More on the toddler who died at daycare

[cfred]

I tend to agree with Judy on this. While the idea of being licensed and being able to lend credibility to my business etc, is nice and I know I would pass inspections,etc, I am not the kind of daycare that needs to be closed down. The ones who are currently running crappy daycares are not going to become licenses and therefore, they are not going to be inspected. And, quite frankly, parents who send their kids to these daycare ALREADY know that they are over-ration, illegal daycares. Licensing would not have saved this poor toddler who died. The daycare had 27 kids. They were already running illegally...so they would just continue to run illegallly if we were required to have licenses. I do think there needs to be more parent education about childcare laws as well as what quality childcare should look like. I think there also need to be MORE incentives for daycares to open so that more spaces are available and parents have more choice of where to put their kids.

My comments surrounding licensing were not solely to protect the children. While I do believe a stricter set of enforceable rules are a necessity for the protection of children, there is another agenda to my feelings on this matter. I recently visited a 'daycare' to have a visit with a new friend. We spent our time discussing the business, etc. I wasn't terribly impressed with her space but certainly saw the potential to make it child appropriate and conducive to the business. What rubbed me entirely the wrong way was that she was already caring for children and was not even CPR/First Aid certified. What? I don't believe she was properly insured for the daycare either. Then to top it off, as we discussed future enrollments, upon adding up the numbers, I commented on the fact that she would be over ratio. The response was a jovial 'lock and key' signal at the lips...let's keep it between us.

Ok, she's a lovely woman and I enjoyed chatting with her. But it really does annoy me that we're all lumped together and viewed as the same. It's not right. While there are many of us doing a good job, I really am uncomfortable being categorized with every other home daycare provider out there. Our industry has very little credibility. There should be a glaring difference between those who are educated in the field (whether through college or through course studies during their careers) , those who put in the effort to upgrade and improve their businesses and those who are just doing it to make some extra cash. Many of us have significant areas of our homes dedicated to our business that have been carefully thought out to be be conducive to early learning. It is a priority. Some I've seen simply try to 'wedge' the business in by putting out some toys and offering a snack. I disagree completely that we are all equal in this business, but in the eyes of the public, we are. Period. While I'm doing it right, as are many others, and I know I wouldn't be shut down, I would like something in place where it's recognized and my abilities, skill level, experience and education actually have meaning in the public's eyes. Maybe it's selfish, but I don't care at this point. I've worked too bloody hard to have illegal daycares and those with 'makeshift' daycares setting the tone for public opinion.

[Judy Trickett]

What rubbed me entirely the wrong way was that she was already caring for children and was not even CPR/First Aid certified. What? I don't believe she was properly insured for the daycare either. .

I have been away for a while so just getting back to this post.

Anyway, just to play the devil's advocate here. ............there are LOTS of parents who are not CPR/First Aid trained and no one says they are unfit to parent.

Now, I completely agree that you SHOULD be CPR trained etc when caring for kids. But it goes back to the same thing I said before - lots of parents simply don't CARE. One, they don't care if they are not asking those questions at interviews. Two, they don't care when they then enroll their kid in a daycare such as that. This is why I say it's not licensing that matters - it is ethics of the provider. No piece of paper is going to make someone ethical.