Baby Sitter Backlash!

Lisa Snyder, a Michigan mother was just trying to help out her neighbors by watching their children in her home for a short while each morning while they waited on the school bus. But, according to this article submitted by the AP, she is violating a law concerning un-licensed day cares and has been ordered to stop. When Mrs. Snyder, mother to first grader Grace, heard she was in trouble she immediately called the mothers of the three other children that she kept each school day morning.
It would seem that the law in Michigan states that you cannot care for children that are not related to you for more than four weeks each calendar year. Mrs. Snyder found out that it was a neighbor's complaint that set the wheels in motion. The agency investigating this said that they feel like this law gets in the way of common sense but are bound to investigate and the state is bound to enforce the law.

I find this such a great example of that old adage "penny wise but pound foolish". I would venture to say that most everyone has watched a friends' children and certainly Mrs. Snyder was just trying to help out her neighbors. The bus stop is right in front of her house and it just makes sense that the children wait there. I wonder what this "neighbor" that complained would have the young families that need two incomes do? It would certainly not be proper to leave the children home alone and it isn't very safe to leave children at the curb to wait on busses anymore either.
I was happy to see that the investigators know that this is a silly law in this case, and I do understand that they have to do their job to protect children, but this law needs to be changed. The article says that State Representative Brian Calley is currently working to draft new legislation that makes cases such as this exempt since this was not a working day care. It is refreshing to see that the "powers that be" recognize that this law is not serving the people very well and I do hope that the changes promised do, in fact, take place.