The United States is facing a "Mommy Tax" crisis, a largely unrecognized burden that
I had a chance to interview Carleen Haylett, founder of EnrichedHQ, to learn more.
Q1) Why is it sometimes so challenging to find enrichment opportunities for kids once they're past a certain age?
Addressing the challenges of finding, managing, affording, and scheduling afterschool and extracurricular activities for school-age kids is difficult. A few of the key barriers are:
Cost and Accessibility: Far and away the greatest impediment to finding quality programs is this. Following the pandemic, many small businesses providing these options have closed due to financial constraints. This has had the two-fold impact of lessened availability (both in options and availability) and increased cost.
Limited Program Options: Quality programming is limited, especially when the desire is specialized (STEM, coding, entrepreneurship, etc). In addition, quality programs that focus on life skills (financial literacy, business skills, etc) are even less available.
Mismatch in Offerings and Interests: Older children have a better understanding of their interests. Many parents find themselves at a loss in how or where to even find such programs let alone grapple with vetting providers, comparing schedules, and assessing pricing.
Independence and Autonomy: Older kids seeking independence might resist structured programs, preferring to explore interests in less formal or self-directed ways, which can seem less like traditional enrichment opportunities and more like personal hobbies or projects.
Addressing these challenges often requires a combination of flexibility, resourcefulness, and proactive planning by parents. Couple this with increased costs and the need to balance home and careers, and working parents find themselves in a tough spot.
Q2) How can families use EnrichedHQ to find quality enrichment options?
EnrichedHQ is a platform designed to help families discover and access quality enrichment opportunities for their children. The EnrichedHQ programs are based on three key principles:
Highest quality, expert providers. EnrichedHQ does the heavy lifting for parents by finding and rigorously vetting the partners within our community. Parents will never be presented with thousands of options for a single topical area. Rather they’ll find the select options that best fit those requested by parents and who meet the EnrichedHQ rigorous standards.
Life-skills focused. EnrichedHQ programs focus on learning opportunities for topics extending beyond the school curriculum. Our offerings look to prepare kids for real life beyond school in areas like financial literacy, business skills, college and career prep, and entrepreneurship. Other marketplace offerings tend to focus on younger kids with “activities for activity’s sake” to keep kids occupied. Our mission is to ensure all kids have access to the best programs, so they thrive beyond traditional school.
One-stop-shop. Because EnrichedHQ handles the logistics for families, finding, scheduling, booking, and managing across programs, providers, and transactions takes away much of the heavy lifting for parents. EnrichedHQ offers a free Kid Concierge service with experienced guides to build enrichment programs for kids.
Q3) Why is it important to build extra interest-based activities into a kids' schedule?
If the pandemic highlighted anything it’s that traditional school curriculum is not providing educational opportunities for kids that focus on life-skills. As kids grow older their interests evolve and the ways in which they wish to engage and learn evolve. Providing kids opportunities to explore their interests beyond the standard curriculum serves their growing passions leading to career pathways and future success.
A few other key benefits of interest-based activities are:
Cultivates a Love of Learning: Perhaps most importantly, interest-based activities can cultivate a lifelong love of learning. When children see that learning can be fun, relevant, and connected to their interests, they're more likely to become self-directed learners who seek out knowledge and experiences throughout their lives.
Encourages Self-Discovery and Identity Development: Interest-based activities allow children to explore different aspects of themselves and the world around them, aiding in self-discovery and the development of a sense of identity. This exploration can be crucial for their overall personal development and self-esteem.
Builds Resilience and Problem-Solving Skills: Engaging in activities that they are passionate about can teach children how to set goals, overcome challenges, and persist in the face of difficulties. These experiences build resilience and develop critical problem-solving skills.
Fosters Creativity and Innovation: Interest-based activities often require creative thinking and innovation, whether it's solving a complex math problem, developing a new art project, or inventing a game. These activities stimulate creativity and can inspire children to think outside the box.
Preparing for the Future: Exploring interests can help children gain insights into potential career paths and life pursuits. It allows them to develop skills and knowledge in areas they may wish to pursue professionally or as lifelong hobbies.
Incorporating interest-based activities into a child's schedule requires a balance between academic responsibilities and free time, but the benefits of doing so are vast and can contribute significantly to a child's development and happiness.
About Carleen Haylett
Carleen Haylett is the CEO of EnrichedHQ. In 2020, single mother and technology leader Carleen Haylett witnessed pandemic-driven gaps in the U.S. educational space when her fifth-grade son began to thrive with homeschooling. The schoolwork was manageable, but the lack of affordable virtual extracurricular programs available, which would stimulate his development as a student preparing for middle and high school, was a shock. Torn between motherhood and her career, corporate pressure mounted, she left her job. She founded EnrichedHQ to solve the logistical nightmare of finding and managing options for kids who no longer need day care or a sitter, bridging childcare through high school. Leveraging her 20+ years in technology development, product management, and sales, she developed a platform that offers virtual extracurricular programs for middle and high school age children that enrich and prepare them for life. Working parents are able to find an immediate remedy for this common parental stressor through their employers. EnrichedHQ handles all the logistics, letting parents easily find, book, schedule, and pay for multiple virtual programs for multiple children across multiple providers. Both corporations and parents benefit from EnrichedHQ's commitment. Visit https://enrichedhq.com/
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