HOme is where the heart is
... a lady was interviewed who had been asked to be the President of a large community non-parental Family Day and Child Care Center organisation. Shortly before Ms.X agreed to take on the role there was an incident where a child had wandered from a day care home. Regulations were that the day care mother was to have had a fenced in back yard but there wasn’t a fence. The child was found hours later at the edge of a riverbank. Another Day care mother had been operating for a fortnight when Ms.X discovered that the woman and her partner could not pass the police check. But worst of all was when a freestanding structure separating two properties fell onto a child and the child died of head and neck injuries at the center. The Child Care coordinator of this facility whose job it was to make the inspections had not done so. The Non parental childcare providers did not see the potential risk in the perilous structure and considered it to be of more value than the safety of the children. What was most disconcerting was when the management committee members who were advised to close down the organization temporarily, then reform with a clean slate and new co-ordinators decided to remain open. None of the parents nor the non parental child care givers wanted to spare a child from this woman’s negligence but were more concerned about having to miss a day ‘s wages. When quality of care is continuously neglected as in the cases above, this results in numerous children’s social development being negatively disrupted because of seeing, being or having to take the wrath of inconvenienced guardians/caregivers. Non-parental childcare providers don’t have it easy and don’t get a variety of perks as in other occupations. Clients are frequently bending the rules and it is highly unlikely that the non-parental caregiver when they are ill treated or have to provide the basic essentials (nappies, lunch, etc) for that child is going to continue caring for that child in a positive manner, i.e. passive aggression. A sick child is to remain at home but many are the day when a feverish child is deposited at day care/childcare facility spreading the disease which can invertly effect the short term social behaviour of a child as they become short tempered and upset because they are uncomfortable. In non-parental child care groups, there is always a child/ren not socialised and one of these repercussions is that the “naughty child’s” behaviour disturbs the social development of all the children in a negative way9. Hence, there is an eighty-nine percent chance that the observing children will pick up this disconcerting trait10 and this has a rippling effect. If the non-parental childcare provider’s plan is not supported in the child’s home and vice versa, modifying the offensive child’s behaviour will be impossible. Often the case both parties do not have the means, the time or agree on the problem at hand and consequently the child’s social development is not modified, quality of care is not provided and nobody wins11. Moreover, not only is the social development of the individual child not met, but also the social development of the other children may be affected12. Parents who do not put their children first cannot expect strangers to put their child first.13 In addition; parents who cannot identify their own child’s needs cannot expect other people to meet their child’s needs.14 Consequently how can society possibly expect “quality care” to be provided for the well being of their socially developing child? Although the non- parental child care industry in Australia is encouraging all levels of carers from entry level to management to receive accreditation in early child care education from private and government ran tertiary institutions, it does not mean that the carer is an expert or that their practices are in the best interest of children15. Sadly we have seen what happens when some “expert “ child carers are left alone with children (nannies, etc) and this can negatively disturb the social development of that child not just in its early years, but throughout the rest of their life16. Non-parental childcare cannot replace the parent’s care, although in some rare instances day care offers the most positive aspects in a child’s life17, as their home life is appalling. Non- parental childcare facilities cannot teach a child about their family history, nor do they teach the basic attributes of a well socially developed child18. In addition what does this have to say about the future of Australian Society? Non-parental childcare is regimented and children are expected to fall in with the routine rather than be spontaneous.19 Maria Montessori proposed this when she established her Montessori schools.20 The most notable primary school teachers recognize in children who have been raised in non- parental child care facilities that they are dependent on the adult to create and organize their play for them in opposition to the child who has been allowed to create their own play and does so constructively & independently21. This is a skill that will enhance the child throughout their life and will further their social development in a positive way. Society values motherhood but forces women out of the home and into the workplace. We pay child care workers a wage just above the poverty line22 and think that this is the best thing for our children. For this reason I think that non-paternal childcare is part of a larger machine which earlier generations prophesised would contribute to the destruction of the family unit. Human beings are not machines23, they need to be nurtured and children are children for only a brief speck in time. Yet, the conclusion is far from definitive with researchers equivocating, saying, "It still depends”24. Since 1991, twenty-seven researchers conducting the NICHD study have tracked the development of more than 100 000 children across the country25. Through complet...