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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Doing Time.. Growing Up In Daycare (Spin Off Of The Breast Feeding Mom Thread)
youretooloud 10:57 AM 09-19-2012
So, I downloaded this book. I could ALMOST see her point, but her "I am so wonderful, and nobody else is as good as me" attitude really rubbed me the wrong way.

She had an insult for everyone. Even the guy who left the kitchen to carry two babies up a flight of stairs. The "nice" college students who never knew anything about kids.

But, SHE is apparently flawless.

Does she not realize that parents KNOW this stuff before enrolling their kids? If the parent must carry an infant down and up the flight of stairs, wouldn't they realize that in an emergency, they must also be carried up that same flight of stairs? Wouldn't they realize that six infants with two adults can't carry all the babies up the stairs at once?

I'm not suggesting I would put my child in daycare either....but, the point is, an entire book about how complete strangers are changing the child's diapers and holding the baby is unfair and it assumes that parents are clueless and ignorant to the fact that other people are coming in contact with the children. It's not like they allow just random people in the center to fondle the kids... If the parent trusts the caregiver, they must also trust the caregiver's choices.

Anyway, I thought the book was highly offensive, and I don't care for the "Parents are not good parents if they choose daycare over their kids" feelings that this book is putting out there.
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Blackcat31 03:03 PM 09-19-2012
I wanted to read this book....at first.

But then I heard about how it is kind of degrading to child cares and the many wonderful quality programs out there so I didn't read it.

So far, I really haven't heard many good reviews about it.

Here is a thread about this book from February of 2012

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41632
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cheerfuldom 03:22 PM 09-19-2012
I read the book. its definitely sensationalized but there are many valid points. one thing that the author does not cover much is home daycares
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DBug 06:44 AM 09-20-2012
I read it and found that she was just pointing out the obvious. Of course there will be high turnover, of course there will be caregivers with very little education, of course children will resort to bad behaviour because they're not getting the one-on-one attention they need and deserve.

I didn't find it to be overly derogatory, and I found she made alot of good points that some parents may not have considered. To me, it reinforced the reasons that I didn't send my kids to daycare, but again, it was all really obvious stuff. If a caregiver has 10 kids in their care, it's a given that they're not going to be able to spend as much time comforting kids, sitting with them in their laps, helping them adjust to the day without mommy close by, etc. I do find that not many parents consider those things when choosing a center.

I hadn't made the connection between aggressive behaviour and the mindset of being "one of many", and I thought that was an interesting point. I'm not completely sure I totally agree, but it was interesting to think about.

I would encourage parents to read it (if they asked for my advice/opinion), simply because if you haven't worked in a center, you may not be aware of how things operate. IME, parents quite often give far more priority to "socialization" than to the value of growing up in a loving family or with a loving caregiver (gramma, aunt, etc).

Just my two cents, but I think the book made some good (albeit obvious) points.
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Tags:book suggestions, daycare - books
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