Instablogs - Mobile - State to Mom: Stop BabySitting Neighbors Kids

Each day before the school bus comes to pick up the neighborhood’s children, Lisa Snyder did a favor for three of her fellow moms, welcoming their children into her home for about an hour before they left for school.

Regulators who oversee child care, however, don’t see it as charity. Days after the start of the new school year, Snyder received a letter from the Michigan Department of Human Services warning her that if she continued, she’d be violating a law aimed at the operators of unlicensed day care centers.

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Richard

Land of the free haha, I'm really glad shit like this doesn't happen over here in the UK…

Caesar

Here's a question: when is "operating an illegal daycare" a valid offense to charge someone with? This could be a misapplication of an ordinarily useful law, but quite frankly I don't see what productive purpose it could possibly serve.

Alain

Easy solution. She should register a private day care that reserves the right to select it's members. Charge $2 a year, and then deduct all child rearing expenses as a business expense.

Gary

Wow, as a non_US resident, all I can say is W...T...F???

"Hey neighbour, want to do me favour and watch my kids before school?"

"Sorry, but our nanny state government doesn't think that's a good idea and will punish me for attempting to live our lives like normal decent people."

Michael Davison

Unfortunately, there are archaic laws and stupid laws all over the world, not just in the US. This particular law was probably enacted by interested parties to prevent “informal” daycare that worked like a carpool, taking money away from the regular daycare centers.

Here’s a selection of really stupid laws:

In Oklahoma, you may not hunt whales (I’m sure this was such a problem that they needed this law—Oklahoma is a land-locked state with no oceans).

In Nevada, if someone enters onto your property and shoots your dog, you may legally hang him or her (where’s my rope?).

In Boise, Idaho, you may not fish while sitting on the back of a giraffe (again, this must have been such a problem that they needed a law for it).

In California, it’s illegal to set a mousetrap, unless you have a hunting license.

In Australia, it’s illegal to read someone’s tarot, or give them a psychic reading as these are forms of witchcraft.

In Thailand, it’s illegal to leave your house if you are not wearing underwear (and who exactly is going to check this?).

In England, all males over the age 14 are to carry out at least 2 hours of longbow practice a week supervised by the local clergy.

In Belgium, a driver who needs to turn through oncoming traffic has the right of way unless he slows down or stops.

In China, they have a REALLY strange law: To go to college you must be intelligent (I don’t think they’re going to enact this one in the US).

In France, no pig owner is allowed to name the pig Napoleon.

In Haifa, Israel, it’s illegal to bring bears to the beach (oh, yes, we have SUCH an oversupply of bears in Haifa that must have been necessary at one time [NOT!]—in 40 years, I’ve never seen one outside a zoo in Israel).

In Morocco, prostitution is legal but the prostitutes must pay taxes like any other business (just how does the tax authority audit these tax returns?).

In Switzerland, it’s required that every car with snow tires has to have a sticker on its dashboard which tells that the driver should not drive faster than 160 km/h with these tires (but the maximum speed on the autobahns is 120 km/h).

It seems that no single country has a monopoly on stupid laws.

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