Storms and Childcare

BALANCING ACT

Think of child care before storms hit I cheered when I heard the news Sunday night that Broward County schools would reopen Monday. My child-care scramble had ended. At the same time, my friends in Miami-Dade were bemoaning their predicament: bosses or clients that wanted them back at work and kids with nowhere to go.

If your balancing act as a working parent was going favorably this school year, along came Hurricane Katrina with a sucker punch. Already, Miami-Dade schools have shut down for three days and Broward schools for two.

Although parents know that storm days are inevitable, many are poorly prepared and have to scrape together child-care solutions when they hear the dreaded announcement: Schools will be closed. More than ever, good planning is important. Forecasters are predicting seven more major hurricanes this season.

Fortunately, more companies like Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union in Miramar are offering arrangements. The credit union contracted with a day camp and allows parents to bring school-age children to its on-site program run by camp counselors. On Thursday, 43 children were entertained by counselors in a conference room turned campsite in the company's headquarters -- at no charge to parents.

''We had been working since last year on a storm plan,'' says Susan McBride, Eastern's assistant vice president of human resources.

Here are some options to consider before the next major storm threatens:

• Know ahead of time whether your employer is child-friendly. Some parents make bad calls. Kim Young brought her 8-year-old daughter to her job at the food court in a Miami mall. She endured a harsh reprimand from her boss, although she says her daughter turned out to be a big help serving sodas.

Nancy Reinhard of Kendall considers bringing her children, 8 and 15, to her small three-employee office ''a last resort option.'' If you go this route, bring a backpack stocked with games, snacks, books and crayons.

BankAtlantic in Fort Lauderdale allows kids at their headquarters offices in emergency situations. Shari Klages, a product manager, says she saved more than $140 that would have been paid to a baby-sitter for her two children.

• Some parents choose to leave their kids at home alone. You probably shouldn't even consider this before middle school. If this is your back-up plan, teach your kids about potential dangers, set rules for answering the telephone and front door, and check in on them frequently. This plan may depend on whether your power is on.

At the Miami-Dade Public Library in downtown Miami on Monday, dozens of elementary-school children and teens were dropped off unsupervised.

''I guess parents see the library as safe, air conditioned with computers."

• Some parents use the tag-team approach. On Thursday, Sandy Grossman left her daughter Bari with Bari's father. In the afternoon when the Miami offices of law firm Greenberg Traurig closed, Grossman picked up Bari and gave her ex-husband a chance to take care of business.

• Working from home is another choice. But many parents underestimate the difficulty of this, particularly when the power is out, phone lines are down, or the kids have pent up energy from being inside.

• Build a bond with a teenage neighbor who may also be available to watch your child. Or consider hiring a sitter from a local nanny agency such as Sitters to Go in Miami. However, Marie Flynn, owner of the agency, said there is no guarantee a one-day sitter would be available.

One working dad, a civil engineer for Broward County, patched together child care by offering to baby-sit one evening for a stay-at-home mom in exchange for watching her child on a storm day.

• Call Grandma. Amy Shaheen of Coral Gables, a customer support representative for Sunguard Corbel, says she gets storm day help from nearby grandparents. On Tuesday, her children's private schools still hadn't reopened. If you're lucky enough to have relatives nearby, discuss their availability for such emergencies ahead of time.

• If all else fails, take the day off and try to enjoy it. Get out the board games, visit local museums and try not to fret about the workload that may await you or the vacation time you may be using.

Send comments or ideas to cgoodman@herald.com.