Young children in the family? Here’s a request for you

The West Seattle Church of the Nazarene in Morgan Junction is hoping to get opinions from families with young kids but says the topic is “not about religion.” Here’s the message they asked us to share:

Are you a parent in our community with young kids? We want to hear from you!

A small group from our church is working on a neighborhood improvement project, and we need your input. We’re applying for a grant to make our community more family-friendly, and we believe your perspective as a parent is crucial.

We’d love to chat with you for about 30 minutes over a cup of coffee (our treat!) to discuss what it’s like to be a parent, the challenges you face, and what improvements you’d like to see in our neighborhood. This interview is not about religion; it’s about understanding your experiences as a parent.

Our focus is intentionally a bit vague. Our hope is that these conversations with the community will guide us in identifying the best ways we can positively impact the West Seattle community.

We are open to new possibilities, but current areas that could benefit from these conversations include Play Space (an indoor play area for children and their caregivers), a future coffee shop within the church building, Maarten Park (a green space being developed for neighborhood use), Movies in the Park, Open Mic Nights, and a Community Vegetable Garden.

Your participation is confidential, and any information shared will only be used for our grant application. If you’re interested, please email us with your availability. Let’s work together to create a better place for families to thrive! Thank you for being a part of our community’s growth!

You can contact associate minister Sarah Emerson; her contact info is here.

Jay August 23, 2023 (2:24 pm)

As a soon-to-be parent, the biggest nightmare is finding childcare. Nothing else concerns me much outside of the worry of not knowing how we’ll be able to manage both of us having to work. Demand far outstrips supply. Started 10 months out from the potential enrollment date and only got on the tail end of long waitlists.

Buttercup August 23, 2023 (3:33 pm)

I suggest contacting a nanny service and developing a “ nanny share”. It can be a wonderful experience and great support system for both families. Northwest Nannies owned by Madison Stoneman is great.
Mkl August 23, 2023 (4:19 pm)

Brilliant point. A community development effort to encourage more people to go into the field would be awesome… Workshops on how to get licensed to provide in home care, free nanny training, recruiting interested parties into the field, nanny support groups/play date coordination, etc… Nanny roles and inhome childcare businesses can provide a reasonable wage for people who are good with kids and good with parents – and desperately needed. I’ll fill out the online form…
KWest Seattle August 24, 2023 (8:31 am)

As a long time parent and former nanny, I highly recommend one of you stay home with your child for as long as you can! Or even longer than you think you can. Making it work is so worth it in so many ways.

Admiral-2009 August 23, 2023 (5:30 pm)

Jay – I was in your shoes six years ago and finding infant care required a much higher expense than planned on. We had to bite the bullet to get our daughter enrolled!

LGBT-Friendly August 25, 2023 (8:11 am)

When it comes to religious organizations using the term “family friendly” at a time of widespead homophobic attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community across the country, and after having lived through an anti-LGBT “religious” organization launching a hate campaign on Oregon when I was a resident there in the 80s and 90s, I can’t help but see a major red flag here.The recent rhetoric being used to target diversity programs, drag events, inclusive education materials in schools, and even the Pride flag being made illegal to display in public spaces (see: Hamtramck, Michigan) is reminiscent of the way terms like “protect our children” and “family friendly” have been used to raise panic against the LGBTQIA+ community for decades. This has been especially true when churches are involved.Before moving to West Seattle, my husband and I moved into what we thought was a beautiful and peaceful neighborhood in Fairwood. It allegedly has good schools and the house we found was sizeable enough for a family. We planned on fostering-to-adopt. No sooner did we try to participate in neighborhood functions like the 4th of July Street Parade, we were shunned for being a same-sex couple. Then the “this is a family neighborhood” and “yard displays should be family friendly” (after we put up Pride flags for Pride month) comments started on the neighborhood Facebook page.When kids vandalized our yard, those same “neighbors” offered similar remarks, trying their passive-aggressive best to keep their homophobic remarks thinly veiled.To say that this discussion on “family friendly” is “intentionally vague” and that all comments are anonymous without clarifying the use of the term leaves me with the impression that the church knows full well it’s courting homophobic input ESPECIALLY at a time of heightened tensions among conservative “Christians” and the LGBTQIA+ community, and recent vandalism/tearing down of Pride flags in our neighborhood. It would be appreciated if you lay out a more solid definition of what your idea of “family friendly” entails and whether or not you’re being inclusive of LGBTQIA+ families or if you’re just looking for input on how West Seattle could be more heteronormative.

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