In an adjunct to the post I just had on Home Schooling I am posting my thoughts on Day Care.
Obviously I am not referring to the infrequent use of day care that one would use for an occasional day out or an occasional need of the parent(s) for activities requiring the absent of their wee ones. I am referring to Day Care; the use of a daily facility to care for your junior people so that you can pursue other activities, generally a profession or job.
Obviously I have some thoughts on this – otherwise there would be no reason for the post, right?
We must start with the immutable premise that the pre-school years, the day care years, are the formative years. These are supposed to be the most important years in developing the education and character of a child. Do not believe me, believe any darned expert you can find. Use this as the basis for the rest of what I have to say.
- Many people have no choice but to work, even when they have children. Some people do have a choice. If you have a choice, the question then becomes, what is more important? The quality of the your child’s formative years or the quality of your career? Based upon the number of you who choose to place your children in day care, I suspect I know your answer. And do not use the excuse that they are being educated in the day care environment, I call foul. I am not referring to pre-school; I am talking day care.
- Generally speaking, you are looking for a child care facility that seems to be clean, engages your child, and have caretakers that are not criminals. Yet, think about another major consideration. What about their values; what about their character. Consider the fact that you are entrusting the raising of your child to people that you would likely not associate with or socialize with.
Day Care is not just a way to park you child so that you can have children and a career at the same time. It should be part of your total holistic plan for your family.
