A woman called me recently and asked when she would be paid for her day care. I wasn’t sure if she was a parent or provider, so I asked. She said she did babysitting. In fact, she was what the state of Connecticut calls a relative caregiver inquiring about child care certificate payments. After I referred her to the appropriate person, I thought about the many ways people who care for children refer to themselves and to their colleagues.
Many of us have struggled with what we want others to call us. It may be teacher, child care provider, babysitter, child development professional, caregiver or some other title. We may switch labels depending upon the situation and wonder what to do when someone labels us in a way we don’t like. How accepting are we of others who label themselves differently?
Just as we treat each child as an individual, we in the child care profession must recognize the vast diversity of child care providers. We need to look beyond labels and appreciate the value in each child care provider. Each of us may believe that our role in child care is more valued than another, but in fact, we all have an important role in the child care system.
There is no one "best" type of child care to meet the diverse needs of children and families in our society. We should not judge parents who select child care that we feel is of lesser quality. Parental choice and responsibility must be protected and fostered. We can, and should, inform parents of the components and benefits of "quality" child care. Then, we should step back and let consumers decide what is best for their children.
This is not to say that we accept the child care system as it exists now. We all know there are many aspects that need changing. We’d all like to see better compensation for all child care providers, better working conditions for staff and a national priority for child care.
Our challenge and opportunity for the future is to work together- all of us, babysitters, teachers and child care providers-to build a child care system that embodies all of our dreams for our children, families and profession.