Rant of the week

This is a rant post. You have been warned.

In Johnston Rode Island at the "My Special Place Early Learning Center" a daycare center a baby boy was locked in the center for an hour, alone. The mother came to pick her child up and was shocked to discover that the center was closed and locked up tight for the night. The mother pounded on the door and yelled until a neighbor to the center heard her and assissted her in breaking into the center. The baby was found in a crib crying.

This was reported to the authorities and the center was placed on probation. The center's side of the story is that the mother did not sign her child in when she dropped the baby off that morning. They said that they checked the list and as far as they knew all of the children had been picked up by their parents/guardians and that they were okay to close for the day.

I have worked in childcare previously at a day care. There were very ridgid policies on checking all the cribs, bathrooms, storage rooms, kitchens, every room in the center to ensure that there was not any children in the center. The vans were done in the same fashion. After every room was checked the employee that checked the room had to sign that they did check, then the lead adminastrator would check the rooms and sign also. It was a system of checks and balances.

This daycare should of have some sort of policies in place to prevent this from even happening. I realize that out there in the wide world there are people who think that a mother's place is at home with her babies.

That is a VERY backward point of view. Every person has a story, each one is different. I do have the support from my wonderful family that allows me to stay at home with my boys. In that respect I am very lucky. I have worked and I did have a babysitter that was a family member. But a babysitter all the same. It was slowly killing me everyday to leave my babies with someone else who was not their mother or father while I went to earn the allmighty dollar. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.

People want to blame the mother because she allotted to put her child in daycare. I believe that mastakes were made, perhaps by both the mother and center. As a mother with school age children I know that there are polcies that drive me crazzzzzy. (Example, do I really need to show them my identifaction almost every single time I pick them up after three years of me picking them up and dropping them off every day).

Do we know the mother's side of the story? Do we know why she decieded to put her child in daycare? No. All that was told was that the child was left alone, locked in an empty building. An infant alone. If the mother had left the child alone she would have been punished heavily for child abuse, and child neglect. They only got probation. Something is wrong there. (Keep in mind that the child was not harmed, thankfully.)

The best thing to do if you do decied on a day care center is to throughly check them out. Visit the center (multiple times), speak to the employees, talk to parents that have or have had children there, check with the Better Busissness Breau to see if any complaints are listed. Google the center adminstrator, check their facebook and myspace pages if you can. They maybe professional the first time you meet them, then you realize later that you made a mistake. Trust me, people are awfully nice the first time, they want your money.

For a sitter place an ad in a local paper and of course ask around. Interview the people applying at a local spot, like a coffee bar or a resturant. Ask LOTS of questions, ask for references. Ask about their history with children, google them, check out their myspace and facebook pages if they have one and you can. Make sure that they are able to comply with your guidlines and are flexiable. (keep in mind that you also need to be flexiable) Make sure that you have their FULL name and their home address. Accidents happen, it is our job as parents to ensure that we can prevent everything that is a possiablilty.

Questions to Ask a sitter for an interview:

Do they have children?

How long are they going to be able to be a sitter (a few weeks, months or years?)

What is their view point on disipline?

What type of disipline do they use or have used?

Are they a leader or a follower? (determine this by the way they answer their questions)

Do they smoke?

Are they drinkers?

Do they have car insurance? (if they transport your child in their own vehicle)

Are they timely?

Do they have a cell phone?

Remember that many people get nervous and excited at a job interviews. If you feel that you did not cover all of your bases interview them again. Be frank and honest with them, remember that they are people too.

For those out there please do not judge a mother or father because they have to have the services of a day care center or babysitter. Times are tough and two incomes for a family could mean the difference between hungry and satisfied. Clean clothes and dirty, a roof over their head or living out of their car. Or maybe the mother is a single parent. A widdow perhaps. Dont' judge what you don't know.