It’s a serious mistake to see young children mostly as future older children, nor should any child be seen as just an adult in the making.
-Alfie Kohn, The Homework Myth
On June 22, the Arkansas Democrat and Gazette published a full-page cartoon on getting baby to "day care." We could not get permission to provide a link to this cartoon, but Bettye Caldwell's letter to the editor in response will give you an idea of the tone...
"Obviously the cartoon, 'Daddy Saves the Day' filling the front page of the Family section... was meant to be funny. I, for one, did not find it amusing. I think it reflects a sad preoccupation of many parents — 'How can we get our children into the child care center earlier and allow them to stay after hours?'
"Having spent many professional years working to improve quality in child care, I deplore anything that makes light of the field. And I cringe at the reminder that many parents seem to have no awareness of the needs of the child care workers.... But my greatest objection to the cartoon is its implication that the transfer of a child from home to care is not something that needs to be done carefully and lovingly. Just put him in a jet pack and blast him to child care; shrink him to pocket size so he will fit in your backpack all day; dig a tunnel from home to child care and install a baby-size pneumatic tube....
"I like to laugh as much as anybody, but I don't like to laugh at the expense of disparagement of a vital service to children and parents."
Top Ten Preschool Parenting Problems
Put your staff and parents all on the same page! The Top Ten Preschool Parenting Problems and what to do about them! The title says it all: Here you have the perfect way to put and staff and parents all on the same page—working together in harmony on the most common challenges of preschool parenting. From long-time contributing author to Exchange magazine Roslyn Duffy!
Comments (12)
Displaying 5 of 12 Comments [ View all ]United States
Brenda,
Thank you for your comment and your enthusiasm for sharing Exchange Every Day. You can find us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/ExchangePress
Shishu Vikash Kendra
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Hello
Child friend , Its very interesting poking fun in childcare centre . Funny environment can change the mind of a child and foster her development.
Jamaica Plain, MA, United States
I wish this good be posted on Face Book. I think the daily exchange emails are great, but they are read primarily be people in the field. If we all rec'd them to our pages more people beyond the field could become a bit more enlightened.
Consultant
Youngsville, NC, United States
Way to go Bettye. Your editorial should be published in every newspaper in America and beyond!
I was educated as a music school teacher but along the way decide that by running a private quality child care, I could make a bigger impact in the daily lives of many children. I consciously chose child care because child care, day care or whatever you want to call it, makes a difference.
I did my own study along the way and discovered that school age children, especially from single parent families, spent more waking hours in my facility than they did any where else.
Thanks for speaking up!
Walnut avenue Women's Center
Santa Cruz, Ca. , United States
Right on !!!!!
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