Gosh, the more we are supposed to write in our blogs, the more I become blank as to what to write about. The girls I nanny for are now six months old, which means that they are eating normal baby food and discovering many new things about themselves everyday. On Wednesday we are going to JCPenny's for the girl's six month pictures. I am so excited to get to dress them and help make them smile for the camera. Throughout many of my human development classes I have learned a lot about how humans develop as well as being a parent. I am learning what a huge decision this is. I feel like it is something that people really look over and don’t always think seriously about. There are many young people having sex and then the child is the one who ends up paying the price for not always having a great childhood. I learned that on average raising a child that is born in 2007 until he/she is 18 years old, they will cost $250,000. I am sure that is not something most people think about. Babies not only require your time, energy, love, support, discipline, structure, books, toys and your undivided attention, but lots and lots of money. This can be a really scary thing for low income parents or even worse a single parent. Let alone, a single woman. Women don’t make as much money as men do and they end up being stretched in many directions. I do think that there are many resources for low income families here in Fort Collins, but what I really think parents need is information as well as support. I have found a few websites that might answer a few common questions parents often have.

http://www.tnpc.com/

http://www.parenthood.com/

http://www.ehow.com/how_2426_care-infant-after.html