Today I’m angry and sad and it’s not the first time I’m upset regarding this. Yes, I will now have a strong opinion about something and I will also advice other mothers even though I am well aware of the fact that I’m out on dangerous waters doing just that.
I spend tons of hours outdoors playing in the park and different playgrounds with my daughter. We strive to go out twice a day, morning and late afternoon. We visit different parks and we meet a lot of people and daycares. Both me and my husband have seen and become familiar with many different daycares, children and teachers. The difference between daycares are enormous!
I am not going to mention any names of daycares, but I have to speak up about my disappointment towards some of them. I have watched them from a distant for some time now and you wouldn’t believe everything that’s going on. Bullying, crying children, abuse between children combined with total ignorance from the teachers! I understand that this happens in every daycare and that it is difficult to stop but what I can’t take is the teachers totally ignoring everything that’s going on! I get so frustrated every time I end up in the same playground as this particular daycare. The teachers stand at a distant chit- chatting with each other, staring at their phones and totally “unaware” of what’s going on between the children. I have seen children cry for 20 minutes alone without anyone “noticing”, kids hitting each other repeatedly, hard core bullying and over all unacceptable behavior. I see everything while the teachers we are supposed to trust our children with look the other way.
It is difficult to change or end this, but my advice to those parents who are thinking about placing their children in daycare is to visit different parks in your area and get familiar with your options from a distant. Play with the children and observe how the teachers interact with the group. Feel the energy! Most daycares in the downtown area spend time on public playgrounds during the day, so if you have the chance and opportunity; try to really get to know your options, respect your values and standards and most importantly; trust your instinct! It’s obviously not easy to choose when it comes to public daycares but my advice to families with two languages is to consider both options instead of automatically choosing a daycare speaking one language. In the end, having a warm and friendly atmosphere is much more important than what language your child speaks during the day, no?
No “healthy minded” parent want’s to purposely leave their children at a daycare that is not nice, so why not put a little bit more time and effort getting to know and choosing a good one instead of making rushed decisions and spend hours aways from our children while suffering from a bad conscious ?
I really don’t want to point fingers at anyone specific. I just want to say what I’ve observed in case I can help someone make as an important decision as who to trust our children with. I also want to point out that there are many great options out there that spread love, warmth, great moral and ethic standards, as well as a safe and happy environment for our children to grow up in <3.
Love and Peace!
Pictures by Dora Dalila
