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☆ Australian school named world’s best new building of 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-08 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Singapore CNN —A humble suburban school in Australia has fended off competition from skyscrapers, museums and airport terminals to be named World Building of the Year 2024. Brett BoardmanA school had long been on the south Sydney site, though the old 1970s building was no longer fit for purpose, according to fjcstudio, the design firm behind the project. The World Building of the Year was selected from the winners of each category, as chosen by a panel of 175 festival delegates. Friday’s result marks the second consecutive year that the WAF judges opted for an educational building, with a serene boarding school in China taking last year’s title. Darlington Public School is also the second Sydney building to win in the past three years, after Quay Quarter Tower — dubbed the world’s first “upcycled” skyscraper for retaining two-thirds of an old high-rise on the site — won in 2022.

Persons: Singapore CNN —, Brett Boardman, fjcstudio, Alessandro Rossi, “, ”, — Organizations: Singapore CNN, Darlington Public School, Housing, Darlington Public, National Star Observatory of Locations: Singapore, Australia, Sydney, Chippendale, fjcstudio, WAF, ” Sydney, National Star Observatory of Cyprus, Polish, Turkey, China, Copenhagen, Denmark

☆ I quit my 6-figure job to be a stay-at-home dad. After leaving California, we could afford to be a single-income family.
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-05 | by ( Alexandra Frost | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The couple's move from California to Maine meant they could afford living off one income. AdvertisementThis as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michael Johnston, 41, a stay-at-home dad who lives in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. After maternity leave, my wife was excited to see her coworkers and jump back into her job. When others find out I'm a stay-at-home dad, they always ask: "When are you going back to work?" We are trained to graduate, get a good job, work that job forever, then retire at 65.

Persons: Michael Johnston, —, Maddie, Lincoln, Johnston, Michael Johnston Crunching, we'd, We'd, I'd Organizations: Service, Boston University, KLA Corporation Locations: California, Maine, Old Orchard Beach , Maine, China, Taiwan, South Korea

☆ I spent nearly $60,000 when 2 of my kids were in full-time childcare. We delayed having a 3rd child because we couldn't afford it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-01 | by ( Lauren Crosmedlicott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

During my pregnancy, I spent so much energy focusing on finding the right day care. AdvertisementEventually, we found ourselves having two kids in the same day care, which cost a fortune. Finally, someone from a big chain day care got back in touch and said there might be a spot. AdvertisementOnce again, my husband and I sat down and had to figure out how we were going to afford to put another child in day care. We ultimately built up a savings account that would take us through six months of their day care tuition.

Persons: Randi Braun, —, hadn't, couldn't, you've Organizations: Service, Universal Locations: Washington , DC

☆ 'Silver economy' boom: China transforms kindergartens into senior care homes as demographic crisis deepens
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-31 | by ( Anniek Bao | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Plagued by shrinking birth rates and a rapidly aging population, tens of thousands of Chinese kindergartens have scaled back operations, closed down entirely or pivoted industries to survive. One preschool in the eastern province of Zhejiang still operates as a daycare, but instead of serving children, they're now catering to senior citizens. Last year, Zhuang Yanfang, 56, repurposed her kindergarten in the city of Jinhua, Zhejiang, into a senior nursing center. Conversely, as preschools suffer, the senior care industry is thriving in China's aging population crisis. "China's aging will only intensify," said Harry Murphy Cruise, an economist at Moody's Analytics.

Persons: Zhuang Yanfang, Harry Murphy Cruise, Cruise Organizations: China's Ministry of Education, China's Communist Party, Office, State Council, Moody's Locations: Zhejiang, Jinhua, China

☆ The costs of raising kids without grandparental care
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-27 | by ( Julia Pugachevsky | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

She is one of those millennial parents who get no childcare help from their parents, whether due to distance or larger disagreements about raising kids. Americans are more atomizedFor those who live far from family, raising kids can be an expensive and isolating experience. They also spend around $1,500 a year on respite care, short-term care service for children with disabilities. Waldron limits how many clients she accepts because she has to take care of her son, too. While the UK also has high childcare costs, Waldron is drawn to options such as 15-30 hours of free childcare a week and low-cost extracurriculars.

Persons: Udy, Jackson, Noah, Hannah, JD Vance, Vance, babysit, Katie, Anthony Waldron, Anthony, it's, Waldron, Dr, Katie B, Garner, Daisy Montgomery, Ashton, Barclay, Montgomery, they'd, that's Organizations: Pew Research, International Association of Maternal, US Locations: Knoxville , Tennessee, In Tennessee, Washington, Fiji, Long Island , New York, Buffalo, Birmingham, Long Island, New York City, New York, Montgomery, Fort Collins , Colorado, California, Tennessee, Bay, America

☆ I'm a working mom whose 12-hour shifts make me miss my kids' lives. I feel I'm letting my family down but I love my work.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-27 | by ( Robin Madell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I work one or two 12-hour shifts at the hospital a week, depending on the needs of my unit. I'm also an educator within my hospital, so I spend several days a week teaching patients in an outpatient setting. I go to work before my kids wake up and come home as they're crawling into bed. I feel guilty that my job completely removes me from my kids' lives for full days at a time. The long hours are worth it because my work is important to meI overcome mom guilt by being fully present when I'm with my kids.

Persons: Kimberly Hicks, Hicks, —, It's, I've, I'm, he's, Jane Zhang Organizations: Service Locations: Northern California

☆ More families making over $150,000 are living paycheck to paycheck
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-27 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —When considering who is living paycheck to paycheck, households with an income of six-figures or more likely aren’t the first to come to mind. But, as it turns out, about a fifth of US households that earn more than $150,000 a year are in that situation. Across all income levels, households that earn less than $50,000 a year saw the highest proportion, around 35%, of people living paycheck to paycheck so far this year. But at higher income levels, the portion of households living paycheck to paycheck falls slowly. For instance, the share of households living paycheck to paycheck and earning between $50,000 and $75,000 is only a few percentage points higher than households earning more than $150,000.

Persons: ” David Tinsley, Tinsley Organizations: CNN, Bank of America, Bank of America Institute, Labor Department

“Just to both of us getting frustrated.”Therein lies the problem: Gentle parenting is proving to be too hard on many parents. One study published in July found that over 40% of self-identified gentle parents teeter toward burnout and self-doubt because of the pressure to meet parenting standards. A wave of think pieces called gentle parenting “too gentle” of a practice that required a parent to turn into a “self-renouncing, perpetually present humanoid.”The gentle parenting philosophy, said Pezalla, is largely a social media trend with no scholarship to back it up. Enter gentle parenting. In theory, gentle parenting has great values to apply to parenting practices — speak kindly and honor connections.

Persons: Lauren Eaton Spencer, Noah, Spencer, ”, ” Spencer, There’s, Annie Pezalla, Emily Oster, Vivek Murthy, Sarah Ockwell, Smith, gentleparenting, “, Dr, Kenneth Ginsburg, overindulgent, Ginsburg, it’s, Diana Baumrind, —, Becky Kennedy’s, disciplining, Mariah Maddox, Maddox, Nate, we’re, Loly Spencer, ” “, Pezalla, “ We’ve Organizations: Macalester College, Star, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Parent, NBC News, Pew, University of North Locations: Katy , Texas, influencers, U.S, Lucas County , Ohio, University of North Texas, “

In the weeks following their move, Chris found out that his father was planning to sell the family business, the Wheels Motel in Greybull, Wyoming. Still, knowing that his dad couldn't run the motel forever, Chris had previously run the possibility of buying it by Roxanna. The Wheels Motel is located in Greybull, Wyoming, about 100 miles from the east gate of Yellowstone National Park. Chris and Roxanna Harwood purchased the Wheels Motel from Chris' father in 2017. "This will be one of maybe two or three years that we've shown profitability with the motel," Chris says.

Persons: Chris, Roxanna, They'd, he'd, couldn't, Levi Stallings, she'd, Roxanna —, —, they've, Ronan, Roxanna Harwood, Harris, it's, they're Organizations: Roxanna, CNBC, Navy, University of Wyoming, Colorado State, Microsoft, Gas, BMW Locations: Loveland , Colorado, Greybull , Wyoming, Yellowstone, Bighorn, it's, Billings , Montana, Greybull, Wyoming, Laramie, Hulu, Billings

☆ I lived in 5 different US states. None of them had what I was looking for, so I moved my family to Finland, and I have no regrets.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-18 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

I'm a Gen X child from the San Francisco Bay Area. Since that first move, I've lived in Alabama, Virginia, and Texas and returned to the Bay Area. The main difference was that the Bay Area was more diverse than Phoenix at that time. The Bay Area had changed so muchWe moved to Half Moon Bay in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in 2017, I got a job at UC Berkeley. People moved in and out of the Bay Area a lot, so it was hard to make lasting social connections.

Persons: Rosanna Guadagno, Guadagno, —, I've, I'd, Dallas, didn't, we'd Organizations: Service, San, Santa Clara University, US, University of Alabama, Alabama, National Science Foundation, University of Texas, Dallas, Big Tech, San Francisco Bay Area, UC Berkeley, Stanford, University of Oulu Locations: California, Alabama, Texas, Finland, San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, Alabama , Virginia, Bay, Arizona, Tuscaloosa, . Texas, Virginia, Washington ,, Dallas, Austin, Silicon Valley, San Francisco Bay, Oulu, Switzerland

☆ I quit my job to look after my grandchildren. My son initially paid me $10 an hour, but now I gladly do it for free.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-17 | by ( Jane Ridley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Jo Storm, 69, quit her job to care for her granddaughter and her grandson, born two years apart. Her son and daughter-in-law paid her $10 an hour — a sum she refused to accept after working a week. The grandma said it made her feel like an "employee," and she wanted to do the job for free instead. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementBut I told them I was giving a gift to my son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren that was priceless.

Persons: Jo Storm, —, I'd, they'd Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Wisconsin

☆ My wife is the breadwinner, and I'm a stay-at-home dad. I hate when people say I'm less manly because of it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-16 | by ( Ryan Crawley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Since my wife is the breadwinner, I'm the stay-at-home dad. AdvertisementMy wife is an OBGYN, and when I first met her, she was making significantly more than me each year. I was an elementary school teacher then and would do my best to help children learn important things — such as reading and respecting others. After all, elementary school teachers aren't known for making big bucks. In addition to the fear, I experienced things (many of them gross) that I had never had before — even as an elementary school teacher.

Persons: —, Ellie, I've, I'm, I'd Organizations: Service

That’s why I’ll continue updating this article throughout October Prime Day, which is halfway over — if you haven’t started shopping, what are you waiting for? SKIP AHEAD Best Prime Day deals | More Prime Day sales | Best sales at other retailers | How I found the best Prime Day deals | Why trust NBC Select? Best Prime Day salesHere are the best Prime Day sales to know about. Best Prime Day home essentials salesBest Prime Day beauty and wellness salesBest Prime Day tech salesBest Prime Day grocery salesBest Prime Day home salesBest Prime Day kitchen salesBest Prime Day pet supplies dealsBest sales at other retailersHow I found the best Prime Day dealsAll of my recommendations above are based on NBC Select’s previous coverage and reporting. I’m an associate updates editor for NBC Select who's covered deals and sales for five years.

Persons: I’ve, ”, Sadhana Daruvuri, “, Lindsay Schneider, shea butters, Rosalie Sparaco, You’re, It’s, Rebecca Rodriguez, Alexa, you’ll, Bianca Alvarez, deodorant, Ashley Morris, TikTok Organizations: NBC, Deal, Bath, Alexa, AA, Wellness, Giftable Tech, Facebook, Twitter Locations: —, New York City

They went to Disney World for theme park rides and photo ops with Mickey Mouse. In the past few days, Hurricane Milton has morphed from a pesky storm system in the Gulf of Mexico to a historic hurricane that Florida Gov. A notification popped up on her Disney app informing her that the resort was monitoring a quickly progressing storm. Farther inland, in the greater Orlando area where Disney is located, the Orlando airport announced it would be closing at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Only a handful of hurricanes have forced the parks to close in Disney’s more than 50-year history, according to the fan-run Walt Disney World Magazine.

Persons: Mickey Mouse, Hurricane Milton, Ron DeSantis, Milton, —, ”, Telissa Carpenter, Carpenter, “, we’ve, Milton eying, Cara Prior, Disney, Kensly Williams, Williams, Ashleigh Giliberto, ’, She’s, she’s, I’ve, we’re Organizations: Disney, Hurricane, Florida Gov, Walt Disney, National Hurricane Center, Orlando, Walt Disney World Magazine, Universal Orlando Resort, Associated Press Locations: Florida, Gulf, Mexico, Orlando, Indianapolis, Tampa, Disney’s, United States, Thompson’s, Tennessee, Fairbury , Nebraska, Miami, Indiana

I combed through Amazon’s many deal pages — through thousands of discounted products — to find the best October Prime Day deals. SKIP AHEAD Best Prime Day deals | More Prime Day sales | Best sales at other retailers | How I picked the best deals | Why trust NBC Select? 4.6-star average rating from 7,532 reviews on AmazonThese are some of the best wireless earbuds I’ve tested. Best Prime Day salesHere are the best Prime Day sales to know about. Best sales at other retailersHow I found the best Prime Day dealsAll of my recommendations above are based on NBC Select’s previous coverage and reporting.

Persons: I’ve, I’ll, Rosalie Sparaco, you’ll, ”, Lindsay Schneider, shea butters, You’re, Alexa, Rebecca Rodriguez, It’s, TikTok Organizations: NBC, Big Deal, tote, Alexa, Wellness, Bath, Giftable Tech, Deal, Facebook, Twitter Locations: New York City, —

☆ What it's like to launch a startup with friends, according to 3 Gen Z cofounders who created a childcare startup together
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-07 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"Sasha was basically our mom's third son," Daniel Andrews told Business Insider. Around 60% of Gen Z founders who were surveyed had involved their friends in the business, compared to 42% of millennials and 21% of Gen X and boomers. Advertisement"We're each other's biggest fans, but we're also each other's biggest critics," Daniel Andrews said. "Being a first-time founder, it is incredibly beneficial to work with friends and family who can step up and take on that work. "If you have friends that you find that are like slowing you down, or like trying to distract you, or other things, those might not be the best friends to launch a startup with," Daniel Andrews said.

Persons: Sasha Reiss, Andrews, Zs, —, Daniel, Josh Andrews, Sasha, Daniel Andrews, Reiss, Japan —, Gen, X, we're, We've, I've, it's, we've Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Mexico, Brazil, Korea, Japan

My husband and I have seen our price of living go up a lot lately, but our credit cards have helped. Credit cards can have a bad reputation, but by using them responsibly, we've benefited. As a result, we have come to rely on our rewards credit cards more than ever. My business credit card helps me keep my spending separateMy husband and I have — for the most part — always kept our spending separate. Note that credit card lenders may use many different variations of credit score models when considering your application.

Persons: we've, —, There's, I'm, I've, It's, Chris Organizations: Service, Chase, Chase Travel, Sapphire, Apple Locations: Denver

☆ Parents are turning to a 'paid village' to handle childcare and cleaning. Costs range from $500 to $2,600 a month.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-02 | by ( Kelly Burch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Despite that unpaid support, Johnson and her husband pay $2,600 a month for childcare and cleaning — the sort of paid village Johnson says is essential when both parents are working. Parents around the country are struggling to pay for childcare costs — which are often higher than a mortgage or rent. Here's what five other parents pay to create the village they need to survive. AdvertisementDay care for the two younger kids costs $650 every two weeks, or over $1,300 monthly. "I think there's a lot of unnecessary guilt and shame that can come up with having a 'paid' village,'" she said.

Persons: —, Amy Johnson, Johnson, Amy Baby, It's, Katie Nostrum, Jessica Lemmons, Lemmons, L'Oreal Thompson Payton, Thompson Payton, Miriam Udy, Oluese, she's Organizations: Service, Department of Labor, L'Oreal, San Francisco Bay Area Locations: Cleveland, North Dakota, Texas, Bryan , Texas, Chicago, Tennessee, San Francisco Bay, Knoxville , Tennessee, New York, They're

☆ I work with Warren Buffett. He's probably the smartest person in the world — here's the best advice he's given me.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-30 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Karen Goracke is the CEO of the jewelry store Borsheims, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary. Goracke worked her way up from the store room, and Warren Buffett interviewed her for CEO. AdvertisementThis as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Karen Goracke, CEO and President of Borsheims, about her career and working with Warren Buffett. I started working as a sales associate for Borsheims, a jewelry store in Omaha, in 1988 straight out of college. She had no idea Warren Buffett was standing next to her.

Persons: Karen Goracke, Goracke, Warren Buffett, Buffett, —, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Borsheims, Berkshire Hathaway, I'd, Warren Buffet, We're, I'm, Warren, It's, That's, I've Organizations: Berkshire Hathaway, Service, Borsheims, Las, Berkshire Locations: Omaha, Berkshire, Nebraska, Switzerland , New York, Las Vegas

Mortgage rates are expected to drop, which means that it might be a good time to buy a second home. There's no perfect time to buy a home, so I'm more concerned with whether it feels like a good time. So, while mortgage rates are expected to go down this year for primary homes, mortgage rates for second homes might not fall as equally. Still, the Fed rate cut is already impacting mortgage rates, which could benefit second-home mortgages, as well. Barring a big windfall of cash allowing you to buy something outright, there may never be a "perfect" time to buy a home.

Persons: Grams, I'm, Grams —, doesn't, Cheryl Lock Cheryl Lock, Read Organizations: USA, Forbes, MarketWatch, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Denver

☆ Venture capitalist Deena Shakir just wrote a children's book to empower aspiring female founders
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-24 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But when it came to finding a publisher for her children's book, "Leena Mo, CEO," she found herself in the hot seat. Now "Leena Mo, CEO," finally has a place on bookshelves. AdvertisementShakir's children's book, "Leena Mo, CEO," releases September 24, 2024. Deena ShakirWriting the female founder's storyShakir wrote the entire first draft of "Leena Mo, CEO" one frenzied weekend in December 2020. "Leena Mo, CEO" is also peppered with Arabic words — like the robot's name, "Helmy," a Romanized derivation of the Arabic word for "my dream."

Persons: —, Deena Shakir, Leena Mo, Shakir, Simon & Schuster, Chelsea Clinton, Sheryl Sandburg, Everly Health —, that's, Leena Mo's, Deena Shakir Shakir, she's, she'd Organizations: Service, Simon &, Business, Maven Clinic, Everly Health, Google Locations: Muslim

☆ I avoided paying for day care when I was a single mom. It was hard, but I'm glad I did it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-20 | by ( Ashley Archambault | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. When I had my son, I was determined to avoid putting him in day care while I worked. It wasn't just that I didn't love the idea, but as a single mom, I would never have been able to make enough money to make day care make sense. I knew that all my money would have gone right to paying for it. But I was a single mom without much willing help from family members, so I had to get creative.

Organizations: Service

☆ My kids go to a preschool we can't afford. We chose to sacrifice our budget for their early education.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Jessica Tzikas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Growing up, I felt that I had a well-rounded childhood, and I try to mirror this for my own kids. I went to a private schoolMy childhood started in a private preschool setting and in many ways, I feel as though that experience led me toward a successful path in terms of social connections and education. When I had children of my own, sending them to a similar preschool was a high priority for me. AdvertisementSuddenly, sending both of our daughters to this wildly expensive preschool was no longer something we could just do. AdvertisementSchool gave them a lot more than educationAt first, I chose to send them to private preschool for their early education and social learning, but in the end, it became so much more than that.

Persons: wouldn't Organizations: Service

☆ Eldest-Daughter Syndrome Is Real; Big Sisters Do More, Studies Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Kelli María Korducki | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

But there may be more of a science to eldest daughters than meets the eye. When a mother needed help, biology caused her eldest daughter to step up and mature faster to provide that help. Most striking of all, maternal distress was not found to speed up adrenal puberty in sons or younger daughters. "I have a closer relationship with her, to this day, than I do with many of my other older siblings," he said. His wife grew up as part of a similarly large brood — and her eldest sister had a similar experience.

Persons: Lisa Doucet, Albert didn't, Doucet, Albert, I'm, " Doucet, babysitters, they'd, Molly Fox, Fox, Pamela Jakiela, aren't, isn't, Jonathan Westover, Mary Poppins —, Westover, We're, —, Lenette Azzi, Lessing, Jakiela Organizations: University of California, Fox, Center for Global Development, Williams College, University of Essex, Child, Utah Valley University, Boston University, Child Welfare League of America Locations: Rhode Island, Providence, TikTok, Los Angeles, Kenya, Utah

☆ We couldn't afford day care, so I'm a stay-at-home mom while working full time. I'm trying not to resent my partner.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-15 | by ( Betsy Decillis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

We were sitting in on a virtual tour of a day care. It was the first day care that had been willing to talk to us at all. This one was full, with a waiting list of nine months for part-time care and 18 months for full-time. I had promised my clients she would be in day care by six months so that they could be my priority in the daytime. Related storiesI pretended to listen to the rest of the virtual tour, knowing that day care wouldn't work for us.

Persons: It's, We've, I've, I'm, She's, Will Organizations: Service, Business

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