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professionalmom 11:42 AM 07-28-2010
Originally Posted by judytrickett:
Basically it comes back to the same old thing - kids who spend ALL their time possible in daycare.

Well, I know YOU know the ramifications but for others:

It's sad, really it is. We have ALL this research and all these crime statistics following an entire generation in daycare showing us that the more time a child spends in NON parental care the larger and more significant are the problems they develop. But yet we continue to dump our kids in daycare for longer and longer UNNECESSARY hours.

One day it is going to come back and bite us in the ass. Hell, I think it already IS!
But the parents ignore all this research and then blame the daycare provider for not being "good enough". I had one parent who was working FT and going to school. Now I do admire that fact that she was trying to pull off the impossible. Dad skipped the country and was nonexistent in the child's life. DCB was in my care for the following schedule:
M 7:30a - 10:30p = 15 hrs
T 11am - 10:30p = 11.5 hrs
W 7:30a - 10:30p = 15 hrs
Th 7:30a - 11a = 3.5 hrs
F - Sun = eslewhere because mom had maxed out DHS hours and would have to pay my OT rate of $5 per hr for any additional hrs.
Total hours just in MY care = 45 hrs (within a 75.5 hrs time span)!!!!
Then she complained that DCB didn't like it at my house because he cried when mom left! FYI - he was fine within minutes (usually 60-90 seconds). Oh, and he was barely 2 years old!
But it was all MY fault. It COULDN't have ANYTHING to do with the fact that he was 2 and missed his mommy and didn't even know his daddy. (sarcasm!!!)

Why aren't these studies being reported on the nightly news or something? Is child safety second to the "comfort" of the parent and only reported when it's "convenient for the parents?"

We, daycare providers, love what we do (or did), but we should the "last resort" for parents, when it is just not possible for them to provide for their kids without some daycare. Even then, it should be for the least possible time. For instance, with 2 income families, they should TRY (not always possible, but if it is, then try) to work opposing shifts to minimize time in daycare. All of my "golden" families understood this, even though they were my PTers and often the lowest money.
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