Negative Secrets of Daycare: From Timeout to Child Illnesses
For the first month or so at the daycare I worked at, I was "the new girl." Then I started to find out all the secrets of daycare. How many liars can work under one roof? Well, about 10 or 12 in my case. So picture this, you are a parent dropping off your 2 year old son. The teacher in the 2 year old classroom comes up to you and your child, greets you with a friendly "Good morning, how are you?" and you respond. You leave for the day and your son goes off to play. What you don't know is what happens once you walk out that door and go to work. For the teacher who is underpaid, stressed out and doesn't even want to be there in the first place but has no choice, your child is going to get in the way of that. No I'm not saying abuse, necessarily, but I am saying that he won't get the best care that you think he's getting.
From the minute you take that tour to see the center and meet everybody, sign papers and the whole deal, YOU ARE BEING LIED TO. The director will tell you all the good things you want to hear, lots of smiles on his or her face and you feel like you can trust these people with your child's life. The truth is, the director could care less about your child's well being or anything. All she really cares about is making that tuition money off of you, which could range around $100-$200 per week! OK, so you decide to enroll your child and everything is fine. You think your child will be learning stuff and going through a good experience. But let me tell you, from what I've witnessed in my center, it's the complete opposite. Teachers yell at the kids, put them in timeout when they're not supposed to, drag kids by their arms, threaten them, embarrass them, and sometimes even fake their sicknesses (which is another subject I will get to later on). If you think that everything is going to be great all day, and your kid(s) will be treated with the best care in the world like you would care for them, think again. Nobody can ever take a mother or father's place.
So you're wondering, faking sick? What's that all about. Daycares have certain policies on sick children. If a child has a fever, they need to go home. If a child throws up, they need to go home. And the list goes on. Now of course, there will be sick kids in the center, especially because it is a daycare setting and sicknesses spread like wild fire. But do you ever think twice about your child having a fever and getting that phone to come pick up your child? Probably not, if you trust your daycare provider. I've seen, so many times, teachers saying "yeah I'm going to lie and say this kid had diarrhea 2 times today, and he is going home because I don't want him here, he's getting on my nerves so bad". Easy lie for the teachers, just make a phone call to you and say "Your child has had 2 episodes of diarrhea today, therefore he will need to go home". Then you leave work, losing money, to come pick up your "sick" child that really isn't sick at all! Maybe you even spend time to take him to the doctor's to find out why he had 2 diarrheas. Nobody ever thinks about that, do they.
I would like the bring up the point of sanitation in the daycare center. I really do not believe that my center is clean at all, so maybe that's why kids and staff are sick all the time! We all know that babies and toddlers like to mouth toys, it's all part of exploring their surroundings. You probably think that toys get sanitized after each mouthing, right? Wrong. Teachers are lazy and couldn't care less if 3 kids put the same toy in their mouth and slobber all over it, passing germs all over the place.
I hope that more daycare centers will adopt the usage of video cameras in their classrooms. It's the only true way to see what's going on. Many centers are doing this, and sadly the one I worked at did not, that's why many kids were mistreated and neglected. I will stop there, I'm sure you have heard enough bad things about daycare to influence your decision about putting your kids in one. However, not all of these things happen at every daycare, they are just some of the things I have witnessed working at daycare. And it's very sad because the daycare I worked at was a very popular learning center that can be found all across the country, so who knows how daycare workers are treating kids in those other centers, maybe the same as mine? I doubt that kids are actually learning things at the center I worked at, teachers just show up for a paycheck. I just hope that after reading this article, you will maybe so some research, observe a little, maybe even investigate if you need to. When it comes to the lives of your child or children, it's SO important for them to be put in the right care. Remember, daycares are only in it for the money, not the care of children. Please don't trust just anybody.
Published by penguins29
I currently reside in Pittsburgh, PA. I'm self-employed, and I enjoy writing for AC on the side. View profile
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20 Comments
Post a CommentI also work at a daycare, where yes I LOVE everyone of the children. My hurt is the fact that there are only suppose to be 3 babies in the infant room & there are 4 some of the time. The Director informed us to keep quiet about the 4th baby or we would lose our jobs. HELLO, she would be shut down. She's raking in $$ so that is why we are to keep quiet. Also the "teacher??" in this infant room has the babies on the floor, & when they are not sleeping, they are screaming their heads off. This is most of the day. When a 2 month old screams for hours, don't hand me that this is right. I have to train for 7 month to take care of infants?? Being a mother & Grandmother, I feel this rule should be changed. Another thing this Teacher likes to do is undress the babies down to just a diaper & shirt. Because SHE'S hot, not the babies. The Director talked dirt on this teacher, but has now sided with her because one of the parents of the screaming babies found o
I agree with M. Mackeldon. This article serves no purpose, written by someone who has experience only in one center. I am a daycare teacher who had career options but chose to be in this profession. I have a family I love yet I still dedicate my own free time to prepare my classroom, gather new materials every week, and write detailed updates to the parents. I love all the children in my care. Not all centers are like the one described. If the author wanted to be helpful she would have instead posted a list of how to spot a bad daycare instead of saying "don't trust anybody". That's terrible advice.
I used to attend Mary Sears Daycare Achademy where I witness children being dragged by the arm%2C their ear lobes being tugged until they turned red%2C and being drug by the back of their neck. Even the property isn%27t safe. Within a month two kids had to have stiches in their heads because of unkempt property fell on them. After the first incident they should have hired a maintenance crew to fix the problem don%27t you think%3F The list goes on and on...I%27m saying this to discourage all parents from sending their children to this particular daycare. I moved away from the Chicago area where Mary Sears is located%3B I%27m not sure if they%27re still there but please do not trust that childcare center.
I think I worked at the same place she did. There are day cares like that and many people have reported them and try. I tried. . . the state came out didn't see anything happen when they were there and dismissed me as a disgruntle ex-employee after I QUIT???. I now have my own at home daycare because of them. Not all day cares are like that though. they do retain an open door policy. . walk in randomly and look through the doors and just watch, when they notice you they will either act the same or change up really quick. . . Just really look into things!!!
I have 2 children in daycare. I dont know what I would do wiyh out them.My girls love them and so do I! What a god send.
you should watch what you say.I am greatful for the day care.
Shame on you for writing this article with such a narrow mind! I am a daycare teacher who works at a center because I WANT to be there, even AFTER the parents leave. If I did not care about the children, I would not call the parents with updates, invite them to visit my room any time of the day, and make special art projects with the children, etc. I have a Bachelor's Degree and I could be making more money than I do, but I am a daycare worker, because I WANT to be, not because I HAVE to be. It is fine for you to have the opinion that you do about your center (and perhaps you should report the bad behavior of the workers), but don't make it seem like ALL centers are bad places. I just want the parents who read this (who are probably even more anxious about sending their children to daycare after reading this article) to know that not ALL daycare centers are like the one that the writer has described. There are centers out there that will love your children and take good care of t
Shame on you for writing this article with such a narrow mind! I am a daycare teacher who works at a center because I WANT to be there, even AFTER the parents leave. If I did not care about the children, I would not call the parents with updates, invite them to visit my room any time of the day, and make special art projects with the children, etc. I have a Bachelor's Degree and I could be making more money than I do, but I am a daycare worker, because I WANT to be, not because I HAVE to be. It is fine for you to have the opinion that you do about your center (and perhaps you should report the bad behavior of the workers), but don't make it seem like ALL centers are bad places. I just want the parents who read this (who are probably even more anxious about sending their children to daycare after reading this article) to know that not ALL daycare centers are like the one that the writer has described. There are centers out there that will love your children and take good care of t
If you know this is going on why don't you make a call and report them? Call the news and have them wire you with a hidden camera. What have you done to stop this from happening? Even if I lost my job I would still not stand by and watch a child be treated like that.
good article. It just goes to prove that when it comes to daycare you better do some research.