Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/beyond-family-friendly-the-family-center/5011466/
"Why do we do all this for parents? Where will it stop? They leave their kids here all the time. They complain when we close for Presidents' Day or for training. Why did these people have kids? They want us to be more educational. They borrow crackers for their commute. They tie up the phone and get coffee from the staff room. You know, my life would be much easier if children didn't come with parents."This teacher's lament is not uncommon; it's one we have probably all felt. In the real world of child care, parents are not infrequently considered a burden or necessary evil. Fortunately, to change this, there is now more discussion of the need for child care to be "family friendly," a welcome recognition that children come with families and that what we do has implications for others in the child's life.
But is family friendly child care enough? Or do we need a new paradigm for the 21st century, one that redefines the center and what it is that teachers and other child care staff do? What if we go a step further and, instead of being family friendly child care centers, we become family centers, with child ...