Daycare Tragedy

A fourteen month old infant died at the hands of her childcare provider on her second day in attendance.

Story Here

This story affects me as a mother and as an individual from the field of early childhood education.

Caring for children is not easy. It is stressful, and unless you can find the rewarding side and satisfaction of it, then it's probably not the job for you. Like those that care for the sick or elderly, childcare workers experience little to no appreciation for the work they do. Especially caregivers that work from home. In a center based care setting, caregivers have each other to rely on for support during frustrating moments, such as when a new child enters the program. Home care providers however, do not.

Many children experience some anxiety transitioning to their new environment, new routine and new care giver. This is sometimes expressed through constant crying and even screaming. This was likely the cause for the caregiver in question to begin shaking this child. That, and lack of skills to perform her job, such as, patience, desire/passion for working with children, love, care or understanding of children's development.

This is a risk with home care providers, especially ones you do not personally know. Often times, the individual providing at home care is a mother, and this alone is used to make other parents believe that they are competent. Even though we know that children all over, are abused by their parents everyday, and sometimes worse.

In home care, there are no witnesses to observe the care giver. In center based care, there are several witnesses.

In home based care, there is often no training in child development and therefor lack of knowledge on how to fully understand the child. In center based care, there are trained educators who will know things such as that crying during a transition to care is perfectly normal and will know what to do to make it easier on the child and themselves.

In home based care, there is no support for the child care provider if they are having a stressful moment and need to take a break. In center based care, there is always someone to take over if you need to walk away for a few minutes.

Am I pro center based care?

Yes, I am. However, I do believe that home based care has it's place. Some children need smaller group sizes as their personalities or temperament is not best suited for large group care. Some home care providers actually are trained properly and are even licensed. These home care providers are probably not doing it just for the money, but for the love of working with children.

The problem is how does a parent know the difference when looking for a provider? I say, look through the fluff in the ad listings. Ads that can only say "I'm a mother. I'm caring, loving, nurturing" and other similar phrases should tell you something. First, this person is not a professional. Second, they are probably doing this job as a convenient way to be a mother and make some money - not because they actually want to work with children or that they enjoy children. And remember that having their own children doesn't mean that they will like your children or treat them appropriately.

So what does a good home care provider ad listing sound like? It should state the individual's credentials, such as being an ECE (early childhood educators), that they provide developmentally appropriate activities and that they are licensed.

When you meet your child care provider, ask questions about discipline practices, curriculum, communication procedures, and for a copy of the menu. Feel out how serious this person is about their home childcare center. How is it set up? Is a part of the house dedicated to their business? Is it set up similar to a classroom? Is there some children's art hanging on the walls? You can tell a lot simply from the love and dedication they put into their set up.

My heart breaks for this baby and the baby's parents and family during this very disturbing time. It saddens me as a mother, to think of someone doing something so horrible to such a helpless baby after being trusted to keep him/her safe.

Please research your childcare provider thoroughly but don't lose faith in child care. I believe that center based childcare is very beneficial to a child's development and creates a solid foundation for all future learning.