Looking for mothers and fathers who are concerned about a home daycare provider....

[Inspired by Reggio]

Why only the request for poor or bad experiences ~ does that not end up created a jaded and negative piece that does nothing to help families in the search for quality home childcare?

I have worked in the field for over 20 years in both private and not for profit licensed childcare models as well working in both regulated and unregulated home based models and it grinds my gears to see this constant focus on 'regulation' being the be all and end all of the solution for quality childcare.

The fact is there are 'poor experiences' in ANY service industry including all of the above ~ the model is not what equates the quality of care received but rather the motivation and passion of those offering the service to CHOOSE to follow or exceed the rules for best practice regardless of who is 'watching'.

I have seen poor quality care offered in 'regulated settings' where parents sit clueless to what is REALLY going on once they drive way because they blindly assume 'regulated = quality' and do not really 'observe' the program and I know many home childcare providers who work in a 'unregulated' setting who choose to SELF REGULATE above and beyond any 'government regulation' because they are passionate about their role in young children's lives and giving them the best start in life!

I am sure there are MORE people who have an awesome experience in childcare that goes above and beyond any 'minimum standards / regulations' that the governments put forth .... why not seek out them so they could share experiences about those childcare professionals in our communities who are doing GOOD in the world ... why does the media not want to do educational and informative stories on THESE families experiences and perhaps investigate and see what they did differently in their childcare search to find those 'gems' in the industry ... that is likely to help ensure that other families can have a positive experience too!

The Internet is full of horror stories on childcare as well as resources on what NOT to look for childcare settings and providers .... so how about focusing on empowering new parents on what they SHOULD be looking for in a quality early learning with positive experiences that empower them to make an educated choice!

The world is no different than raising children ~ if you want to truly change behavior you need to focus on what you WANT them to be doing verses what you do not want them doing .... if we want to illicit positive change in the world we need to stop making our focus be on the 'negative' of what is WRONG with the world and feeding that negative energy and shift our focus on what is RIGHT in the world and feeding that positive energy instead so that we encourage people to do GOOD instead!