Moderating the forum

[cfred]

What you call a spade might not be what someone else might call a spade. Of course everyone is entitled to their opinions, but unless asked for them, maybe keep it to yourself. That parent asked a very simple question and was subject to what I would consider a vicious attack on her parenting skills. It was completely and utterly inappropriate, uncalled for and frankly, unprofessional. If any of us spoke to a client in that form, we could all expect to be fired immediately and have a bad reputation following us around. The anonymity in this forum, at times, seems to breed contempt.

The advice, knowledge and support on this forum are is rampant, something I think most of us (myself included) are incredibly grateful for. This is an often unappreciated and isolating job. Having peers to talk to is a wonderful thing It's those connections I make on here which I value highly. However.....I do see many providers taking a negative turn. What dismays me is the plethora of threads, comments, posts from people who feel that the parents are out to get them, are unappreciative and who don't value them. I don't have any doubt that there are loads of clients out there like this and I've had a few myself, unfortunately. But it seems that the overwhelming aura in here is often that it is to be expected and even anticipated. It's sad....not pathetic or anything derogatory....just sad. I love my job and I love my clients and yes, I love my daycare children. We have to take the good with the bad and let the unpleasant experiences roll off our backs and come back to our roots which is why we love this profession to begin with. Posts, such as some of these and the ones Mamaof4 is being crucified for cutting short are the epitome of why many people don't take us seriously. A simple question was asked and a mother was treated very poorly. Thank you Mamaof4 for taking care of that for the parents, the forum and for us. I haven't found parents being treated differently than us. The fact is there aren't many parents who come in here. And given recent activity, who can blame them? It's like sticking your arm in an alligator's mouth and hoping it doesn't bite.

We can expect to receive from others what we bring to the table ourselves. Will we get burned every once in a while? Sure. That's true for anything in life. But in my experience, what I put out to my clients is what I reap in return. Last night, I sent 3 of my families home with a home cooked Thai dinner which I had made scads too much of. Were they grateful? Yep. Every morning, one client brings me a coffee and I send her with a fresh baked muffin. Nice? You bet! Do clients come right into my home freely and play with their children and talk to me. For sure! And my clients make me feel, every day, that I'm a valued member of their 'peripheral family', which is the gravy on top of all the other reasons I love this job so much. The silliness going on now is the very reason I decided to never work in a daycare centre again.....office politics and back biting. I'm very sad to see this in a place where we should all feel safe, supported, SUPPORTIVE and, most of all, respectful to ourselves, our peers and our clients (who afford us this wonderful option of working at home).

Just my 2 cents......