Article: http://www.denverpost.com/investigations/ci_27342874/colorado-has-low-inspection-rate-licensed-child-care
I had found this article on Facebook via the Denver Post page and so of course after reading it, I scrolled down to the comments to see what people were saying. I found one where a lady said something along the lines of, "That's why I am glad I am a stay at home mom and would only send my kids to daycare if I had to." Now I think that is a valid statement. Now I don't have kids, but I understand that for many mothers, being a stay at home mom is a great thing. It allows them to get to spend quality time with their kids, and watch them grow up. And I can only imagine how hard of a job it is. But when people, like this lady, bash day cares when talking about being a stay at home mom, I do get a little angry. I am not a mother, but I have worked at a day care. I know what it is like, and I want to help break the stigma.
In response to that lady's comment on facebook, was a lady who said "Good for you. Kids need their parents not a daycare where they don't care." And that really urked me. As someone that worked at a daycare for eight months, I can tell you that we are some of the most caring people.
When I was a senior in high school, one of my mom's friends, daughter, who was in her mid 20's, had approached my mom telling me that she had an opening at the daycare she was working at. Her co-worker was going to be leaving after Christmas, and she needed a replacement. Me, loving kids, and wanting to be a teacher, saw this as a great opportunity. I applied, interviewed and was given the job. I started working their that January, and worked there all the way until August. We started at 2:30 pm everyday, and were open until 6 pm. We first took the kids outside to play for a little bit, and then had them work on homework until they were finished. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we did a craft, and Friday was computer lab day. Me and my co-worker were there everyday of the week, except for a few times when we got sick. Then in the summer we made different shifts, because we were full day. My manager worked 6:30 am to 12:00 am, I worked 11:00 am to 4 pm, and then we hired another worker who worked 2 pm to 6pm. In the summer we would take field trips to places like the pool and the ball park. I absolutely loved my job. I immediately made a connection with all the kids there, and every minute of everyday I thought about those kids and was always looking out for their safety and well being. I still to this day remember the names of the kids, and different moments. I remember games we played and little things they would tell me. There was a little 5 year old we had named Margo, who said the darnedest things, and one day when we were doing a craft, and she cut the paper wrong, she said "I don't know why I did that. I guess I didn't turn my brain on when I woke up this morning." There were these other siblings Annie and Bryce who used to constantly hide from one another and see if the other could find them. Those are things that I will never forget.
I wouldn't have left if I didn't have to. But in August I had to leave because I was moving out of state for college. It was one of the hardest things I had to do, was say goodbye to the kids.