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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Playing Games with Our Kids: Moms vs. Congress « MomsRising Blog

Playing Games with Our Kids: Moms vs. Congress « MomsRising Blog:

Playing Games with Our Kids: Moms vs. Congress

Posted September 19th, 2013 by 
Games are a time-honored way of expanding people’s knowledge.
My mom, who was a single mother throughout my elementary school years, played games with my brother and I in the grocery store when we were young to help make the price right for purchasing our family food on a very limited budget.
When we went to the store, my mom would hold contests between my brother and I to see who could find the items on our grocery list in the least expensive brand, and to see who could find the sale items on the coupon list the fastest. At the time, I thought my mom was the only one who played this particular game.
Looking back, I now know my mom was far from alone.
We all play games with our kids–it’s just not always of the board game variety. Too many moms are barely making ends meet, and sometimes parents try to hide their worries from their children within games–pretending that shopping for food on an overstretched budget is a game or that the electricity being shut off is just an opportunity for “indoor camping.” But dealing with financial woes is never fun.
Parents across the nation are working hard, playing by the rules, and still struggling to put food on the table.
In fact, yesterday the Census Bureau released a report stating that 46.5 million people


Read more: http://www.momsrising.org/blog/playing-games-with-our-kids-moms-vs-congress/#ixzz2fOIbixZj


The Shame and the Light of Today’s SNAP Vote
Just weeks after the USDA reported that 14.5% of American households struggled to put food on the table, today the House of Representatives passed, 217-210, a shameful bill that cuts $40 billion to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps).  Such a move would end benefits for approximately 3.8 million low-income people and deny 210,000 children school lunch and breakfast.