Childcare is tough to find these days. With the worker shortage continuing across the country, daycares are short-staffed, baby sitters and nannies are charging through the roof, and it is hard to find people you can trust. There is a true childcare issue in this country, and it has parents struggling to find someone to trust to watch their kids. With daycares full, parents are forced to find alternatives, and it is no wonder so many are turning down jobs to stay home. This brings me to the idea of a program that would help parents, children, and other members of society as well.

Should Idaho Introduce an Inmates and Kid Program?

Credit: Damir Spanic on Unsplash
Credit: Damir Spanic on Unsplash
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Finding childcare has become so difficult that parents are stressing about it all over the country, including here in Twin Falls. While some find great alternatives, not everyone is so lucky. There is a program south of Idaho where inmates and unwanted dogs help each other and it got me wondering, should Idaho adopt a similar program for kids? Obviously, unlike the dogs, the kids are wanted, but would an inmate and child program work for both parties in the state of Idaho?

Inmates and Children Program Benefits All Involved

Credit: Thiago Cerqueira on Unsplash
Credit: Thiago Cerqueira on Unsplash
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While I would most likely never put my kids in a program like this and it will never become a thing, it could be beneficial for all involved. Like with the dog program, inmates learned to love the animals and to create a certain connection, purpose, and responsibilities. While children can be completely chaotic, they can also remind adults of the innocence in the world and where we once were. It can help the inmates see life through the eyes of a child and soften their attitudes, find purpose, and help them before they are released.

Inmates Help Children Learn Life Skills

Credit: Vitolda Klein on Unsplash
Credit: Vitolda Klein on Unsplash
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For the children, it can help them learn valuable skills. It gets them out of the house, away from video games, and interacting with other people. The program would also be educational, as children could learn real-life skills like self-defense, sign language, and woodshop. Parents pay good money for karate, but their new friends could teach them some needed skills. The children are sure to learn proper sign language to learn how to communicate with people through hand signs of certain sorts. In terms of the woodshop, I am sure the kids would learn to make useful objects.

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This program would never get approved, but parents may enjoy being able to drop their kids off, and most likely it would be free childcare. It could teach kids a lesson, and for some children, they may need something like this to help keep them from being an inmate down the line. That would be a different program entirely, but the benefits for all involved are there, now the question is, would any parent drop their kid off with an inmate, supervised of course? Sadly, childcare has gotten so tough to find, that this is a thought that has crossed my mind. In the words of The Simpson's Helen Lovejoy, "Won't somebody please think of the children?" 

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