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The story is so sad, but there are encouraging aspects... some women *are* waking up, and refusing to institutionalize their children. That’s brilliant.

I’ve a friend in the UK who has always been her family’s primary breadwinner, and the children have been in care for years. This year, with the impending birth of #5, they made some BIG changes. The older kids were no longer coping well in all the institutions every day; Mom was exhausted, Dad felt left out of everything. So they’re making a switch. Mom is now home full-time. Dad took jobs in construction (and is loving the work), and he’s now the sole financial support of the family. They moved to less expensive (but more roomy) rented housing closer to their village center. The children now walk to school with Mom every day. And when the school terms end in the spring, they’re coming home, too... they’re switching to home education. The change my friend reports in her marriage and family is a huge one, and though they’ll still struggle, they’re happier than they have been for years.

It IS possible to reject the “norm”. It just takes work.

My own husband has just taken our only vehicle off to his full-time job; the children will be waking up soon, and we’ll spend the day doing things together. We’ll be very happy to see Daddy when he comes back tonight, and we’ll run around paying bills with his hard-earned money on Monday. It’s work to make it all work. I wouldn’t have it any other way.