To the editor:

I am responding to Megan Miller’s July 11 letter advocating for stay-at-home parents in response to my husband, Rich Minder’s, call for the community to support early learning environments. As a Mennonite pastor, I agree that consumerism gets in the way of learning to live more with less. I often advocate for simple living.

As a parent of two small children, I agree that strong family bonds build secure, confident and loving children. Families able to empower one parent to stay home give wonderfully to their children.

However, I disagree that stay-at-home parenting is affordable for the average American family.

Sixty-seven percent of married men with children have employed partners. Fifty-five percent of working women bring home more than half of the family earnings. In one year’s time, parents of children 0-17 months old made 532 requests for childcare referrals to the Douglas County Child Development Assn.

Most, if not all of these requests likely come from parents who need to work. These statistics suggest that for many families staying at home with the children is not a viable option.

Our society makes it very difficult and often impossible for parents of small children to both care for their kids and provide for basic needs. Learning to budget and living simply is insufficient, we need to enrich and support children of both working and stay-at-home parents. It is in our society’s best interest to have quality early learning environments whether in home or out of home.

Vicki Penner,

Lawrence