Originally posted 6/13/16

This week’s news has had two terrible stories about child care in my city. The first, a dead baby. The second, a beaten baby. I know these are not isolated incidents and that breaks my heart. And so, I have some advice for our field.

If you are watching children in your home because you think it’s easy money, because you think it’s a low skill, low effort way to work from home….GET. OUT.

If you are working with children because you think they are cute but have no tolerance for the ones that challenge you or don’t fit your mold…GET. OUT.

If you are in the field because of how children’s hugs and funny stories make you feel but have no interest in going deeper into how they learn, grow and develop and how we should respond…GET. OUT.

If you can’t afford to provide high quality child care, if you can’t afford to provide any sort of care without shoving kids in closets and basements to hide them from licensing visits…GET. OUT.

If you are not willing to step up and put in the hard work, the physical effort, the emotional stability, the commitment to above all, do no harm–NO harm…..GET. OUT.

If you have a job working with children but think it is THEIR job to fit YOUR mold and provide for YOUR convenience….GET. OUT.

If any of the above advice offends you or seems unfair, you need to do some reflecting. Why does it bother you? Which part do you disagree with? What do you think children deserve?

Children deserve the very best. Children deserve our recognition that they are fully human. Children are not commodities for adults to barter with or profit off of.

I’d love to explore this topic with you, share your thoughts, questions, and concerns in the comments.