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Date: 3/26/2007 10:18:00 AM
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Author:
Barbara Atkinson
(Batkinson@excelligence.com)
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Subject:Does Child Care Cause Behavior Problems?
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This ran recently in the Wall Street Journal. We'd like to hear what you think.
The long-running debate over the merits of day care for children is getting a new jolt of evidence that may worry working parents.
Children who spend large amounts of time in child-care centers exhibit more minor behavior problems, such as aggression and disobedience, than other children, at least through sixth grade, according to a long-term study that followed 1,364 children from birth through age 12.
The problems had surfaced intermittently in studies of the same children at younger ages, but some researchers had expected the behavior issues to disappear by age 11 or 12.
Children who spent large amounts of time in other setups, such as nanny care or family child-care homes, weren't affected.
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Date: 3/26/2007 12:42:00 PM
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Author:
Barbara
(cocalicocare@dejazzd.com)
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Subject:Does Child Care Cause Behavior Problems
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There is to be a guest on the Today Show on Tuesday, March 27 discussing this issue. There is also an article on the CNN home page today.
Barbara
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Date: 4/4/2007 6:05:00 PM
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Author:
Amy Laverty-Meeker
(meeker@cablespeed.com)
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Subject:Career vs. parenthood
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I've given this issue a great deal of thought lately and have come to the conclusion that day-care would be a whole lot better for the population in general if it were available within the workplace. You can have the best child-care center in the world, but there's is nothing like a healthy parent/child relationship. If I could go back to work full-time knowing that my children were in the next room and I could take my lunch with them and spend my breaks with them and they could come to me if they were crying, I would go back in a heartbeat. But that's just not the case. The insurance industry has scared most employers away from this approach, to the detriment of the working parents across the county. I have a strong feeling that it would be incredibly good for the average company's bottom line if they could ever get passed the insurance premiums...
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Date: 3/27/2007 1:34:00 AM
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Author:
Narelle
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Subject:I agree that too much time in care can a...
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I agree that too much time in care can affect childrens behaviour. We all like to pretend that childcare is the like in the brochere BUT in reality when you have to feed 10 toddlers, clean and change them and put them to bed between two of you - it can be rushed and clinical. I have worked at the same centre for nearly 12 years, and you can pick the children who serve long hours 5 days a week - week in and out for years - they are just craving personal attention and it comes out in their behaviour. Of course staff do the very best they can to provide a warm loving friendly educational enviroment BUT its not home. recently a child in my care was having issues - when i pointed out to mum that she worked a 40 hour week the child was with us for over 50 hours a week - if she was tired of work after 40 hours how did the child feel about 50 hours - the mother arranged for the child to spend Weds with gran and we saw huge improvments.
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Date: 3/27/2007 11:08:00 AM
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Author:
Rudy
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Subject:child care
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I saw this on Good Morning America today. It also said children that attended Day Care had a better vocabulary etc. I actually think this is a nothe rexcuse to blame day care for the lack of discipline on a parents part. I was part of a research team in my school district that proved that children who attended preschool did better over all in school. They were better readers & writers, the drop out rate decreased, and test scores were higher. So how can it be a bad thing? There was numerous research that proves this factor. Parents are their child's first teacher they are the ones responsible to teach the behaviors unfortunately some parents are leaving that to the schools to do then preschool gets blamed for causing behavior problems. Well in my preschool class we have rules that apply to everyone and they are inforced. We have fun and learn a lot. So we to invest time in teaching parents what to do to help this problem instead of placing blame.
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Date: 3/27/2007 4:34:00 PM
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Author:
bobbi
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Subject:preschool vs day care
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Preschool (part-time) can be very effctive. I teacher now in a preschool, and I see the positive effects from former students. however, day care (full-time care) can cause more harm than good. I worked (one whole day) at a "state-licensed w/ certified teachers" center. The toddler room had 24 toddlers and three teachers. The place was a zoo. One teacher doing diapers and potty, one doing a table activity, and me off to tend to all the others. The kids had extremely poor language skills. It was surival of the fittest. There are too many poor quality child care centers. Long periods of time in child care starting at a young age (baby-toddler)(over 8 hrs a day) WILL affect a child in a negative way. Ohio allows one teacher for 8 kids, and you are 'certified' when you complete three health/disease/child abuse awareness trainings (15 hours of training). One lady (usually a lady with little formal training) to care for 5 babies by herself. One teacher for 12 kids ages 3 or 4. 14 per one teacher for 4 1/2 yr olds! Ratios any lower mean higher costs, less PROFIT. You are a 'teacher' as long as you have a GED or a high school diploma, and 18 yrs old or older.
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Date: 3/28/2007 2:10:00 PM
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Author:
Rudy
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Subject:day care
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There were too many toddlers ia one classroom. You r state liscense should have been reviewed. You should have requirements on how many can be in a classroom. I agree there are a lot of poor day care centers out there but there are a lotl of good ones also. Unfortunately those are never the ones in the media or from where the research comes. Before working in my prek classroom I worked in a day care cneter for 20 yrs. I have kept track of a lot of my day care children . They have been honor student or received scholarships to attend college. It was NEVER a negative experience for them. The time after day care if the most importan as to how they deal with their children that makes the difference. If they pick them up have dinner and go to bed then ok.
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Date: 3/28/2007 6:02:00 PM
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Author:
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Subject:state rules
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Rudy, avoid Ohio day care !! This center is open today, and well recommended by parents. There is a waiting list! The baby room has 15 babies w/ 3 or 4 staff. The preschool room has 36 preschoolers age 3 to young 4's w/ 3 teachers (broken down to three groups, with a group area for each group). this is all OK with the state because the room size allows this. Another 24hr center in our area took 6 months to close, there was a broken sink laying on the floor in the preK bathroom for a MONTH. The director said the kids broke it off the wall, so it was their problem. The sink was removed only after the second inspection that month. Another center has been cited repeatedly for not having crib sheets on the cribs. Babies slept on a bare mattress. Older infants eating off trays, not using utensils. Another, 3's are in a room 8 ft wide by 20 ft long with no windows, just skylights. throw in a couple of cabinets, wall counter, and chairs, and it is sooooo narrow (that's OK for Ohio) Ohio inspection records are on-line. Alot of major chain centers have a better record, but small independent centers can be scary. It is sad to see all the garbage out there.
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Date: 3/29/2007 6:19:00 AM
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Author:
Rudy
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Subject:WOW
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I didn't realize some states operated it this way. That is absoultely crazy that there are 15 babies in one room. 36 preschoolers way too many also. That would be alomsot two of my classes. I guess I worked in a very good center so I didn't see the bad things. I can see negative effects on children in those cases becsue or lack of supervision. Im sure they do the best they can with the situation they have. It sounds like parents need to step up to get the legislation changed.
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Date: 3/30/2007 12:10:00 PM
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Author:
chelley
(whitewingdove13@aol.com)
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Subject:Parent Accountability
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I am a mother of three children, and a former early preschool teacher. I left a center due to some pretty horrid "things" I witnessed. However, while I truly believe the state and the actual center must be accountable for the way in which the business is run, we are forgetting that parents must also be accountable. A sink laying on the floor of a preschool MUST have been noticed by a parent. If not, shame on those parents! Shame on the parent that drops their child off in a place that cares that little for the well-being of their children. These Ohio parents need to step up to the plate and become advocates for their children instead of letting these conditions get out of hand. I'm not so fast to blame the center or the state. I blame parents for not taking matters into their own hands.
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Date: 3/30/2007 10:09:00 PM
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Author:
Sallie
(angel555@aol.com)
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Subject:Center care vs Family childcare
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These studies are saying that child care centers are causing the problem. There is not a problem in family childcare homes. Period.Parents falsely believe that day care centers teach "more" preschool than family childcare homes and this is misleading and untrue. Note that the study says the misbehavior issues are not for family childcare. Parents, think about that when you enroll your children. Family childcare has preschool and a more appropriate atmosphere for your child.
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Date: 3/30/2007 12:43:00 PM
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Author:
Sherry
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Subject:daycare causing bad behavior in children
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I agree with you 100%. Parents have become lazy and want to blame everyone but themselves for their children's behavior issues. I was taken back and urked that Good Morning America was blaming someone else for parents with poor discipline and parenting skills. Tell parents and Good Morning America to look inside their homes and see what they are doing to create children with behavior problems. Good post and Thank you for sharing.
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Date: 4/19/2007 1:17:00 PM
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Author:
Kathy
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Subject:Child care
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I would agree that day care centers are good for children, if it was a QUALITY daycare center with well trained/educated staff members who knew what was normal for each developmental phase that a child goes through and knew how to deal with it. Unfortunately in most of the five different centers that I have worked at over the past 20+ years, it's not so.
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Date: 4/13/2007 4:04:00 PM
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Author:
Chris
(vstchris@yahoo)
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Subject:Great job Narelle. I wish more moms wou...
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Great job Narelle. I wish more moms would or could do that.
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Date: 3/29/2007 12:57:00 AM
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Author:
Narelle
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Subject:Qualifications
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I am amazed that 15 hours training in short day courses makes you qualified! (Horrified actually) In Australia (QLD) as a qualified Group leader - i must have a diploma of early childhood - that took me two years full time study at college to earn. - The assistants must hold a certificate 3 - aprox 1 years full time study. Every staff member must hold a firstaid/CPR certificate (so you do it anually) and everyone must hold a current Blue card (a police check)Short day courses are encouraged as a part of professional development - but by no means make you qualified by themselves.
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Date: 3/29/2007 8:57:00 AM
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Author:
Barbara
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Subject:State Regulations
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Regulations for child care vary from state to state. I am considering a move to another state and was apalled at the ratios set by that state for child care. In PA. infants are 4 to 1 with a maximum of 8 infants in a room. The state I am looking at has a 1 to 6 ratio for infants, 1 to 12 for toddlers and 1 to 15 for preschoolers age 3 and up. We do not have infant and toddlers at this time in our program. I would NEVER put one adult in our preschool class with 15 children. How can you even give them any individual attention. PA.'s ratio for Pre school is 1 to 10 and in our full day child care we have 16 children with 2 staff all the time. Our part day Pre K (the program that used to be considered nursery school) has 10 three year olds with 2 staff. We are a privately owned, church based program.
Barbara
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Date: 3/29/2007 3:42:00 PM
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Author:
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Subject:ratios/qualifications idea
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Barbara, I love the numbers!! 10 three yr olds to two teachers! here in Ohio I had 12 babies 6 wks to 18 months for the two of us !! I heard some states allow high schoolers to work in day care during what they refer to as 'babysitting' times. (Texas?) I have an idea for the legislators. Why not make ratios and teacher qualifications federally set, along with minimum room sizes, and number of kids per room. That would be a uniform minmum standard of quality. Hmmmm. wonder how the big chain for-profit centers would like that.
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Date: 3/29/2007 5:31:00 PM
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Author:
June
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Subject:Ohio- Step Up to Quality
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Ohio is trying to turn things around ... this year a voluntary quality rating system called Step Up to Quality (SUTQ)was released state wide. Bigger cities in Ohio have piloted the project for approximately the last 2 years. Basically centers can be rated with 1, 2 or 3 stars- like hotels- based on specific requirements they must meet and maintain. Lower ratios, required hours of specialized approved training, environmental assessments etc. are some of the benchmarks. Centers who are star rated will be eligible for money based on their star level, capacity and number of subsidy children. Also, when parents search for child care on the Ohio Dept. of Jobs & Family Services website, SUTQ centers will have stars by their name.FOR MORE INFO go to www.stepuptoquality.org
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Date: 3/30/2007 7:37:00 AM
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Author:
Barbara
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Subject:Keystone Stars
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Pennsylvania also has had a voluntary quality rating system called Keystone Stars for several years. They have 5 levels - Start with Stars, Star 1, Star 2, Star 3 and Star 4. Each level builds on the standards of the previous level. www.PAKeys.org will give you more information. Our center is moving toward Star 3 which requires, among other things, 18 hours of training for Group Supervisors/head teacher and Assistant Group Supervisors/assistant teachers. The state regulations only require 6 hours of training per year. Staff are required to keep a Professional Development Record which lists all their experiences, trainings, and a self evaluation of the areas of child development, working with families, communications, professionalism and others. The site will list all the areas.
Besides improving the quality of care in centers, there is grant money available at each star level (Merit Award) and an Education and Retention Award for staff based on education (degree, CDA) and years of working at the same center. That goes to the staff after taxes are taken out, not to the center. The Merit award goes to the center.
Now if wages could only be high enough to compete with school districts. But as long as tthe majority of our families are self pay, there is a fine line between what we need to charge for care and what parents are able and willing to pay. If tuition costs are too high, parents may opt for an unlicensed home, relative, or letting the child go home alone.
There is a long way to go to improve the quality of child care for all children in all states, but Keystone Stars in PA and Step up to Quality in Ohio are a start.
Barbara
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Date: 3/30/2007 11:09:00 AM
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Author:
Sharon
(Fitzgreeno!@yahoo.com)
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Subject:What we have to remember that daycare is...
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What we have to remember that daycare is an institution, normally you do not have 12, 2year old living together. parent bashing tends to be rampant in day care, I have taught everything from nursery school, daycare teacher, before and after school care, director and now a family daycare provider in a Multi-age setting, what I have found is that it is physically impossible for a teacher to give all the children the necessary attention they need.of course there is exceptions to every rule, in fact the report told parents to select carefully the daycare their children are in. To observe how the children behave, and the teachers.
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Date: 3/30/2007 12:37:00 PM
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Author:
Barbara
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Subject:The interaction between children and sta...
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The interaction between children and staff is very important. Every parent who is looking for child care or our Pre K program is given a tour and invited to stop back with their child to spend some time in the classroom they are considering so they can observe the teachers with the children. I had a parent and child stop today for information for the fall. She had been in several other programs today and said she was never offered a tour. They walked into one center only to hear a staff yelling at a child. She said no one spoke to her to even ask who she was.
It is impossible to give all children all the attention they need or want in a child care setting, just as it is impossible for a parent to do the same thing.
There are a lot of outstanding programs out there, from large corporate centers, church based centers, home based centers and everything in between. Parents just need to be smart shoppers when they choose a center. Many spend much more time on buying a car than they do choosing the best child care for their child. Some of the responsibility needs to fall on the parents. If they see a sink on the floor for a long time, then they need to talk to the director to get some answers or contact thte state licensing agency.
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Date: 3/30/2007 12:42:00 PM
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Author:
Barb McWethy
(bmcwethy@chartermi.net)
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Subject:child care behavior issues
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I read these reports as well about behavior and vocabulary outcomes for preschoolers. The best response I saw was from an article in another newsletter I receive that stated we need to remember that in prek we allow the children to move about freely, make choices about what they are doing and who they are talking with. When they get to grade school they are required to all do the same thing at the same time, and they can only talk to their friends at specific times. This could be a reason for the "trouble" children have adapting to school. Children are VERY active and asking them to sit for long periods of time isn't really fair. How many times do you get up and walk around during the day when you are at work? We need to look at all the aspects of the child's day before we say that the child care caused the problem.
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Date: 4/26/2007 5:38:00 PM
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Author:
chris
(vstchris@yahoo.com)
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Subject:Who does the behavior problem really belong to?
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I think you have a valid point Barb. After doing pre-school for 15 years and now in Kindergarten and first, I can see a big difference. K & 1st are still serving early childhood but they are not treated that way. When I was obtaining my ECE degree I observed at a fantastic school for ECE. Pacific Oaks. They ran their kindergarten and first through third grade program like an early childhood program. I only visited them twice but I can never get the picture of the set-up, the language, the cooperation of staff and child and the learning the was going on because these children were being treated like 5, 6 and 7 year olds. Maybe if elementary school took this type of approach they would not be seeing so many problems.
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Date: 4/3/2007 3:25:00 PM
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Author:
Jacque
(jacque@jacquespreschool.com)
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Subject:Early Childhood Education
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Four things to remember:
1. There is a difference between Preschools & Daycares
Even the Government has a hard time learning this.
2. It takes a village to raise a child.
Parents and teachers need to be honest with the student
and give them the best.
3. The media will broadcast any information, right or wrong
depending on their sponsors etc., or politics.
4. Look for a negative area in any situation and we have the
choice to have it corrected or ignored.
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Date: 4/13/2007 9:58:00 AM
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Author:
K. Brooke
(shyneschool@verizon.net)
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Subject:Quality
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The difference in children's behavior comes from quality care. Highly qualified teachers who want to work and live with children in a home like setting, parent at home, and family childcare. In home, corporate, daycare or preschool the care has to be individualized and genuine. Being authentic with kids is important. It means observation, listening - really listening - and then you can extend the children's learning and joy. If you don't have a bond with the child and the family the child will not thrive. I like the idea of high federal standard for all states to follow!! Seattle, WA has lower ratio's then other states and I still think they need to be a little lower. Infants 1:4, Toddlers 1:7, Preschool 1:10 and School Age 1:15. Parents are consumers and do need to be choosy about the school they place their child in. However, what about the parents who have to use state subsidies? They often receive substandard care and the parents have a hard time finding quality centers that will take the subsidies because the state pays a lower rate and yet teachers are already subsidizing the early childhood field by taking lower pay rates!
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Date: 4/13/2007 10:02:00 AM
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Author:
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Subject:Family childcare homes take subsidized s...
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Family childcare homes take subsidized state payments.
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Date: 4/19/2007 12:47:00 PM
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Author:
Kirk
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Subject:quality
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Oregon has the same ratios except for todd's it is 1:5.
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Date: 5/5/2007 10:41:00 PM
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Author:
Tammy Canterbury
(zamoody@hotmail.com)
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Subject:Does daycare increase behavior problems
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In today's fast paced society I think parents are relying more on others to raise their kids. They want the church to teach morals, schools to educate and everyone else, including childcare, to have them follow the rules. Parents set the example for their children. If they are not getting quality time with them they may act out or be difficult. Getting kids to mind starts at home and any study of behavior needs to take into consideration the discipline, if any, used at home.
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