North Bend parents scrambling for child care during snow days

NORTH BEND, Wash. — As North Bend neighbors continue to dig out from heavy snow, they’re also dealing with another problem.

The snow has caused schools there to be closed for nearly a week, causing parents to scramble to find childcare.

One person who feels the pain of so many parents is Jody Proudfoot, who runs Ark Childcare in North Bend.

She had to send 12 children home to their parents last Friday when snow started falling. She has not been able to reopen since.

Proudfoot said she's never seen a storm like this in the 23 years she's been in business.

"I figured we really don't have a choice. No one is going to be able to get here and it's dangerous,” said Proudfoot.

KIRO 7 also talked to Mark Davis, who has two kids, ages 4 and 8, who have been of school since last Friday.

He and his wife both work full time in Seattle and have had to rearrange their schedules, work from home and rely on grandparents to make things work.

“It's become this work life balance of not being able to get out of our house. This has been nuts. It's been the worst snow or the best snow depending on who you ask,” said Davis.

Adding to the challenge for parents is that next week is midwinter break for most school districts, meaning more planning ahead on what to do with kids then.

Cox Media Group