“Families created pods because they said, ‘I can’t do this alone.’” She saw a positive trend during the pandemic of people reaching out to help each other. “I could not do what I do without my mother, preschool teachers, public school teachers, close friends, after-school teachers, babysitters.” We could take care of everyone if we chose to,” she noted.Įven before the pandemic, Garbes created a network of caregivers for her family. We pathologize people living in the margins. Child care, disability care and elder care are all essential labor,” she explained. We are all interdependent, and the health of one person impacts the health of everyone. “My book is mostly about caring for young children, but I also believe our only real work is to care for ourselves and other people. Garbes sees the scope of mothering as more than caring for children. We are in a state of emergency in Seattle,” Garbes said. We have privatized human rights such as health care, housing and family leave. Our institutions are not built with care as a value. “Until your child is age six, you are on your own. While other countries support families with child care benefits, the United States offers no national programs. Seattle Parks and Rec offers free and affordable programs such as toddler gym time, but the hours are limited at Jefferson Community Center and Rainier Community Center.” “In the winter in Beacon Hill, it is hard to entertain a child in the rainy months.

We have paid sick leave but underfunded enforcement.” She would like the city to fund expanded programs for young children in all neighborhoods. Garbes believes the city of Seattle could do more to support caregivers. “My first apartment was a $400 studio in Capitol Hill.

Garbes has lived in Seattle for 20 years. “I have talked about my book in different cities, and it is great to look at the issues in my own city.” “I love Real Change,” Garbes said when I interviewed her in June. While Garbes has been interviewed on national programs including the Daily Show with Trevor Noah and on NPR’s Fresh Air, she welcomed the opportunity to reflect on the specific challenges of rearing children in Seattle. In “Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change,” Garbes examines the structural failures that make child-rearing so difficult in the United States. Angela Garbes is a Seattle-based writer whose new book focuses on the need for communities to support caregivers.

Essential Labor by Angela Garbes