(Lets face it kids are full of honesty, they say it as they see it. This is a new column written from the ‘HONEST’ observations from our children. It touches on all aspects of the process of growing up and how we as parents can improve ourselves from a child’s point of view).
Working NINE to FIVE
Since last week I had a toddler friend and we got on so well, laughing together at the little jokes we play on our parents, Mum decides to enroll me in a few days of baby daycare. Oh dear looks like she’s had the last laugh. As we get ready she goes on about how much fun it is going to be, she seems a bit overly excited like she’s holding tears back.
Yeah Mum go off and do something called work and leave your precious child behind in the hands of strangers. I’m not easing your guilt, I look at her with my puppy dog eyes and I see her face drop. Oh yeah I’m going to ride this guilt trip for a good ten years. Bring it on. Big Sister sidles up to me, I guess she’s going to give me a pep talk, what with me going off in to the big bad world, she is after all a daycare veteran..jpg)
‘So listen’, she goes ‘ Daycare is nasty, the minders might be all lovey dovey when Mum’s around but the minute Mum goes its slave labour time. If you can walk you get to mop, but if you are only able to sit upright then you get dusting on the spot duty. Whilst they usually sit around have tea and watch the tele, forget creative play, forget play dough time, and sing song corner out the window buddy, the only song you are going have to sing is for your supper, and that’s not going to be a well balanced meal, the carers eat those you might get a few scraps so I suggest you pack a few supplies while you have the chance.
I gulp in trepidation ‘ You’re kidding I go’ but my panic levels start to rise thinking about the dusting on the spot duty, my hand eye coordination is still a bit tricky, I tried to drink my juice through my nose the other day. Before we know it, we are at daycare and Mum looks horrendously guilty, good what kinda of a person leaves their child in the hands of strangers, does she even know their names?, their birthdays?, what they had for breakfast?
I’ve had enough of this I not going in without a fight I scream and holler and do a bit of kicking, they ask Mum to scoot off quickly. Okay I’ turning the scream up a one decibel higher. Screaming loudly I open one eye to have a look at my surroundings, seeing a giant Tele-tubby stops me in my tracks..WOW I love those..look around, lots of other small people like me rolling around, toddling playing with all these fantastic toys…this place is magical. Tears forgotten I get a big hug from my carer, WOW she smells nice, Mum better watch out she’s got some competition. HEY and there’s my friend from last week, YAY..this place is superdupa, I’m going cry if I have to leave!
Is Daycare good for your child?
The latest results from the long-running U.S. National Institutes of Health study show children in high-quality childcare scored slightly higher on measures of academic and cognitive achievement years later as teenagers.
They were also slightly less likely to act out than peers who were in lower-quality childcare, the researchers reported.But children who spent the most hours in childcare had a slightly greater tendency toward impulsiveness and risk-taking at age 15 than teens who had spent less time in childcare, the researchers wrote in the journal Child Development.
Quality for childcare is usually measured by how much time the provider spends interacting with the children, as well as warmth, support and cognitive stimulation.
Why do children cry at Daycare?
This can be one of the hardest experiences parents have. Most parents experience some reluctance about going to work and staying home with kids. Part of us wants to stay home with our babies and part of us wants and needs to work.
There are several things to consider when a baby or child cries when dropped off at childcare. Children will often cry for a few days or weeks when they are just beginning child care. Some children will cry for an hour after drop-off and periodically throughout the day. Some will just cry for a few minutes after their parent leaves.
Other children will happily wave good-bye for the first week or two of child care and when it finally sinks in, will spend the next week crying at good-byes. Still other children will make an adjustment to child care and then several weeks, months or years later will begin to cry at good-byes. The reasons for children crying at good-byes are many, ranging from a child making a healthy adjustment to child care to an indication of problems with the child-care situation or some other outside stress.
By Mayuri Jayasinghe
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