Out Delivering with Mom
By
Gerry Niskern
I saw the tiny foot first. The young woman was carrying about five or six plastic bags full of groceries in one hand and with the other she was pushing a very small baby stroller which contained the owner of the little foot stretching out past the blanket. The infant’s mother was delivering food to an apartment in my building. When I asked, “Boy or girl?”, she answered “Boy” and quickly hurried on. But who could blame her? Everyone who has done deliveries knows that “time is money”.
Lots of kids go along on these deliveries that we all enjoy for the convenience of having something brought to our home, especially in our triple digit temperatures this summer. You can see their little heads bobbing around in the back seat of their parents vehicles.
A few years back the trend of “take your daughter to work” became popular. It was a great idea and a way to let your kids learn about the daily grind, struggles and problem solving required to earn a living. But way before that trend, it was a necessity for mothers to take their babies with them when they worked in the fields. Moms in poor countries around the world today still carry their infants on their chest in a sling while they work in small factories producing good sold around the world.
Unfortunately, in 2026, in our wealthy nation, federal child care assistance funding has been cut drastically back. There is a long waiting list for child care assistance in Arizona. 25% of Arizona kids need child care while both parents are working, sometimes two jobs to make ends meet.
Most Governors around our country are struggling to solve the huge problem. In Arizona Governor Hobbs has led a program called BRIGHT FUTURES initiative to provide expanded state wide child care assistance to working families. She has crunched the numbers in the budget and delivered more funding, but not nearly enough. Thousands of children are on the waiting list for a place to be nurtured, fed and cared for while their parents work.
Maybe the little guy I saw who likes to air his toes will get a place soon!