Daycare; Early Childhood Education

Just Another Daycare

Families enroll children in child care facilities in the US each day.  When shopping for an early childhood education program for your precious infant-preschooler, how do you make the ultimate decision? Today’s families enroll children in child care at a rate that is more than quadrupled the rate of enrollments seen nearly 20 years ago.  In today’s times, more children are enrolled across the country, but the number of children going into an elementary school, ready for kindergarten has not necessarily quadrupled.  Who’s job is it to ensure kindergarten readiness?  There are a limited number of curricula that are deemed as having a large impact on the very young.  Often, families want to see their children ‘challenged.’  In effect, challenging would mean being exposed to information that is not developmentally appropriate for the age group.  So often, mistakes such as inappropriate activities, improper expectations, and the mindset that the provider is caring for children in their care in a similar manner to the way one cares for their ‘own.’  Local communities in all states have the ability to assist in changing the perception of the industry.  

For so long, daycare programs have been viewed as an industry that accepts ‘public school teacher rejects.’  In some states, the education of young children is highly valued, and systems have been put in place to ensure that the educators working in the industry increase education and training to help ensure that children are receiving positive nurturance and practicing developmentally appropriate lessons.  This one area is important to all children, considering that inappropriate activities for the age can halt learning certain material, or expose children to a plethora of other learning problems.  Despite the large number of states that have incentives for early childhood educators, the states that do not have incentives regularly practice hiring teachers that lack higher level learning beyond high school.  It is believed that the lack of education in those settings leads to poor language skill development, a child’s ability to practice sound cognitive skills can be poor, and the impression of parents is negative, as a result.  Typically, these situations can cause a trickle down effect or cyclical in form.  The educator develops lesson plans that are not age appropriate, the children do not respond (as the educator would like), the families are disgruntled.

Early childhood educators are surrounded by many tools used to track certain data about children, as well as themselves.  Telling a two year old to wake up from their nap, go to the bathroom, and head outside is an example of improper expectation for the age group.  If a 12 month old is expected to go to the bathroom after lunch, it is likewise, an improper expectation.  Unfortunately, young children could be in harm’s way if the educator does not have the ability to be flexible in their practicing beliefs, and open to educating individually.  The negative cycle begins once more.

Earlier in my career, I would often interview and hire early childhood educators.  Two phrases always troubled me:  adults that called themselves ‘big kids,’ and those that believe they should be able to discipline, punish, etc. as though the children were their own.   Professionalism is very important in early childhood education environments.  In order for others to respect early childhood education as an industry, educators need to be able to explain the educational process as well as individualizing education for each child enrolled.  

All in all, young children enrolled in the early childhood education programs deserve highly trained and educated educators to provide professional, nurturing for young children.  An overhaul of the negative stigmas could drive the community to learn more and support more.