And they are worried about unlicensed daycares??

[sunnydays]

Oh some of the comments are making my blood boil..not sure if I can read anymore LOL. Daycare providers shouldn't be in it for the money, they shouldn't need a break at naptime, kids shouldn't be forced to rest, etc etc. I am not sure I have the heart to even comment

[momofnerds]

I don't know, to me its wierd. so a parent stumbled upon all these taped up children and she didnt call the police. And how come the administrator wasn't in this building. This story is just not making sense. I don't know.

[sunnydays]

I thought it was more likely that the child told the parent?? I don't know. Maybe other kids told parents, but they didn't believe them or understand. My 5 year old says some pretty strange things sometimes...it's sometimes hard to get to the truth.

I don't know, to me its wierd. so a parent stumbled upon all these taped up children and she didnt call the police. And how come the administrator wasn't in this building. This story is just not making sense. I don't know.

[Momof4]

Well, there are some strong opinions on this thread! I agree that compared to a degree learned from books, no matter what the field may be, hands on learning will teach you everything you need to learn. It's great for ECE's to know all the technical philosophies of childrearing but since no two children are alike it's a never ending learning experience when you work with children.

Who among us hasn't had a tiny fantasy of velcro on the walls so we can stick the children up there for a little while so we can sit down and breathe? But it's just something that crosses your mind when you are exhausted and having a crazy day. The people who actually do things like this should be punished, but there shouldn't be any question about what happened, there should be definite proof. Children can make up stories easily, especially when leading questions are asked by adults. 4 year old children do have great imaginations and are open to suggestions to tell stories.

[momofnerds]

I have a dumb question. Why are these 4 to 6 yrs old (the ones that were in the article) not in school. I know full day jk is almost everywhere, but a 6 yr old would be sk or grade 1????

my 4 yr olds don't nap here. But they do play quietly, they can watch tv, read a book or play with the toys. No running or jumping or screaming allowed. And I've never had a problem. When its nap time, they are so excited because they get to play with the big kid toys (anything that has little pieces) its the highlight of their day. They even beg me to put the little kids to bed.

[cfred]

I'm not going to hijack this thread or really comment on the article beyond agreeing that something's not right. I find it hard to believe that the story is as it sounds. But honestly, the fact is that we'll never know, it's got nothing to do with us and it's just one more thing to get my panties in a twist about. Between the CBC story earlier this year and all the day to day stresses, the most reaction a story like this about a licensed centre will get out of me is "See? Told ya....they're not so golden!"

Next....Sorry, but gotta address this - Luppernoodle.....ECE designation is a 'cracker jack diploma"? Seriously? What the hell???? I disagree with you COMPLETELY! I am a mother and completed my 2 yrs ECE studies while I was a mother. Nope, sorry luv....not cracker jack. I worked my ass off for 2 solid years. I have spent countless hours observing children behind one way mirror, did 4 daycare placements of varying forms, led and attended many, many workshops, studied behaviour management, child development and everything child related. I have toured playgrounds in the area and critiqued them for safety, redesigning them as assignments for school. I've developed resource files for parent resources as well as activity/theme/art resources with adaptations and modifications for a myriad of different needs/ages. This is of course not to mention the final exam which entailed touring a daycare centre which had been tampered with, which my team and I had to rectify. It took 2 full days without sleep and 3 people to complete our 45 page document including new rooms (Infant, Toddler, Junior & Senior Preschool, School Aged) specifying everything from height of electrical outlets to the cribs, to the layout, to the playground equipment, to the books on the shelves (and in storage for rotation)....everyth ing had to be covered, including having drafting pictures of the rooms. It was a frickin' nightmare and was the culmination of 2 years of hard work. Cracker Jack? Don't think so! And quite frankly, being a mother doesn't automatically make you qualified to do this job. I disagree completely that ONLY mothers returning to the workforce should do this job. Sorry again, but I've seem some home daycares touting "the mother thing" who really should never opened their doors for business as 'home daycares'. There are quite a few who claim the daycare name, but are nothing more than babysitters. There's more to being a daycare than slapping a few toys on shelf and opening yourself to the public....as many of the fine providers here can tell you. Mother does not equal qualified.

[playfelt]

Full day kindergarten in Ontario is basically still just half day school with a teacher and and an ECE. Then for the afternoon they are in a daycare setting - usually another room in the same school and often with the ECE from the morning as well as other staff. The daycare programs are run by either the school board or the non-profit daycare group they have contracted with . As per the Day Nurseries Act, all children under 5 are expected to have a rest of up to one hour following lunch so in licensed care there is not the option to watch tv for an hour - that is a privilege reserved for children in private non-licensed home daycares.

[dodge__driver11]

Umm--I saw this story and agree that something is not right here...and I too am not going to comment anymore, as for ECE education being CRACKERJACK--um no. While I am a mother, and took it in part because I wanted to gain some insight as to different styles of handling children like cfred says it is much more than that. I am very offended that you would say that about something I take great pride in and worked very hard at Loopernoodle.

As for four year olds resting...

I always have my four y/o rest his body...Its not an option for him, and he knows this.

[joan tack]

I live in Southern Ontario and I feel like the whole Daycare thing needs to be overhauled by the government. The cost of daycare is through the roof, whether its licenced or not. We all know that Quebec is cheap and it's working (as far as I'm concerned). I'm not saying we need to go that low in cost (Quebec) but a happy medium would be nice. I'd happily shell out 500-600 a month for daycare but 1000 and up seems insane!

[bright sparks]

I live in Southern Ontario and I feel like the whole Daycare thing needs to be overhauled by the government. The cost of daycare is through the roof, whether its licenced or not. We all know that Quebec is cheap and it's working (as far as I'm concerned). I'm not saying we need to go that low in cost (Quebec) but a happy medium would be nice. I'd happily shell out 500-600 a month for daycare but 1000 and up seems insane!

Well it strikes me as very obvious that you are not a daycare provider and haven't the first clue how much it actually costs to run a daycare otherwise you wouldn't have made such a statement as

I'd happily shell out 500-600 a month for daycare but 1000 and up seems insane!

I charge for my full time children $860 per month regardless of age. I feed them unprocessed food either organic or abf and cater to gluten free at no additional cost to them. Even providers who do not provide organic food still shell out a large portion of their monthly fees on food. On top of that there's the whole set up of a daycare, in some cases including a major renovation, includes drywall, electrics, plumbing, plus all the finishes and that's before the cost of paint and decor. If people are lucky enough to have a finished space dedicated to daycare prior to starting up then there is still the cost of toys, art supplies, office supplies, furniture, etc which is not always a one off expense but an ongoing one when you consider wear and tear of toys when being heavily used by five children everyday and even more in some provinces plus providers own children. Add to that the fact that I bought an 8 seater minivan SOLELY for business use and the 5 car seats I bought for anywhere between 120 and 200 dollars a piece.

What next, oh yeah there is the cost of car insurance with enough liability to cover all passengers running thousands a year, as I do not have a rider policy which is inadequate coverage but actually have a commercial policy, and house insurance in the event of accidents on site. My back garden is being fenced in AS I TYPE, although it is not needed for my older kids but for my daycare is a necessary safety requirement in the best interest of my daycare children. That's a tremendous expense.

Then there's the cost of my accountant annually, website hosting as we'll as other advertising costs, printing services etc. My working week is 50 hours in terms of operating hours, but what about all the after hours I put in prepping and cooking home cooked meals, planning my preschoolers curriculum and getting materials ready, planning themes for the toddlers, interviewing during my precious family time and shopping for everything else inbetween on weekends.

There's nothing quite like someone who is not in the field making such statements as yours Joan. Sure go ahead, give me a pay cut because you have not bloody clue what you are talking about. It's expensive because care is not cheap to provide. If you want to pay a "CHEAP" rate then you will get "CHEAP" care. There's a big difference between cheap and inexpensive.

I would gladly welcome some kind of licensing as long is it was reasonable and us daycare providers had a say in the new legislation, but then I can guarantee you we will get slapped with a licensing fee which guess what, will be reflected in my fees.

If you in fact were in any kind of position to look for childcare my recommendation to you would be to look for the crazy lady down the road who has twenty kids running round her house all day. She's probably more in your price range, but beware you may never see your child again.

Pahhhh, it's great to hear people's opinions but don't try to have an opinion before you have all the facts on a subject you have clearly shown you know nothing about first hand.