There is a downside to practically everything. So if a mother shops her kids off to daycare and does not realize this, she is just not facing reality. I see them racing by me in the morning with their kids all bundled up in their child seats, and I say “I don’t want to go to work, I KNOW that they really don’t.” It’s got to be pure hell parting with those kids every morning, especially to the conditions which you describe. [I am sure there are notable exceptions, of course, but these do not disprove the general rule.]
And people who do not want to be parents such as you described in part of your post ought not to do so. People who do want to be parents ought to insist on changes in the community and society that will optimize the parenting. The problem is not just that family who cannot afford what you might consider *Quality* childcare jobs is having to put their children in non-quality… (Is this also *cheap* daycare?)….gee whiz….the point is that DAYCARE is not a quality concept. We tell ourselves it is so we can justify that we are doing it.
For single parents…we have a difficult issue here…one that includes considering that it is cost effective to support mothers to be home and stop criticizing them as “on welfare”. We do not live in an enlightened society…anyone who thinks we are ….needs to contact you off list!! (You are a psychiatrist and they need help with reality orientation) The real economic issue is that we are a consumer society and the only real purpose we have is to have consumers and we think we have to have everyone going home with a paycheck so they can go spend it on stuff they will throw away or didn’t need anyhow!!! I love to shop and spend money and buy stuff. I love my children and grandchildren MORE. Change the priority. Re-engineer the marketplace and send a parent home!!!
What would help me as a working mom is fair treatment from politicians and the media. I enjoy my life, and wouldn’t have it any other way, but it would be way cool not to have quite so many people thinking that I am doing something wrong and looking down their noses at me. (1) Quit it with the “it’s better if young children are home with one parent.” Pfui. Americans like the idea better, that’s all. Show me some legitimate research that shows this (there isn’t any). Really, both ways are fine. Kids like daycare and thrive there. Kids like to be at home and thrive there, too.
You are the one having to pay $100 a week for approximately 2 1/2 hours of childcare a week. BUT, if looked at from the daycare provider’s POV, it’s a whole different kettle of fish. In a lot of areas, there is a limit as to how many children you can be responsible for at one time. The last time I used childcare, it was 6 children per adult. So, if there is one person there, they can only have 6 children at a time. That half hour of daycare after school is most likely actually taking up a whole slot for the entire day. So, from the daycare provider’s POV, you will have to pay for the entire slot for the entire day, even if you don’t use all of tho should have explained better what meant by “subsidized” before/afterschool care—you have to refer entire not-for-profit programs that benefit from subsidized supports and thus do not charge “market childcare jobs rates” (such as programs run by the schools themselves, which are great if the school offers them!). I’m intimately familiar with the need-based child care subsidy programs, but no longer qualify.
The reasonable pay for childcare jobs depends on your area — some parts of the east or west coast charge a lot for child care because the cost of living and salaries are significantly higher whereas places in the Deep South or mid-west may charge less because it’s not as expensive to live there and the salaries are generally lower. The adult-child ratio will also affect the average cost — a lower adult-child ratio means that more staff is required which translates to a higher cost for child care. Also, if you’re looking for infant or toddler care (which you are if your child is 18 months old), the cost is usually higher than it would be for a preschooler.
All people who use daycare are ”dumping” their kids… I have no problem with it for older kids, and realize that in some places it’s safe for even the little ones. I’m just frustrated that I can’t find any useful information from anyone I’ve met around here, and that anyone who isn’t berating me for not being a SAHM is ridiculing me for thinking that it matters who’s watching my baby. I actually had two mothers in the area tell me the other day that I “think too much”, “daycare is all the same, they rip you off for letting your kid play on their floor”, and “it really isn’t worth asking them about anything but price, you’ll see that when you aren’t such an overexcited new mom.” I’m starting to feel as if I’m the only person in the world who takes a middle ground. Anyhow, I was commenting on some of the people I’ve met here, not on childcare jobs-users worldwide.
Sounds like you are becoming unhappy and distrustful of the day care staff, or at least with some of the staff and/or management of the staff. Just based on that info you probably want to look into a new daycare situation. I know it is hard to do things like that. If you have other ‘commercial’ day care centers in your area might want to look into them. Also if you have not ruled out home daycare I encourage you to look into it as well. Lastly – don’t rule out ‘church’ based childcare jobs programs simply because you are not of that faith.
If one thinks doing home daycare would be good for her then that might be an option. You can make quite a bit of money while being able to stay home with your children. And since, her kids would be playing with the other kids; her job wouldn’t take her away from being with her own children. For me, this has been the ideal job. Who knows, when my children are in school full time, I may return to work outside of the home, but for now, we are quite happy with this arrangement and it may work for your friend also. Presently, I have 4 full time daycare children. Potential $100.00 per day!! ($500.00) a week!! I couldn’t make that working out of the home and having pay $1000.00 per month for my two children to be in daycare. Mention it to her. You do have to be cut out for this type of work, though. It isn’t for everyone.
The parents determine the quality of the school. All of our teachers have degrees in early childhood education; most of them has a master. We have ratio of 4:1 in the toddler room (age 18 mo to 3) and 6:1 in the preschool room (age 3-5). Other than the professional teachers, we get interns who are in early childhood education majors in colleges. So the ratio is actually somewhere liked 3:1 and 4:1. We pay our teachers very well. During the 3 years we have been with the school, only 2 teachers left in the whole school. One left to go to medical school, the other left to be a better paying kindergarten teacher in a public school. Each class gets new toys on the on going basis. Every few weeks, the parents are organized to fix any broken or need to be painted or need to be replaced things in the classrooms. It is a very tide circle among the families involved in the school. We often spend the weekend with one or more families from the school.
Preschool is not academically necessary, any more than traditional school is necessary. However, like any other homeschooling parent a parent who chooses not to do the traditional preschool or childcare jobs should be sure that their kids have social interaction with other kids, time spent listening to books, and lots of learning experiences-in fact, all kids need these no matter what type of preschool they have.
