"Does Your Job + Kids= No Time?" by Katharine Mieszkowski Fast Company, Feb/March issue, pages 220-228 by Mary Krentz

Today's world provides many challenges. Everyone wants to excel in providing for his or her family. Unfortunately, too often, providing for your family financially results in having very limited time to spend with your children. Katherine Mieszkowski offers an informative look at how spending some time on-line can free up time for your family. What's the most precious commodity of all? Mieszkowski explains if you're a working parent, its probably not money or material possessions. It's time! This article suggests spending time on the web may free up more time for your family.

If you are looking for childcare or a nanny these sites are for you: A NaniNet (www.nannynetwork.com) a directory of hundreds of nanny agencies across the country. 4Nannies.com (www.4Nannies.com) database listing hundreds of nannies. CareGuide (www.careguide.net) 76,000 childcare facilities across the country.

What's for Dinner? Betty Crocker Web site (www.bettycocker.com) What's on Hand? recipes Peapod (www.peapod.com) home delivered meals

Where can parenting advice be found? Parents Place (www.parentsplace.com) Advice from experts and moms-to-be. Pregnancy Planner (www.pregnancycalendar.com) Information on the developing fetus can be found here. Working Moms' Internet Refuge (www.moms-reefuge.com) Discussion forum for working women.

Kid Web Sites: Crayola Family Play (www.familyplay.com) 200 ideas for activities for children Home Arts Network (www.homearts.com/depts/relat/bookintr.htm) Find out information on books your child should read. Screen It! (www.screenit.com) Movie reviews for parents and kids. Check out page 226 in this issue of Fast Company for details about five sites that offer on-line fun and games that are entertaining and educational for kids. (www.yahooligans.com), (www.yucky.com), (www.ctw.com), (www.headbone.com), and (www.disney.com).

Technology is changing rapidly. If you were to have told someone a year or two ago that they would be able to do all this on the web they would have never believed it. Imagine, if you will, five years down the road. What else may be available to free up time for your family? The amount of information that can be accessed from the web is remarkable. Is it possible that a person's life can be driven too much by the conveniences of technology? I believe nothing can replace the warm feeling of a family sitting around the dinner table sharing a home cooked meal and talking about the events of the day. In today's hustle and bustle lifestyle, it is almost unheard of for families to spend time together. A friend who read this article enjoyed the content, but expressed concern about people becoming addicted to the Internet. "People could do virtually everything on the web," she explained. Losing the face-to-face social interaction of life is among her greatest concerns. As a child, she recalls spending time outdoors and learning about nature. Today her children spend literally hundreds of hours a month on the Internet. Several other people expressed similar concerns, although recognizing that the Internet has simplified many aspects of their life. "It's truly a balancing act. Technology is great within reason," explained a working Mom.

-- Anonymous, August 19, 1999

Answers

Please remember to relate the articles to your job. This was a good summary. You also included your comments from another person. Check the articles of your peers and remember to make comments on them each month.

-- Anonymous, August 26, 1999