Who needs 24-hour childcare?
When we think of child care, we think many things, but usually we think of a standard child care situation for parents who work 9-5 jobs… but who takes care of the children of the people who work around the clock? People like Deloris and Patrick Hogan, who have been childcare providers since 1985, operating a 24 hour daycare out of their home.
In this episode, Diana talks to Loira Limbal, the filmmaker behind the documentary titled “Through the Night” which tells the story of Dee’s Tots, a 24 hour home based daycare. Dee’s Tots is owned by Deloris and Patrick, affectionately known as Nunu and Pop Pop, who also join Diana in this episode.
The film exposes the failure of a labor market which doesn’t take into consideration the family situations of its workers, the failure of our system to allow workers to have one job with a living wage, and so much more.
In this episode, we talk to Loira, the filmmaker, about her interest in making this film and telling this story. In her interview she is candid about what she learned and the beauty and hope of a community like Dee’s Tots.
To make ends meet, people in the U.S. are working longer hours across multiple jobs. This modern reality of non-stop work has resulted in an unexpected phenomenon: the flourishing of 24-hour daycare centers. Through the Night is a verité documentary that explores the personal cost of our modern economy through the stories of two working mothers and a child care provider – whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare.
Through the Night shows the humanity of providers and working parents working parents and shows what it means to be a child care provider for parents who work non-standard schedules. It humanizes them. It shows the struggles, but it also shows the outpouring of LOVE. The staff is loving with the children, the children take care of each other. It’s a model for what holistic care should be, but the film also exposes problems we face as a society: parents shouldn’t be working in jobs that have no set schedules, for example, and that are around the clock, nor should parents have to work two or three jobs just to make ends meet.
In this very candid interview, Loira, Nunu and Pop Pop share their insights on the hardships working parents face, and how the child care system, and the social safety net in the United States is failing.
We talk about:
- the cost of child care
- working parents who struggle making ends meet, working 2-3 jobs
- essential workers and who is taking care of their children
- what legislators need to do to help working families
- the importance of a male figure who is a caregiver
- why workers need a living wage, and access to health care
- what child care providers need in order to be able to provide good care
- what the government should be doing to help working families
- who needs to be at the table in discussing child care
- men as caregivers
- breaking stereotypes of who can be a nurturing caregiver.
- AND MORE!
LISTEN HERE TO THE INTERVIEW WITH DELORIS, NUNU AND POP POP.
Through the Night premiers on Friday, December 11th in virtual cinemas and you can support this film and telling the story of child care by purchasing a ticket!
