More on the toddler who died at daycare

[momofnerds]

momofnerds ~ the grandmother HAS been charged. Here is the story. http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/video?clip...88381481237582

wow last i heard that she wasn't getting charged because she was family.

[playfelt]

Often charges will be laid just so the case can stay open and be investigated and at that point they determine if charges will be dropped - ie it was an honest mistake or she was mad at the parents and did it on purpose, etc.

I know she is family but why should it be ok for a relative to make a tragic mistake and not a regular caregiver like us? We would both have been in the same position taking care of the child while the parents worked.

[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.

[playfelt]

I totally agree that we need some way to prove that we are up to the task while others should not get the same credit. Not sure I want to get involved in a government run program because they always spoil it. I was with licensed care in two provinces and the Ontario program was the worst of the two with too many arbitrary rules and we know that children develop on their own timetable and that was one of the reasons I left the agency among other things.

I would like to see a program where we somewhat police ourselves but within that have a public awareness campaign for the public about what to look for. Using the childcare association in Ottawa they are trying to get the message out around here as best they can. When I say to a parent that I belong to an organization such as that it shows that I am taking the time to put into my daycare too. If there were more groups like CCPRN that could take on many of the roles of an agency without the government oversight it would encourage legitimate in it for the right reasons providers to want to belong and take advantage of what is offered. With time parents would come to realize that a provider not interested in belonging isn't worth interviewing and part of the problem would go away by itself without government rules and regulations beyond just the basics we have now.

[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.

[playfelt]

Finally an article that notes some of the positives of private home care or at least that it isn't as bad as some make it out to be.

http://www.thestar.com/life/parent/2...e_daycare.html

Although the video is pretty lame in the sense of a lady and two kids - nothing on a lady and managing 5 kids. One of the issues with agency care is that once subsidy spaces are full it is harder to get parents willing to pay the extra fees to go licensed when they can get the same caregiver and pay her privately. Someone needs to mention that with many agencies a caregiver can have agency as well as private children - what makes her different for one group over the other.