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I love daycare! Okay, childcare for those of you who feel opposed to the word daycare. I love childcare!!!
I support childcare. I encourage childcare. I am proud of each and every parent that has taken the time to carefully review, select and enroll you children in childcare. And, that includes those of you who have talked one of your relatives into beginning a personal childcare service enrolling only your child "for the short term".
I love and appreciate the time, patience, talents and dedication of childcare employees and childcare business owners. If you haven't thanked your childcare provider lately, it might be nice to remind them you really appreciate them today.
If you are a parent who is feeling guilty about having your child in daycare while you are working, I would suggest spending a few minutes on your lunch break peeking in on them while they are hanging out with their fellow childcare buddies. Chances are pretty good that your kid is having a blast!
When you these little kids all together in rooms with furniture just their size, playing with more toys than you would ever want in your home at one time, it is something funny to see. While you are at work feeling guilty, you child is dancing and reading and destroying other people's books! Together they learn to share, walk in a line and sit in a circle and play duck-duck-goose. In daycare, kids learn manners like "no hitting", "no biting" and taking turns. Daycare also teaches kids trust, respect and mind other adult authority.
You also get to enjoy the cute arts and crafts that your child brings home from "school" without the mess. Honestly, would you really make those cute little crafts at home? Would you really allow the use of tempra paint in your house? Do you even know where you would buy it in the first place? How about laminated place mats? Do you really see yourself making laminated construction paper place mats? But, that art sure looks cute in your cubicle!
Believe me, day care is NOT hell on earth for children. It is actually really fun! And, kids learn some really valuable skills that may benefit you in ways you may never think of! Take for instance, learning to take a nap on the floor in semi-loud and semi-bright conditions. That ALWAYS helps when you get stuck in an airport or when you are at a wedding reception that will never end and your tipsy husband refuses to leave because you lost at rock/scissors/paper and got to be the designated driver for the evening! Who knew?!?!?!
Our country's employers, parents, grandparents and children need and want quality, safe, reliable and affordable childcare. And, not only is okay...it is GREAT! Quality childcare is in high demand and there are amazing people and wonderful companies that are meeting that demand with flying colors. In addition, there are a good many people working in Washington, DC in an effort to improve the access and availability of affordable, quality childcare nationwide. I hope that childcare becomes an election issue in this long and already tedious presidential election campaign.
For the record, I would like to take a moment and apologize to loving childcare providers everywhere who have been offended when weeping and defensive mothers refer to you as the stranger when they cry "I don't want some stranger raising my baby". Those words must sting. It is mean spirited to unkindly demean an unknown childcare professional in an effort to justify not utilizing childcare.
It has been my experience that these harsh words are uttered when SOMEONE (cough) would prefer to be a stay-at-home mom instead of returning to work. It is NOT your fault...it was the hormones talking! I am not proud of what I said when my son was just seven weeks old! I am sorry I uttered those words and I am really sorry that I quit my job in those moments of hormonal self-torture. What a bone head move on my part. But, I also chopped my hair off into what I was sure was going to be an "easy to style" haircut! Well, we will leave that story for another day.
Anyway, just so you know, I appreciate and admire the average 32 hours per week that you, trusted childcare provider, will spend watching the babies of new mothers returning to work. So, if I am doing my math correctly and there are 168 hours in a week and 32 hours per week spent with a childcare provider...that comes out to less than 20% of a seven day week! Well, I would hardly call that "raising" a child. Geesh! It is what I would call childcare!
For those of you who are already getting upset and defensive because you personally WOULD NEVER use daycare or childcare, be forewarned, you are NOT my intended audience. If you are happy and content with your choice to not utilize a daycare or childcare provider, that is great. I respect and
