Miss DayCare
Charlotte, NC
Female, 30
I work in a highly respected, franchised Day Care Provider. I have taught in Toddler classrooms as well as Pre-Kindegarten classrooms. It's a wonderful and rewarding profession and I love every minute of it. I have become friends with many of my parents and they all ask questions which is why I want to open a dialogue here so I can be as honest and open as possible about your most prized posession's early childhood education and what really goes on in the classrooms and hallways!
It's pretty equal between the amount of teachers that have kids and those that don't. it definitely helps if you do have kids and need daycare because then you get it at a pretty good deal! I worked at daycare centers for a few years before i had my daughter, and it didn't make me a better parent, but definitely more patient with her. And now being a parent, so of the parents of my kids offer some pretty good advice on things that I would have never thought of on my own. It doesn't make someone a better parent, but it certainly does have its resources you can use.
I've had kids in my class that were absolutely unbearable and there's only so many timeouts and trips to the director's office that you can give them and they still just don't care. That's when we need the parents to intervene and help us figure out what's going on. Sometimes it's a problem at home and they're simply acting out, a lot of times i've seen it be a behavioral problem that has been undiagnosed and once it's recognized and a treatment plan is in effect the behaviors get exponentially better. I have never seen a child be "kicked out" of a daycare center but I know teachers who have. In those instances they said the child became a physical threat to themselves or the kids/teacher around them. Like I said earlier, there might be some things going on at home that can cause behavioral problems, that it why communication is so important between teachers and their parents. I know it can be difficult to "air your laundry" to your child's teacher, but once we know what's going on we can help with the child's behavior.
you must have an early childhood certification to be a lead or assistant teacher in a classroom. To be a "floater or teacher assistant, you do not have to have that qualification. To obtain a certification, you take a class (EDU 119). Kindegarten teachers have to have a bachelor's degree.
I do not think less of parents who stay home and their kids are in daycare. Some want them to have the social experience and that's fine. I do have a problem with parents who just want their child out of their hair so they can go about their business. And I can spot those parents from a mile away. Why even have a child (and have the ability to stay home with them) just so you can put them in a daycare facility for eleven hours a day five days a week? One parent was a stay at home mom and I never met her, the housekeeper would drop her kid off and pick her up. That child was in my class from 7 AM until 6 PM Monday through friday. The housekeeper would feel awful for the child and pick her up early and take her on daytrips because she wasn't allowed to bring her home before 6. Ridiculous.
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I know you have to be accredited and receive permits for either a franchised or private in home day care. There are a lot of things that can get you decertied. One of the main ones is having to many kids and not enough teachers. I know where I work, our director and assistant director are sticklers for this one. Each age range has to have a certain ratio that you must stay in so you can't just slip out for a second and leave one teacher with 6/7 2 year olds. You must get a floater in to help for the few minutes you need to step out. The ration problem you see more in a private in home day care than you would in a public facility.
I've never had a child abandoned at a daycare center, but there has been instances where there is a custody issue (and again communication is key in this situation) and the other parent picks up their child without consent from the other one and then they get to school to pick up their child and they're not there....you can imagine the chaos that ensues...and I have seen that happen more times than I can count. I have never even heard of someone of just leaving their child in a daycare facility and not picking them up....and I hope I never do hear of something so awful!
Some of my Pre-K kids remember me when I see them around town, especially if I have kept in touch or became friends with their parents after they have left, but for the most part, they are too young.
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