"I feel that if a family needs both parents working to raise a child, then they shouldn't have had the child in the first place."VA

"If the parents are that poor that both parents should work or if one of the parents can't stand to stay at home all day long with their children they should know better than to have children." KS

"So, before you have any children make sure you have the money and are willing to sacrifice your time and sometimes your career." NE

"The best solution to our child care problems would be the parents being more prepared for children. They should try to save some money so that when a child is born the mother can stay home with the baby till he can go to school." SD

"First, if the parents want children, they need to plan ahead and understand the cost of child care." KS

"Another suggestion is to devise more information programs telling potential mothers the real responsibility of having a kid."CT

"I'm worried that when I have my own children, the government will say, 'if you can't afford child care, why did you have children in the first place.'"NE

"As far as I'm concerned the government is doing enough and doesn't need to get any more involved. The children are the responsibility of the parents, not the government. If the parents can't handle children, then they never should have had them." MT

And that some parents put too much emphasis on material things . . .

". . .the mother must ask herself if having more things is better for a child than having the love security, and attention that are present when the mother is home with her children." AR

"I believe that most parents do try to keep their children's interests first, but in this day and age parents feel that having all the finer luxuries will bring their children an abundance of happiness. Sometimes the children would rather have more quality time and a real old-fashioned family life, than an expensive possession that will not last." CA

"I definitely think the love and care my sister and I got was much more important than the extra material goods that my parents could have bought us if my mom had worked. Possessions come and go; but love, memories and good values of responsibility will remain with (us) forever." IL

"A child will benefit more from having parents that really care for them than any material possession that money can provide." MI

"My mother once said she would never work while we were young. She said we didn't have much, but she considered us more important than work. One does not hear this saying much anymore." WI

"During the 80s, women have felt the pressure to have a career to help the family financially, but in essence, they are helping to raise money instead of raising their children. A child should be raised by his or her parents, even if the family has to take a loss financially. Although working mothers ease the economic dilemma of family finances, the mother and child relationship suffers. . .The reason for having children is to see a child grow up under a parent's guidance and love. If a child is born for these reasons, why do parents place their child in day care? Some working mothers say that the reason they work is to make more money so their child can have a better life. Is making money and giving your child materialistic things more important than seeing your child grow up? PA

"In today's world of rising costs, staying home with the children is a luxury few women can afford. However, economics should not be a reason to lose our children to others." NJ

"I do not believe the government should be responsible for raising the children of the United States. The need for child care should be taken into consideration before people decide to have a family. People should also decide if being a full time parent is more important than a few extra luxuries. Most children would appreciate their mother being at home when theyget home from school more than a new pair of British Knights."PA

"The families, in which the mother works, can be described as higher income and better educated families. Fifteen percent of the children left on their own are left by mothers who completed college, as compared to eight percent of the children being left by high school graduates. Apparently the educated mothers are trying to use their education to earn money, while they fail to see the importance of being with their children." MI

It has been suggested that parents are needed to instill character and morality in tomorrow's leaders . . .

"A child is like a tree. A child is a seed that grows with proper nourishment. Like a tree the child will bend with the wind if it has been taught to. If we do not teach our children the values of life and how to cooperate with other people, they will break. How can a parent teach a child when he or she is out working to feed the child and put a roof over the child's head?" OK

"When you have a child growing up, that child needs love and care from his or her mother. Once the child has grown up, then the mother can certainly pursue a career of her own. In the decades before the 1970s most mothers stayed home with their children. Also in those generations things such as suicides, rape, murder, high school dropouts, etc. were not prevalent problems. But as the mother goes out the house and into the workforce as happened in the past few decades, all the issues just listed have risen dramatically." PA

"Loss of the family unit could be to blame for the decline of the moral climate in society."OR

". . .the mother must ask herself if having more things is better for a child than having the love security, and attention that are present when the mother is home with her children."AR

"There are many reasons why I feel that being a stay-at-home mom is so important. First, a baby cannot tell a mother what type of care he or she got through the day. Also, memories can never be changed and values are much easier taught to a young child. IL

"I think that everyone will admit that the deterioration of the family unit is a large contributor to the many problems in society, including crime, alcoholism and drug abuse. I am afraid that any resolution which would encourage a less active interaction between parents and their children would be a definite mistake. I think that congress should look into the past. In the past, marriage and children came about only after financial stability was attained. Maybe we should come up with some plan to encourage this kind of responsibility and should definitely shy away from any plan which would reward couples for irresponsible decisions." OK

"I found out that in my younger years that when your parents buy you things you tend to treat them with less respect than if you had bought them yourself. so if you buy them things don't make a habit of it. Make them work for what they get, there are always chores to do around the house. Just make them realize that somebody has worked hard for what they have, and if they do pay for some of their own things they will get a taste of what the adult world is like. Then they will respect what they have because they know whoever worked for what they have worked hard and they should respect that." NE

"Parents should always understand that they too need to spend plenty of time with their children. They can not always have government programs or any other programs take care of their children. Family love and affection is very important to children." KS

"Many of today's children are growing up not knowing the difference between good and evil, simply because they have never had a parent that taught them the difference. Some parents also confuse the child by doing things that the child knows are wrong." OR

"Once again, in a federally controlled day care it would not have been possible to learn the lessons that taught me my values in life." AL

"But throughout the past decade, the number of our nation's mothers in the work force has increased dramatically. Many of them are working only out of economic necessity. Their absence from the home is leading to the deterioration of family life. Family life is becoming a car ride in the morning to day care, another one home and then dinner." PA

"Is the income that vital, compared to the well-being of the children? Who teaches the children morals and ethical standards? In the past twenty years, ever since mothers have been . . .expanding the work force the crime rate in the United States has jumped to an alarming rate. This also includes child abuse and spouse abuse and this can also be attributed to the stress of work and financial problems.. . .The lifestyle with the mother working has reaped some awful repercussions. We as a society have seen our divorce rate jumpt to an alarming rate. We've seen our jails become overcrowded. . ." MI

"One possible opposing view on this in-school day care is that it may, in a sense condon promiscuity among teenagers, sending the message that society will take care of one's mistakes." VA

"While the parent-child relationship diminishes so does the child's morals and ethics." KY

". . .the children of today are tomorrow's leaders. Wouldn't it be nice if they are honest, upright citizens with high religious values? Then why does the government want to deprive and weaken its future by prohibiting religious values and morals to be taught or practiced in daycare programs? Why would the federal legislature open with a prayer yet prohibit preschoolers from praying over lunch?" AL

"It will always be extremely difficult to find persons who feel such affinity for an unrelated child that they will repeatedly go out of their way to do the tiny, precious things that make children thrive rather than merely survive. . ." NJ