just a person who went to school with the mom 20 years ago. They paid a total of $200 for the entirety of the time I had him. They dropped him at my home with a used playpen, zero diapers or wipes and only the clothes on his back. The ‘social worker’ assigned to him never answered my texts and in order to help him with his speech and social anxiety, I paid for private daycare. After a few months and I had 4 surgeries, I had to let him go back into the foster system to save my own health. I pestered and begged to keep regular visits so he could have some consistency in his life, they ignored me after 3 visits. He was calling me ‘mama’. The system is broken in ALL aspects.

so great to find a podcast like this that you know is important but doesn’t just feel like depressing news you can’t do anything about!

So glad we can all listen to this insightful conversation about improving child care access. I appreciate the solutions focus as well.

Thank you for lifting up this critically important issue!! So excited to keep listening.

I used to look forward to every episode of this show and then it took a dark, heavily opinionated turn with the recent Supreme Court decisions. This show, as many liberals and progressives tend to do these days, eliminates any possibility of nuance on abortion views and opinions. If you don’t agree with their opinion or view, then there is ZERO tolerance for you in this space any longer. Yet another podcast that has closed the door on me because of my differing opinion instead of being an inclusive and tolerant environment. Be better. Do better.

I came across this podcast and was initially interested in listening as I am a mother of 3 young children. Unfortunately I had a liberal agenda shoved down my throat. And when she brought up Roe v. Wade being overturned—where was her empathy for abortion survivors? Why doesn’t she interview Gianna Jensen (or the other hundreds of survivors of abortion) on her show? I consider myself a member of the independent party, but this show is hog wash.

I was fooled by the commercial I heard about this show. I thought this was a true crime podcast about mothers that murder their kids.. I didn’t expect this woman to be an advocate for the murder of children

Leftwing garbage. What a dumpster fire. No need to waste any time on this whacko nonsense

Edited: after the Dobbs decision came out this podcast went downhill. The focus of the podcast has shifted to covering abortion without any semblance of providing a pro-life perspective, despite the fact there are millions and millions of pro life moms in the country, some of whom who listen to the show. Guests have provided misinformation and disparaged crisis pregnancy centers which help countless women every year. - - - I find this podcast very interesting and the guest interviews are great, Gloria is very talented. But I’ve been waiting to hear about the reality of childcare for people outside of big centers, and how government programs could support them—e.g, families using unlicensed in-home childcare, proposals that would allow for payment to stay at home moms and family caring for kids, etc. It seems like most episodes assume that tax money paying for large childcare centers with highly-educated caretakers is the main option to fix the system, and I’m not sure that’s what most people actually want for their kids.

If there was ever a time in US history to deal with these problems… it is now! As women’s reproductive rights are curtailed, let’s look at the social safety net for mothers (and parents/guardians). We can still make major improvements for moms and kids.

The ad that Gloria has it hard while her husband is reporting “for a month, “ in The Ukraine, is so insensitive and entitled. Who cares? Sounds like her husband is doing something of great merit. I would not be able to listen to her and take her problems . Buck up Gloria you’ve got it pretty good.

If you’re a privileged whyte family who is complaining how hard you have it, you really have no idea what your childcare providers and the most underserved and marginalized families have to go through! Have some humility and get a nanny share! Stop gentrifying and hoarding childcare spots! I don’t want to take care of your children, while you have me starving and housing insecure. Get a grip, look at what Portland has been doing about unaffordable childcare and actually speak to and support others besides yourselves! Oh and childcare center directors, are you really needed? Or just resource hoarding? I just see you sitting around all day.

Highly relevant and well produced. Makes me feel a little less crazy in my own ongoing childcare plight. Thank you!

I don't even have kids yet but I listen to try to better relate to family members and friends who do, and in anticipation of my own one day! So excited that it's back and become a weekly! Our country needs these conversations right now.

This podcast is so relatable and talking about the things no one talks about. Gloria is such a great host and so empathetic!

To be fair, I’m pregnant, so hormones are all over. But, I literally cannot get through an episode without crying… these problems are so real and so raw. Thank you for trying to at least start this conversation.

The whole story is right here - moving, comprehensive and hopeful. Every child care professional and parent or future parent in America should listen.

Highly recommend! This spurred me to action and showed me that change is possible.

The democrats back at it again.

This podcast brings to light many important issues in the child care system in the US. I would suggest double checking what is going on in Quebec, speaking with parents who live there, the system is not working well so we should try to keep a realistic view of what is going on there.

My kids are 9 and 13 and I was still brought to tears by the memories of our childcare struggles that this podcast brought to the surface. Hearing about the places that are making child care accessible, affordable and amazing makes me want that for my community!! I’m definitely motivated to go out and see why we can do in our town/county!!

If you are a mom or know a mom (that’s everyone) you need to listen to this podcast. It’s shocking (but also not—we know there is a childcare problem in this country), inspiring, motivating and incredibly interesting. Thank you Gloria for making this for us!

As a childless newlywed hopeful to have children soon, I found this podcast is interesting and enlightening. Perspective is more progressive than my personal ideology, but still educational. However, presenting the path forward with the Portland Democratic Socialists of America’s childcare plan is where they REALLY lost me. Disappointed I invested time listening to each episode only to reach the solution of “tax the rich.”

I started this podcast, THE DAY my daughter started daycare for the first time. What are the odds!? She 16 months old and I’m a single mother who had to leave the workforce during the pandemic. I’m one of the lucky ones who figured out how to make it work this last year and half. This podcast simultaneously validated and infuriated me at the same time. We need to do better for our daughter’s! Thank you Gloria and team for presenting this information in a powerful way. No one is coming but Change can come, because of us!

Thank you ! As a ELC director at an employer subsidized on site program . We support teachers on a high school campus . Allowing our high school teachers bring their children to work with them birth -5 yrs old ! It’s an amazing program and I wish all employers would consider onsite learning centers .

I was a one hour before care preschool teacher. It was for a teacher in my district. We where not allowed to advertise service in the school room that I work at that was right next to the preschool rooms. I had to take another job did not pay me enough to work this one job Monday through Friday. The teacher I work for had to be at work at 7:30am every day. Preschool does not start until 8:30am.

Just sounds like a lot of complaining to me….. grief about how people aren’t giving you what you want to make your life easier, no matter what choices you make.

Thank you for this informative and entertaining podcast!! The episode with Eve Rodsky was amazing and I appreciate them all!!!

This should be required, why not help our future by helping families thrive not just survive.

I don’t have any kids, but I was one. And everything in this podcast hits the head on what I remember growing up. I only really listen to gaming podcasts, but this is something I can take a lot from. I hope they continue.

For the one star reviews dramatically stating that government shouldn’t take care of “all” your children - stop polarizing a problem that affects everyone. There’s a societal problem when one child’s care takes the majority of your income. We are a capitalist society where everyone is expected to contribute; how can we all contribute while also worrying about who is taking care of our children - who will also eventually contribute to society. I nodded my head through all of this and am grateful to have a dual income that allows for QUALITY childcare for my two children. We are not having a third because that would throw us off the financial tightrope we walk. Ages 0-5 shouldn’t be this challenging. Child development should be a respected career. I hope more people listen and learn from this podcast.

I am a child care advocate and LOVED THIS. It is great for anyone who cares about kids and parents and families. Or our economy and an equitable recovery. Or really just about everyone. Just listen!!!! (And ask them or me how you can join the #movement4childcare and fight for #childcarenow)

Initially, I was extremely interested in the content included in this podcast. As a corporate-working, 25-year-old woman, childcare is an issue when determining how many, if any, children I might have in my future. The first episodes did well explaining the issues and the childcare industry history, but as they progressed their true ideology slowly began presenting itself. Asking the government to fund your life choices is ridiculous. Bottom line. If you cannot afford children, do not have children. Expecting others to pay for your shortcomings puts more dependency on your government. You chose to have children, so fund your own children. I literally don’t have kids yet because I know I can’t afford to put them in daycares they would deserve, nor do I expect others to pay for it. I already pay school taxes for kids I don’t have. Keep your weak minded, entitled, socialist mentality and encourage real resolutions that work for all. Disappointment.

I learned so much from this podcast and wish every politician would listen! I’m a teacher and know so many amazing teachers who have had to leave the field to stay home with their children. I love the action steps in episode 4! The problem is fixable if our government would do it. Thanks for reporting on this and getting the word out there!

I like stem to a lot of podcasts and this one is fantastic! Great content, interesting, and meaningful. Best of the best in 2021

This so important! Thanks for doing this, we need to fight for change!

This is such a well produced and very pertinent discussion. Great info from background to call-to-actions! Well done! PS: my only issue is the FB group. I wish there was another way to connect because I am not on FB and really don’t want to support this platform.

This should be top line national discourse. Hosts and guests are intelligent, stretched parents who describe parenthood in America honestly: a cross between a battleground and the Olympics. Recommend this pod to anyone who has a kid or has been a kid.

“We have an opportunity to live our values as a nation by taking care of our kids.”

Wow! As a working mom of a two year this podcast hooked me in the first 3 minutes. We most likely will only have 1 child because of childcare expenses. Every episode resonated with me. The load of motherhood and the struggle emotionally and financially of the first 5 years is crippling working mothers. This is a must listen for everyone.

Well written and organized podcast . Real life issues , that affect all races and socioeconomic status . In episode 4 of 4 they interview Senator Elizabeth Warren and mention Socialism . Unfortunately this podcast turned political and turned me off .

As a professionnel working mom of 3 kids, who at one point had all three in daycare, this podcast hits all the right notes. That most US families can not even afford childcare is a tragedy and crisis in this country. I have also lived in Quebec, which was mentioned in one of the episodes for having universal care for $8.50/day. I do want to say that it isn’t universal and I know many families who could not get a subsidized spot in this program who paid much much more for care. It is definitely a good idea and a step in the right direction but it isn’t the utopia it sounded like in the episode.

As a mom of 2 young kids (one JUST entering free elementary during the pandemic), I feel seen and known and understood through this podcast. This conversation is one we need to be having with every person we meet. Even before the pandemic, I was struggling to basically PAY to work to put my kids in preschool/daycare. Infant care was impossible to find. Then running out of work at 3:00 to pick them up was (is) outrageous. I’m going to listen to this again and share it with everyone. It’s wonderfully produced, honest, and arguably the MOST important fight we can be fighting for our right now and our future.