Just read a facebook discussion about how expensive childcare is and it kind of made me cringe. It made me uncomfortable because I know it's expensive, and I know it cuts into other family needs and wants on the financial front. But at the same time, I know childcare outside the home is a necessary part of the budget and it can't be free.
The facebook posting also made me uncomfortable because of how hard our staff at the Garden School works to present a truly great place for children to play and to learn and to grow. And I suppose I should be pragmatic and realize that no matter what we do for our families, there will always be those parents whose first thought is pocketbook.
I've been in the early childhood business for nearly thirty years, and in that time, I've seen a lot of really poor childcare out side the home, and I've seen a lot of parents struggle to pay for it, and that is the one promise I made to myself when I started. That no matter what the statis quo is, I will always do my best for the children in my care.
I've seen just about every scenario there is. For ten years, I was a monitor for fifty family day cares across the southern part of the State of Indiana. In that time, I reviewed a lot of homes that provided childcare, and for the most part, these were excellent places and the providers did their best to provide a caring place for children. I always recommend a family home first to people who ask because of the nurturing I saw in those homes.
I've also visited a lot of childcares, daycares and preschools and I've seen a lot of places come and go, and most of these places have been poor at best. Poor because the hired help are just that - hired help at a little more than minimum wage. I was gleefully told at the door of one establishment that they employed thirty-five floaters. I once walked into a reputable day care to tour, and the babies were locked into a room without an adult, and the key could not be found. I have had menus that looked like something from concentration camp. I've seen pureed puree and white on white and goop on goop. In one place, the toys were marked, "Closed."
Thirty years ago when I started, childcare, even in family homes, was much worse than it is today. It was a disgrace with awful basement care, few tattered and sometimes dangerous toys, poor lunches - like a piece of cheese flung at a child at lunch time, long naps that encompassed most of the day, and TV. I've heard providers say, "I'm better at caring for the children than their parents." This is a terrible statement and rarely true.
My theory is that children are always better off at home then with a provider - any provider. Our job is to offer children, who are out of their homes for the day, the very best of everything every single day. There is no such thing as skimping on a child's day.
When I started a family day care in my home, I decided right from the beginning that my place would be different from the disgraceful places I had witnessed out there in daycare land. It didn't take long to establish a busy place. In three years, I had sixty-seven children on my roster and parents came to trust me as someone who was good for their children. I charged a $1.00 an hour.
Right along with hanging out a shingle, I started a preschool in my home and was blackballed by the other providers. I made all my snacks from scratch from the beginning. I made super meals and provided swimming and some field trips - and no naps. I hate naps.
Today, I am still trying to offer the best program for the least amount of money possible. I struggle with summer fees for half the year. I usually have a couple of children on scholarship; I give the poor big breaks, and I always listen to those who need financial help.
It costs $125.00 per week for a child to come to the Garden School. That's $25.00 per day. If you subtract three meals at $2.00, $5.00, and $2.00, that must be eaten out, that leaves a balance of $16.00 per day for child care. In a ten hour day, that's $1.60 an hour. If you suggested to a babysitter that price, you'd never get one.
Yet in all fairness, it's expensive when you add up those weeks. It's a mortgage payment, two car payments, all your medical expenses for a year. It's the food cost, the utility cost, the vacation you can't take...all because of childcare.
That's why, when buying childcare, parents must be offered the very best. There have to be the extras: really great meals that help children discover their palate, foods, tastes and nutrition. A real education from a staff that is intelligent and knows how to read, how to create an art project, how to speak properly, how to incorporate a plan in the day that broadens not only the children's day but the other staff members. The staff needs to be able to bond with children, to understand their needs and wants in the absence of parents. There must be outings so trust is built between child and adult. And there should be a multitude of expensive toys that allow children to explore, and this is the tip of the iceberg.
But all of these points take work. I know, I spend the time and do that work - about sixty-five hours a week. It's a dilemma that is only solved by a moral code and a love for children.
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