Parents may ask themselves whether to hire a babysitter, put the child in the childcare center or hire a nanny? Since each familys needs, resources, and preferences vary significantly, we may not say there is a single right answer to this question. This implies that each family makes its own choice based on the above-mentioned factors.
Definition of babysitting
Babysitting can be defined as the temporal care given to a child on behalf of the real parents or guardians. The person who renders such services to the child is referred to as a babysitter preferably teenagers and stereotypically girls. In most cases, these teens do not have vast experience and some parents do not mind hiring them. However, the majority of the parents prefer mature babysitters who have personal and also direct experience. This is because the parents presume that these babysitters are likely to deal effectively with potential issues that could arise such as choking.
A nanny can be defined as a person (preferably a woman) who is employed by a private family to provide childcare. Unlike babysitters who are young teens, a nanny should be preferably mature people who are well equipped in terms of skills and knowledge of child-rearing.
Childcare
Childcare and daycare are terms used interchangeably. They are used to describe the supervised, regular, and paid care of children outside the childs home while parents are away. The transition from the use of the terms daycare to childcare took place during the 1970s and 1980s(Booth 4). This happened in the field of early childhood education. The term childcare, therefore, refers to the care given to a child and not the time the care is given as implied by the term daycare. It important at this point to note that some parents work beyond the traditional hours that are outside the 6.30 a.m to 6.30 p.m timeframe. These parents also need proper care for their children and therefore childcare recognizes these unique cases.
A variety of sites provide childcare namely; childcare centers, family childcare, public schools, group homes, in a childs home, and homes of friends and families. A program that cares for more children should be licensed. We note that childcare is different from babysitting in the sense that the sole purpose of a babysitter is to ensure that the children are safe and again the care is provided in the childs home on a short-term basis. Childcare on the other hand has the learning aspect that is an integral part of the care given to the child at the center.
In this paper, we argue that childcare from a licensed center should be preferred to babysitting. The center-based care provides services to children in groups. Religious organizations, schools, universities, and even social agencies or independent owners could sponsor the centers. The presence of a large number of children, a variety of caregivers, and the state inspections because the centers are licensed make them safe and dependable. As mentioned earlier, childcare centers have the learning component as an integral part of the services given to the children, the centers, therefore, provide a learning environment that is compared to the actual home.
Minimum standards of a childcare center
According to the National Association for the Education to Young Children (NAEYC), the minimum standards of a childcare center are: provision of more than four infants per caregiver and not more than eight infants per group in any given center-based care and each caregiver to be allocated four to twelve kids if they are young (Lande & Scarr 153).
Licensed child-care centers measure up to the required standards of quality established by the Childcare Organizations. This implies that the care centers have committed to providing the required attention and motivational activities to the children. The fact that the staff or caregivers in these care centers are properly trained and take part in in-service child development training, they are likely to understand the childrens needs at different stages of development. These trainers or caregivers also plan appropriate activities for and interact with children leading to a democratic climate in the center. Positive guidance is preferred to harsh discipline. If the caregivers are properly trained, which is the case for licensed childcare centers and then appropriate care will be given to the kids as they grow.
For any system to work towards the specified goal, in-built feedback is essential. This feedback is ensured in care centers through in-depth self-assessment, independent observation, and approval programs provided by the professional experts. The provision of this feedback helps to rectify, remove or include some programs so that they remain responsive to the childs needs and interests.
Studies by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development suggest that children in quality childcare centers have an intellectual edge over those in other kinds of care, say, babysitter or nanny. This was established when the researchers compared the results on a test administered to those children in quality childcare and those in other equally high-quality childcare situations (Rosenthal 67).
In a childcare center, kids are provided with an opportunity to socialize with one another. This may not be possible if a child is left with a nanny or a babysitter. In the center, this child-child interaction is made possible when the kids are with resources and equipment to use. This may again lead to better cognitive development because the children have more opportunities to interact with other children and are also exposed to more learning materials (Clarke-steward, Gruber and Fitzgerald 124).
Rules and regulations are governing the center. Parents are therefore given clear rules to follow for instance pickup and drop-off times and this has made them know what is expected of them by the center. Apart from knowing the operation in the center, parents also get a chance to meet other parents who may be of different help. The arrangement in the center is more reliable compared to a babysitter because of the childcare from a licensed center that you will have to work around her sick days and vacations.
The childcare provided by licensed centers has a child-focused environment and program. This means the centers do include a range of activities during the day to teach different skills that include storytelling, dancing, and singing. The children are encouraged in that they spend their day doing projects and sharpening skills in this exclusively structured setting. The children, therefore, do not just play the whole day but rather learn new things since most of these projects are a good mix of brain activities. We note that parents are always looking for childcare that is safe and also offers learning experiences. The parent will also prefer a caregiver who is warm and loving with children. These aspects are ensured in the childcare programs that are instituted in licensed centers (Auerbach 14).
Babysitting and its effect on socialization
Parents may be quickly attracted to the option of hiring a babysitter but this may not be a better option after all. It is usually expensive to have a babysitter although your child may be avoided homesickness and forego crowds of unfamiliar faces at the childcare center. However, a question that should cross our mind at this point is: how do I want my child to be brought up or socialized? I suppose we all want to raise children who will properly fit in the society by actively participating in all activities and events happening. How will this be possible if we bring up our children in isolation, say by babysitting? This is why I propose that childcare at a licensed center is a better option because a child learns by interacting with his or her peers.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is evident that the licensed childcare centers have revealed the following merits:
The center has professional and qualified personnel therefore proper services are rendered at the center.
Children of similar age are grouped and exposed to the appropriate program.
The centers are licensed and hence meet and also maintain required standards of care.
Reliability or stability of the services provided irrespective of the absence of a given staff member.
The services rendered are formal in that a parent is issued with a receipt when making any payment.
Although the childcare center may have demerits such as occasional incidences of infectious diseases, fixed operating hours and at times some may be expensive, these issues can be dealt with appropriately. It is therefore clear that childcare from a licensed is better than a babysitter since the above-stated merits outweigh the demerits. It will be of great help if we brought up our kids in these centers than leave them at home in isolation.
References
Auerbach D. Judith. In the Business of Childcare: Employer Initiatives and Working Women. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1988.
Booth, Alan, Ed. Childcare in the 1990s: Trends and consequences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Elrbaum Association, 1992.
Clarke-stewart, Alison, k., Irvine, C.P. Gruber and Linda, May Fitzgerald. Children at Home and in Day Care. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Elrbaum Association, 1994.
Linda, Jeffrey and Sandra Scarr, Eds. Caring for Children: Challenge to American. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Elrbaum Association, 1989.
Rosenthal, k. Miriam. An Ecological Approach to the Study of childcare: Family Daycare in Israel. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Elrbaum Association, 1994.
Childcare involves a wide range of activities that are directed to providing an all round benefit for the children. Games are very important aspects in the development process of children and it is therefore appropriate to have them integrated in childrens daily activities. There are a variety of traditional games which differ with culture of the society in which children live. However, recent games have come to level this diversification since they are played by children all over the world regardless of where they live.
Extensive studies concerning childrens games and their effects have shown that children are able to learn a lot of things through playing games. This principle has been found to show great effectiveness to babies as well as older children since they have a better understanding of things when they practically do them rather than when they are given theoretical directions. Information on childrens games is very important to parents, caretakers and teachers in order to assist them in the process of choosing the best game for their children and also get an idea on how they are played. Murphy (1997 p.10)
Background Information
Quite a number of families all over the world have become victims of the current economic crisis which is being felt by almost everyone in some way. Therefore, it has become a major challenge to meet the basic needs and at the same time buy toys for the children. This has made children to become very innovative where they make toys for themselves and also invent their own games. For instance, they make use of bottle caps to construct toys wheels while plastic scrap is used together with a string to come up with makeshift kites.
However, some recent games are hard to invent as they require computers and/or videos in order to be played. Materials used to pay these games are not locally available to children, which make it hard for them to pay if their parents cannot afford to buy them computers and video players. The traditional ones are therefore found to fit better in the current economic crisis leaving parents with the burden of meeting other basic needs.
Takraw
Takraw is a game that is mostly played by children in Thailand and it has a high level of similarity with hackeysack game played in U.S. A grapefruit sized small ball that is very hard is used while playing takraw. In comparison to takraw, balls used in hackeysack are not as hard which is the main difference between the two games. Children from Thailand make takraw from materials of natural fiber that is woven to come up with a very hard ball. Players position themselves around a circle from where they make passes to each other in a circular motion.
The funny thing about takraw is that it is played with the use of feet, shoulders, heads and legs but not hands. Children in Thailand love Takraw very much to a point that they can start it anywhere and play it with almost anyone including strangers. For instance, it can be started at a bus station by some of the people waiting to travel and within a few minutes, it is capable of attracting about fifty players before a bus takes away a portion of them leaving others to enjoy the game. In Thailand, takraw was initially a childrens game but due to the pleasure that players draw from it, it shifted to becoming a national game which is now played by almost everyone irrespective of age.
Virtual Goose
Virtual goose is a recent game that is played by children all over the world and it is normally provided in form of a video. For one to play virtual goose he/she needs to have a computer from which the game is played. However, it is a very simple game since the player is only required to coordinate with the opponent in the game so as to get more points and win. In the actual playing of virtual goose, five circles are provided where one is situated at the middle, two on the left and the other two on the right. The circles on the opposite sides are positioned in such a manner that each takes its corner from where they rotate after a player makes a move by clicking accordingly.
he game is normally controlled by a virtual goose that sits on the circle in the middle and points where the player directs the pointer of the mouse. Before one begins to play virtual goose game, the opponents points are normally provided on the left hand side, which the player is supposed to equalize with in order to win. The players points are shown on the right hand side and they increase once he/she correctly clicks on the circle that resembles the one at the center. The virtual goose then spins the circle at the middle that changes the pattern which should be determined by the player in the next move. However, if one clicks on the wrong circle, those points that had been accumulated are lost and the player has to start afresh.
Argument
The two games are almost similar in some way since the cooperation of the game occurs in a rotational circular motion. However, they have a big difference between them since takraw is a traditional game while virtual goose is a recent game. Also, takraw is played by several players at the same time while in virtual goose only one player is needed to click accordingly after which the goose changes the pattern of the circle in the middle by rotating it, giving the player another chance to make a move.
Considering the current economic crisis, takraw is the appropriate game for children since a number of parents would not afford to buy computers for their children in order for them to play virtual goose game. Since, takraw can be made from locally available materials; children can easily make the ball and then play which costs them very little money if any. Takraw is also more enjoyable than virtual goose since it is played with other body features rather than hands and requires several players unlike the single player in virtual goose game.
Conclusion
It is clear that, there are a number of games available to children which range from traditional to recent games. Takraw is an example of a traditional game which is played by several players who use their shoulders, legs and heads but one is not allowed to use hands. Virtual goose is an example of recent games which is played by a single player since the opponent is provided in the game. Comparing the two games, takraw is the best game for children as it is less costly, more enjoyable and allows children to cultivate an interaction principle which is not cultivated in virtual goose game.
References
Murphy, Ann. From thumb sucking to schoolyard fights: Rodale, 1997 p.10.
Childcare has increasingly grown popular in many countries across the world. United Kingdom in particular, has developed mechanisms that would ensure that it has a system that would support children from very tender age. Nussbaum (2002, p. 28) says that for a long period, the position held by children in the society has been regarded as a concern for individual families.
Although families have cherished their children, the society has not been able to look at the issue of childcare as a responsibility of the entire fraternity of the community. Childcare centers offer a forum where different parents come together, in collaboration with teachers and other professionals, to take care of children in a community setting.
Inasmuch as many families protect and care for their children at family level, there are families that have shown lack of concern to their children. Morrison (2008, p. 45) notes that parents who are drunkards, drug addicts or are just social misfits have abused their children in various ways according to the report by UK Department of Education 2004 (Morrison 2008, p. 64).
This has seen many children go without the basic needs of food shelter and clothing, not to mention education. This happens, not because the parent is not in a position to provide for this, but because in one way or the other, the parent is irresponsible (Darder & Rodolfo 2003, p. 39). The need to form a communal approach towards handling children has developed.
In United Kingdom, many Childcare institutions are developed to help in caring for children on various bases. There are orphanages for the orphaned and childcare institution where families drop their children in the morning and pick them in the evening.
This essay is based on the latter. The author seeks to investigate issues relating to collaborative working within a childcare setting. The research seeks to investigate ways through which a child moving from one institution to another can be helped to ensure a smooth transition.
It seeks to investigate the role of teaching assistant, and the collaborative role of the parent, the teacher, and other responsible stakeholders in enhancing the general welfare of the child.
Planning and Preparation
Nardi (2001, p. 24) stated that failing to plan is planning to fail. Every successful activity must be carefully planned for success to be achieved. In a childcare institution, the management needs to plan for the various activities in order to have smooth running of such institution.
The planning and preparation stage should entail how children would be taken care of when they are within the facilities, clearly outlining individuals who will be performing different activities at various stages. The institution would need to assign teachers and other staff different duties as far as the management of these children is concerned.
Panning is very important because through it an individual or organization is able to focus ahead on what needs to be achieved within a specified period. In any given childcare institution, there should be a proper blue print on how various activities would be carried out and the specific individuals who would be carrying them out.
In this regard, there should be a clear definition of duty at hand. Morrison (2008, p. 35) asserts that no one can claim to perform a duty he or she does not properly understand. It is through planning that an individual would comprehend the magnitude of task ahead of him or her.
The planning process should incorporate all the stakeholders within the childcare facility. According to Hurst (2007, p. 36), planning is a very important stage that requires effort of every stakeholder in an organization.
This idea is supported by Hurst (2007, p. 36), who says that when the junior employees are incorporated in the process of planning, they would be motivated as they would feel their contributions are appreciated by the management.
As this is a collaborative work that involves teachers, parents and other professional individuals within a childcare set up, all of them should have specific duties clearly drawn in the original plan. The parents have a role to play. Besides bringing the child to the center, the parent should meet the financial obligations that may be necessary to ensure smooth running of the institution.
The parent should also be in close touch with the teacher and share information about the child. Other professionals concerned in this process should also have their duties clearly defined. According to Bush (2003, p. 48) collaboration requires that all individuals concerned appreciates their respective duties and shows commitment towards performing such duties.
The administration should lay a plan on how all the concerned parties are going to relate to one another in the quest to achieving collective goal of ensuring the well being of the child. As Hurst (2007, p. 36) observes, this would make the follow-up process much easier.
The parents are very important part of this collaboration because of their financial and moral support to the institution. There should be a clear communication between the childcare unit and the parents. The parents should be involved in the activities of the childcare center and the management should always respect their wish.
Bottery (2001, p. 43) notes that in the plan, there should be a statement defining how the institution will relate to the national, state and local government. According the Childrens Act 2004 of the constitution, the role of childcare units within United Kingdom is clearly defined (Morrison 2008, p. 28).
There are specific expectations that must be met by such institutions for them to be considered to be working within the set standards. The management should therefore lay the program down and set the standards to be met by every stakeholder that would ensure that the institution performs to the expectation of all the concerned parties.
As Cogan and Webb (2002, p. 56) notes, care should be taken to ensure that every individual takes the responsibility meant for him or her, without pushing this duty to another individual. Parent should know what they are expected to do and avoid pushing this duty to teachers.
Teachers on the other hand should not be too assuming as to believe that some duties are automatically performed by the parents. There should be a close communication between the individuals to ensure that they both perform their duties as is expected of them.
Lastly, every childcare institution should appreciate the fact that due to mobility of parents caused by career reasons or otherwise, there would be frequent need to ensure that children who move into the unit, and out of it does so without any adverse effect.
There should be mechanisms that would facilitate a smooth transition of children out of the institution without a strong sense of nostalgia (Austin 2007, p. 51). To the children coming from other institutions, plans are needed to eliminate any melancholic moods that may come out of the memory of the previous institution.
The management should ensure that such children are enough moral support that would help them adapt to the new environment. This would help the child feel more relaxed hence find it easy to adapt to the new set up.
Child Development and Supporting Transition
As stated above, issues relating to job would see parents move from one state to another or from one locality to another, forcing them to move their children from one school to another. Reynolds (2011, p. 19) observes that young children socializes very fast.
He states that this is the stage in life where socialization comes automatically, once two young individuals meet. They would be driven into socializing by the need to play. Save for the few who are extra ordinarily shy, children would take little time to socialize. However, this scholar observes that these children can also develop attachments.
He notes that once they adapt to a given community, they will be affected by any movement from it, just like an adult would. This effect is what should either be minimized or eliminated if possible.
For this to be done with success, Kohl (2000, p. 97) suggests that there should be a corporation between the teaching assistant, the parents and the management of childcare institutions. The discussion below gives a comprehensive analysis of the role of the three named people (teaching assistant, parent, and management).
Teaching Assistants Role
The person with the greatest responsibility in the entire system of childcare is the teaching assistant. Gardner (2006, p. 31) noted that at every point in a childs development there would either be two parents or two categories of parent. The two parent would be the father and mother.
Some children may lack either of the two or both due to death, divorce or any other reason. The two categories of parent are the biological parent (if they are alive) or guardians, and the teacher.
In case the child lives in an orphanage, then a parental figure (a priest, sponsor, a relative) would develop, besides the teacher who in this case would be the immediate parent. A teacher features most in the development of a child from the above philosophy. A teaching assistant role defines the operational activities of the entire institution.
A teacher as a parent
One of the most important roles of a teaching assistant is his or her role as a secondary parent to the child. Children who came to these institutions are always of tender age.
Given the opportunity, they would like to stay with their parents for they still need the care. However, because of commitments of the parent, and the need for them to start learning, these children find themselves in childcare centers.
As a teacher, there is need to appreciate the fact that these children need parental care (Gardner 2006, p. 12). The teaching assistant should make a deliberate attempt to ensure that he or she has a comprehensive knowledge of each individual child.
This involves understanding strength and weaknesses of a given child. With this knowledge, teaching assistant can then device mechanisms, custom made for every child, to ensure that the child feels free within the childcare center. To a new child who has just come to the institution, the teaching assistant should make efforts to ensure that they feel welcome (Lindon 2006, p. 43).
They should be made to feel part of this new family as soon as would be possible. They teaching assistant should be kind to such new students and encourage other students to be friendly to the child too.
In case a child is to leave the unit for another, the teaching assistant should make them feel that the place they are going to is as good as the place they are leaving (Austin 2007, p. 67). Any fear that such a child may be having about new institution should also be addressed before the departure of the child.
A teacher as a motivator and talent developer
Children of this age would need to be motivated in order to be in a position to meet the expectation of the parent, the childcare facility, and the government.
From this tender age, they should be convinced that they could achieve, if only a little more effort is put in every activity that children perform (Leithwood & Steinbach 1999, p. 34). A teaching assistant can also note a talent in this child at this tender age. This may be a special ability to sing or play, or keen interest in a given art, like drawing or painting.
A teacher as an educator
Education is the main thing, besides proper care, that makes parents opt to bring their children to such institutions, other than leaving them with house helps. Teaching assistant has the obligation to ensure that the child learns the basics of language and mathematics.
According to the report by Effective Provision of Pre-School Education based on the research that they did for the period between 1997 to 2004, pre-school children should be allowed maximum time to play (Austin 2007, p. 78).
However, an ample time should also be allocated to simple leaning of basic Mathematics and English language. In so doing, the teaching assistant should make use of teaching aids to enhance memory of the child.
A teacher as a disciplinarian
Ethics is very important. A child ought to grow up appreciating the fact that some actions are not recommended by the society and that they can warrant punishment. Blank (2004, p. 38) says that this is arguably the toughest duty of the teacher in every learning institution.
This scholar notes that corporal punishment is strictly prohibited in learning institutions and can lead to litigation if committed by the teacher. However, this scholar notes that it is what every child fears the most, and one that can make them act with restraints.
For this matter, teaching assistant must devise ways of imparting discipline in children without inducing pain on them. This may involve making them appreciate the societys moral standards, and consequences that some actions have (Baum, Viens & Slatin 2005, p. 11).
Teacher as Role Model
As role models to the children, teaching assistants should conduct themselves with a sense of decorum that would make them admirable to children. Their acts should reflect what they expect of the child when it grows up.
Managements Role
The management may not have direct influence on the transition of a child from one institution to another. However, they have strong influence on how new children brought to their institution would easily adapt to the new environment and develop (Strauss & Corbin 1990, p. 73).
It should provide teaching assistants with appropriate teaching materials. It should also ensure the institution is well equipped with recreational facilities for the children. They should also be a link between parents and teachers.
Parents Role
A parent has a major role to play in the development of a child, and supporting transition of the child from one school to another. It may not be avoidable to move from one geographical location to another. However, parents should make an effort to reduce frequency of moving from one childcare center to another.
Aristotle (1998, p. 43) said that it is easier for a child to develop in such aspects as social esteem and knowledge if subjected to one environment without frequent movements. The parents should also provide both moral and material support to their children.
They should constantly make their children believe that they can make it in life. They should also make an effort to follow up the performance of their children in morals and in academics, with the teacher concerned (Cheminais 2006, p. 31).
Managing Parents Expectation
The Common Core and State Standards clearly states what a learner should achieve at every stage of education. This is the expectation the parents have; it is the expectation that childcare centers should fulfill.
There are cases where the expectation of the parents is more than what the childcare unit can meet (Griswold 2004, p. 37). The best way to manage such expectation is through effective communication with the parents to keep them informed of the institutions current capacities, plans, and other issues related to expectation.
Keeping Parents Informed
As stated above, childcare is a collective responsibility. Both the parents and the teachers have a great role to play. Bolman and Deal (1997, p. 71) observes that teachers spend more time with the children. A child leaves home early in the morning when the parent is busy preparing to go to work, and come back late at night when the parent is too tired to give it an appropriate.
The teacher spends most of the time with the child. The teacher is also to get to know the child better through reports from fellow pupils. Therefore, there is need by the teaching assistant to communicate effectively with the parents (Austin 2007, p. 31).
In so doing, the parent would get updated on every improvement made by their children. They can help teachers understand their pupils better by informing them of their strengths and weaknesses. This close coordination would increase possibilities of the parent getting satisfied with what the childcare offers (Freire 2006, p. 6).
Multi-Agency Working
The UK Department of Education, in a report dubbed Every Child Matters: Change for Children, encourages corporation between agencies in a bid to ensure that a child achieves the most of their potential (Hansen 2007, p. 34).
The report encourages corporation between schools, government agencies, sports organizations, GPS, and the entire community. A child needs an all round molding in order to ensure that they develop properly. This would require the above-mentioned institutions to work as a unit to ensure that this is achieved.
The government, as the regulator, should always ensure that all the concerned organizations could collaborate in an enabling environment that would facilitate achievement of the set goals.
Information Sharing Within the Workplace
Zipes (1997, p. 41) said that to information is one of the most important tools in a mans life. In every organization, there is need to ensure that information flows smoothly from one office or individual to the other. Within a childcare unit, there are a number of officers working in various departments.
All these individuals in various departments work hand in hand to ensure that the collective goal of the organization is achieved. As the parents share with the administration about the child, the administration should in turn share the same with the teaching assistants so that they are duly informed (Leithwood & Steinbach1999, p. 46).
The teaching assistant should also share amongst themselves about any discoveries they might have made about a particular child.
Conclusion
The society has come to embrace the fact that childcare is a role of the entire community other than being the role a parent or a teacher. Childcare instructions play a vital role in offering children related services when parents are at their workplaces.
In order to run such institutions properly, there is need for planning. Such institutions also need to develop ways through which parents expectations are properly managed. Also of importance is the need for different institutions collaborating in a bid to have better care for children. Information sharing should be encouraged among such institutions.
List of References
Aristotle, 1998, The Nicomachean Ethics, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Austin J 2007, The Art of Teaching, Noir Publishing, New York.
Austin, J 2007, The Last Snake Man, Noir Publishing, New York.
Baum, S, Viens, J & Slatin, B 2005, Multiple intelligences in the elementary classroom: a teachers toolkit, Teachers College Press, New York.
Blank, 2004, Teaching qualitative data analysis to graduate students , Social Science Computer Review, Vol. 22, no. 2, pp 187-196.
Bolman, L & Deal, T 1997, Reframing Organizations: artistry, choice and leadership, Jossey Bass, San Francisco.
Bottery, M 2001, Globalization and the UK competition state: no room for transformational leadership in education? School Leadership and Management, Vol. 21, no. 1, pp 34-78.
Bush, T 2003, Theories of Educational Management, Sage, London.
Cheminais, R 2006, Every Child Matters: A practical guide for teachers, David Fulton Publishers, London.
Cogan, D & Webb, J 2002, Introducing childrens literature, Routledge, New York.
Darder, A & Rodolfo, D 2003, The critical pedagogy reader, Routledge, New York.
Freire, P 2006, Pedagogy of the oppressed Continuum International Publishing Group, Wiley, New York.
Gardner, H 2006, Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons, Basic Books, New York.
Griswold, J 2004, The meaning of Beauty & The beast: a handbook, Broadview Press, New York.
Hansen, D 2007, Ethical Visions of Education, Teachers College Press, New York.
Hurst, C 2007, Social Inequality, Pearson Education, Boston.
Kohl, H 2000,The Discipline of Hope: Learning from a Lifetime of Teaching. New York: New Press.
Leithwood, K & Steinbach, R 1999, Changing Leadership for Changing Times, Open University Press, Buckingham.
Lindon, J 2006, Equality In Early Childhood: Linking Theory and Practice, Hodder Arnold, London.
Morrison, G 2008, Early Childhood Education Today, Pearson Education, New York.
Nardi, D 2001, Multiple Intelligence and Personality Type, Telos Publications, New York.
Nussbaum, M 2002, For Love of Country? Beacon Press, Boston.
Reynolds, K 2011, Childrens literature: a very short introduction, Oxford Press, Gosport.
Strauss, A & Corbin, J 1990, Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques, Sage Publications, Newbury Park.
Zipes, J. 1997, Happily ever after: fairy tales, children and the culture industry, New York, Routledge.
Marketing of child care and education programs in the community
The image of the program I want to convey is the one of a program that can be useful to every family including those who live a normal life and those who experience some difficulties or has some malfunctions. I do not want to attract people by saying in the brochure that the program will cure every disease and help every individual. The main point in the brochure will be a clear explanation of what the program is created for and its main functions.
The contact information should be inserted on every page of the brochure so that people could easily get a phone number without thumbing it through. The vision and philosophy of the program include a statement that every individual is unique and should be approached in a unique way. Hours of operation should include time convenient for people and employees. Besides, some time should be for busy parents who work till late.
The benefits of my program include unique approach to every child and every family and counseling that can be helpful for those who cannot decide what is necessary for a child. Special services include counseling sessions for families and parents, certain hours for those who cannot come in daytime, and learning how to deal with a child that faces some difficulties. Staff qualifications should include a pediatrician and teachers that are knowledgeable in children psychology and innovative methods to apply.
Grant opportunities for child care and education programs
The process of finding funding for various programs, equipment, and renovations that can be applied in education area require Education Regional Development grant program. I think that this program can best fit the needs of educational institutions. It is important to outline the steps taken within the program and some preliminary stages that an institution should undergo before applying for a grant program. It is possible to train teachers so that they could adequately teach students with disabilities.
Thus, the most appropriate grant opportunity is Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTCs)Employment Policy and Measurement CFDA Number 84.133B-4 . The agency that is funding the grant is the Department of Education. This is a public source. Both non-profit and for-profit organizations are eligible for it. The funding total cost is $850 000. I would use the money in accordance with the limitations on the program and introduce all possible changes into the centers structure and training of employees.
Care is essential to infants’ wellbeing and development; it is the responsibility of many stakeholders, although mostly left for female parents. In some cases, parents are pushed to their limits to balance between providing for the families and raising their babies (Brewer & Cattan, 2017). Such demands have resulted in alternative approaches such as hiring nannies, taking toddlers to creche, or starting school at a significantly tender age (Gambaro, Marcus, & Frauke, 2019). Results of a cross-sectional study in 37 countries established that “women typically undertake 75% of childcare responsibilities” (Samman et al., 2016). The regional context also plays a role in raring young ones as it defines things such as breadwinning tasks, gender roles, maternity leaves, and others.
The early childhood developmental experiences are crucial as they form the foundation of life. According to Blossfeleld et al. (2017), sprogs who experience neglect in their formative years are more likely to have mental health issues and remain in a lower socio-economic niche as adults. Traditionally, the gender roles were well-defined such that the men were tasked with breadwinning positions, whereas the women focused on domestic duties. However, in developed nations, Moilanen, May, Räikkönen, Sevón, and Laakso (2016) state that ladies work in a formal setting for 5 to 9 hours daily. The paper has implications for employers, society, nursery administrators, and nannies as it will provide options to enhance toddlers’ wellness. This paper aims to discuss the relevance of sociocultural context in childcare, focusing on the UAE and the Norway and Japan context.
Description
There is an increase in the maternal workforce globally, which has created a significant gap in infant supervision. For instance, in Japan, the employment of women increased from 34% in 1985 to 41% in 2010 (Takaku, 2019). The female-to-male labor force ratio in the United Kingdom is 71:82 (Somerset, 2018). Such trends are common in almost all countries as people struggle to enhance their living standards in a highly competitive world. With both parents in employment, the infants are taken to either the healthcare facilities or nannies are hired. Grandparents and other relatives can also be involved in caring for babies. The sprogs who have achieved key milestones like walking, potty-training, and talking are taken to schools before attaining the set age. The sociological theory by Talcott Parsons proposes that feminine roles are anchored in internal family affairs while the masculine role is for the occupational roles (Yu, 2015). The employment of wives thus threatens the complementary duties of spouses and weakens the family fabrics.
Many issues arise from alternative caregivers, which are potentially harmful to future generations. One of the areas that the toddlers have to endure is nutrition feeding. The World Health Organization states that babies should survive exclusively on breast milk for the first six months after birth (Taha, Garemo, & Nanda, 2020). However, employers only provide short maternal leave, which means that the babies are introduced to other food early, which has negative implications (Atabay et al., 2015). Anxiety issues are also common in neonates who are left to stay with different nannies while they are still young. Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development indicates that brain development in the formative stages is vital and that secure attachment is needed (Blossfeld, Kulic, Skopek, & Triventi, 2017). The other challenge is ensuring hygiene and controlling infectious diseases, especially in nursery facilities where a single person has to take care of more than ten neonates at a time. The sacrifices of mothers to leave their young ones behind to fetch money has emotional toil, which reduces their performance at the workplace.
Childcare in UAE
Childcare in UAE is more complicated, given that the maternity laws only allow women to have a six-week break after childbirth (Taha et al., 2020). Choices have to be made between resigning from work, hiring a nanny, and taking the neonate to the nursery. In all cases, the dilemma to the parent is evident since all options come with a sacrifice and some rewards. For instance, an article published by Gulf News reports a woman frustrated and jealous because the newborn was forming an attachment with the maid (UAE Parent, 2020). Such experiences reflect the difficulty of offering a better life for a neonate but missing out on the required bonding.
Most nannies are untrained and young, hence, may also not be able to take good care of the children. Findings indicate that 70% of burn-related accidents on kids happened under housemaids’ care (Baby & Child, 2017). Such recklessness among domestic workers can be a result of stress. Women leave their kids behind to take care of those of their employers, which results in depression and reduced performance. It is worth noting that most of the people employed to work in the house are females in their childbearing season. Some leave their homes for years searching for greener pastures as expatriates, but they always remember their young ones and feel stressed. Besides, since the pay for housemaids is low and they have additional roles such as cooking and cleaning, it may be difficult for them to give the infant more concentration.
Toddlers spend more of their awake time with the house helps who may not be good at providing discipline. At least 58% of babies below the age of three are under the care of nannies for 30-70 hours weekly (Baby & Child, 2017). One critical aspect of upbringing is providing direction and training in life skills (Zakaria, 2018). This role is expected to be done by parents, but due to their busy schedules, they end up leaving the children without guidance. The result is increased mental health issues among adolescents (Al-Yateem et al., 2020). A story of a grade four sprog in UAE who ran away from home for about 10 hours shows that there is a parent care crisis (Runaway child’s case, 2016).
The majority of the workforce in UAE are expatriates who have no other family members residing in the country. Bennet (2009) records that 90% of the infants (ages 0-4 years) taken to nurseries are non-nationals. Yet, based on the same report, 5.4% of the staff in these care facilities speak only Arabic, which may be confusing for children who speak different languages at home. The young ones have to cope with the environment at the creche and the one in the house, increasing anxiety levels. The official age for starting school in UAE is four years (Shabandri, 2014). For older kids, the option of the nursery is better as it allows for peer interaction and play (Clark, 2020). Parents should consider different aspects such as the level of training given to the educators, age of the child, and quality standards when deciding on the resident for a baby.
Childcare in Norway
Norway is a country with a developed economy that is mindful of families and has supported policies that enable parents to spend more time with their newborns. The number of women in informal employment in the country is 72.8%, which is higher compared to those of other neighboring regions (Horák & Horáková, 2017). The gender-gap difference in the workplace is low but not at the expense of family life since there are policies to protect nursing mothers. There are options for part-time employment and other virtual services, making it possible to balance between different aspects of a person’s life. The wages are also high to enhance stability in the standards of living. There is also a paternity leave with 60% pay, making the employment conditions favorable for both sexes (Gambaro, Stewart, & Waldfogel, 2014). Such measures help in strengthening family unity and providing a safe environment for the child’s growth.
The socio-cultural context of the region identifies caring for babies as a significant role to be fulfilled, if possible, by birth parents. A majority of Norwegian households, 52%, have both mother and father with few children, allowing for ample time for bringing up kids (Horák & Horáková, 2017). The country uses the Scandinavian welfare model aimed at providing extensive support to families with kids to strike a balance between their families and work. Working mothers are given a generous paid leave of one year upon giving birth (Gambaro et al., 2014). The implication is that exclusive breastfeeding for up to six months and then gradual weaning is possible. The woman can rest at home and take care of the baby without any financial stress. With this model, fewer women hire nannies or take the young ones to infant schools before one year. The children are more likely to have healthy attachments because of the safety at home.
Some policies dictate the specific requirements for establishing a nursery and the maximum possible fee. The youngest age that a sprog can be admitted to a childcare facility is at the age of one year. People working in such centers also have the necessary training and licensure that assures their competencies in taking care of the sprogs as required by the Day Care Institution Act of 1975 (Gambaro et al., 2014). Throughout the academic years, there is guidance and counseling for the students until they enter a career (Lorentzen, Bäckman, Ilmakunnas, & Kauppinen, 2019). In 1997 there was a reform made for primary schools to allow kids to start the first grade at the age of six instead of seven (Haldar & Røsvik, 2020). Parents have the option of homeschooling their toddlers, and the extended families work together in raising a child. The national laws are protective for children, which indicates substantial support by the government. Society is also egalitarian such that men and females collaborate to perform all duties.
Childcare in Japan
Japan was traditionally a communist society with a male breadwinner and female homework model, but more women are increasingly taking up formal employments. The demands for a 24 hours economy have increased the need for female laborers. As such, 41% of women in their prime ages earned their salary rather than depending on their husbands (Takaku, 2019). The challenges are that men in the country are still not willing to take up the responsibilities of being involved in the lives of infants. Mothers struggle to balance between their homes and job, causing physical and emotional exhaustion (Yu, 2015). The toddlers are exposed to neglect due to the modernization changes. However, the solution is not to revert to their gendered traditions but to embrace modernity demands. Male parents must realize that since their wives are now helping in providing for the families, they too need to help with house chores and bringing up toddlers.
There are insufficiencies of afterschool care facilities in Japan, which leaves mothers frustrated because there is no place to leave the young ones. Rich (2019) records that 20,000 babies in Japan are waiting to be enlisted in subsidized daycare. The number keeps increasing as the country has many vacancies needing to be filled up by women. In a survey, 45% of Japan’s parents said that they leave their children alone at home, 20% resigned from their employment. In comparison, 14% delegated the responsibilities of being with the kids to grandparents (Harding, Inagaki, & Lewis, 2020). Undernutrition and accidents are exceptionally high among the babies left without the supervision of an adult. The elderlies caring for toddlers are not as active and healthy to play with them. The possible solution is to construct places that pupils can be safe after school and spend time doing leisure and play. Qualified professions such as social workers, psychologists, and educators can provide foster parenting until the parents come from their workstations (Chaturvedi, 2019). The strategy will create opportunities for more jobs that will improve the economy of the nation.
Daycare workers also have babies of their own whom they have to care for and may neglect others. This is a challenge because new mothers do not feel safe about leaving their kids with such assistance. The government is also frustrated as it aims to increase the number of married women aged 25 to 50 years in the workforce from 72% to 80% (Rich, 2019). The decision to leave a child under the care of someone is a difficult one, especially when there is no trust. The government can provide cameras for monitoring the facilities remotely. In addition, people who have placed their toddlers in the care facility can be given access to check in the foster home at any time.
Comparison of The Three Countries
It is apparent that in all three countries, maternal employment is increasing, thus creating a childcare practice. Moreover, there is a wide range of solutions, such as care facilities, nannies, grandparents, or taking the kids to school at a very tender age. In UAE, working mothers are likely to employ untrained nannies to tend to their newborns merely six weeks after birth (Taha et al., 2020). Neglect, less breastfeeding, and nutritional care are common effects that toddlers go through in the country. Norway has the best childcare policies, and the nation has also embraced the culture of gender equality. There is up to one year of parental paid leave to provide ample development for infants before resumption to work (Gambaro et al., 2014). In Japan, there is a conflict between the reality of modernity, where females and males are in industrial sectors, and cultural values of wives as home workers and husbands as occupational providers. The other challenge in Japan is few after-school nurseries facilities, which force alternative care of grandparents or leaving the kids alone at home.
Recommendations
National employment policies should offer a minimum of semi-annual paid leave after maternity. The World Health Organization recommends that children should exclusively be given breastmilk for the first six months after birth (Taha et al., 2020). When nursing mothers are forced to resume office duties soon, the health of the infant is at risk. The model of Norway on workers’ welfare, which protects families, should be embraced by UAE and Japan. Fathers should also help with the responsibilities at home so that the mothers are not overwhelmed.
Schools and nursery facilities need to ensure that they hire sufficient personal who are qualified in taking care of toddlers. The duty of child-rearing is so critical to be left for unqualified personnel and risk quality development. For example, educators, psychologists, and nannies should have an operating license. Additionally, the places where children stay should observe high-quality hygiene, a playground with toys, and a resting place. Cameras should be installed to observe what the babies are doing at any given time.
The adults need to take responsibility for assisting in infant raising in the community just as they do national economic development. For example, relatives who have part-time jobs can help single-parent households by looking after toddlers. Local centers where adults can receive resources on available options for childcare should also be established to create awareness. Sexist beliefs should be discouraged to allow for more holistic care since kids require the attention of both parents. Finally, when a person senses neglect of a toddler within the neighborhood, relevant authorities should be notified.
Conclusion
There is an apparent paradigm shift in the family context since more women are gaining employment. The immediate repercussion is the global childcare crisis, which many parents are trying to solve with the help of their governments. The description of the issues in UAE, Norway, and Japan has revealed incredible insights on how policies, changes in traditional gendered culture, and cooperating between different stakeholders can help resolve the challenge. It is important to remember that the kids are the future generations and that formative years form the foundation for happy adults.
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Garfield Park is an urban park located 184-acre in Chicago’s West Side’s East Garfield Park neighborhood. The neighborhood known as Garfield Park comprises two Chicago neighborhoods: East and West Garfield Park (East Garfield Park, 2022). It is the first among the three significant unique Chicago gardens in the West (Garfield, Humboldt, and Douglass Parks), and William LeBaron intended it to be a pleasure ground. Among the significant United States plant conservatories, the Garfield Common Conservatoire is located in Garfield (East Garfield Park, 2022). It is the Chicago estate and boulevard organization that is the furthest west. Its history includes the transformation from farmland to the municipality’s second-busiest spending district. Garfield’s enticements include a dishonorable 19th-century track and part of Chicago’s most incredible beautiful parks; eras of booming housing growth trailed by white aeronautical; racial discontent, and nationals banding together.
State regulations, labor, and operating costs have contributed to the high childcare costs problem in Garfield community in Chicago. Most Americans have had static hourly earnings in recent decades. In other words, only a tiny portion of general economic development reaches average households. No single policy will ensure that average Americans portion in the nation’s wealth; instead, a combination of measures will be required by nations. Some should offer workers more bargaining power in the employment market, while others should enhance earnings by expanding social insurance and public spending. Helping American kin survive with the tall price of infant care is an obvious example of the latter.
Gathering Community Information (Methodology)
Primary and secondary sources play significant roles in collecting data concerning the extensive childcare prices in Garfield Park in Chicago. History tends to repeat itself, and primary materials can help the researcher gain more information concerning the high childcare costs in Chicago and their impacts on the Garfield community residents. Educators can use original materials to offer courses context and inspire students to think critically about important historical and current events. Newspapers, brochures, forensic reports, and court transcripts are examples of primary source resources that can assist students in developing their understanding and discovering new viewpoints. Primary sources provide access to a wide range of historically marginalized viewpoints. Primary sources are valuable for delving deeper into history and society, allowing scholars to investigate the diversity of human experience outside of the mainstream.
Investigating primary sources allows learners to confront the past’s complexity by grappling with conflicts and comparing diverse sources representing different viewpoints. Students must consume media through a similarly critical lens to navigate today’s information-heavy landscape. The skills required to examine primary source texts effectively are transferable to the consumption and study of contemporary media. Studying primary sources aids pupils in their development as citizens. Students must become knowledgeable citizens to be active agents of positive change. Such sources offer fresh insights in correcting accurate data. Secondary sources will offer the researcher an excellent overview of childcare prices in Chicago, particularly in the Garfield community. Secondary sources are precious when scholars look for information about an unfamiliar topic. They are helpful since the writer may use them to identify keywords to characterize childcare prices and references for further study.
Other communities that have experienced high childcare costs include the Washington D.C. communities. These societies include Downtown, Brookland, Capitol Hill, and Adams Morgan (Childcare Costs by State, 2022). Washington has the most excellent classy child upkeep of any public at $24,243 yearly or $2,020 monthly (Childcare Costs by State, 2022). The price of infant teenager care monthly in the Region is around what a one-bedroom room costs. Massachusetts contains the second-most expensive childcare, estimated at $20,913 annually (Childcare Costs by State, 2022). Therefore, Amherst, Agawam, Barnstable, Bridgewater, Braintree, Franklin, Palmer, North Attleborough, Randolph, Watertown, Southbridge, Weymouth, West Springfield, and Winthrop have incurred high childcare prices in Massachusetts.
Review of the Literature
Some countries provide free public pre-school as a child-care technique where children can develop communal solid, pre-academic, and overall life knowledge to prosper in college and yonder. Pre-school alumni develop better academic willingness, reduced custody rates, and developed wages. Playing is an outstanding way for children to absorb. If a youngster’s initial involvement with classroom education is in overly academic settings, they may not possess strong curiosity sense and become detached from school. Kindergarten permits children to study in procedures that appeal them, nurturing a positive association with erudition. The greatest pre-schools inspire youngsters to create a wish to learn that will stay throughout their school careers. Only the poorest working families are eligible for subsidies for children under three, whether over Early Head Jolt or the youngster upkeep block grant, and fewer than one out of every six qualified children receives assistance.
The child and dependent care tax credit is the sole direct government support for early care and education for most families. In Europe, new parents often take a 14-month paid leave, and children typically begin public school at three. (Toddlers are not sitting at desks doing worksheets during the pre-school years; instead, they play.) According to Hans Bos, senior vice president of the American Institutes, parents are likely to pay extra for child maintenance for children aged one and two. There are similar stiffnesses in the U.S. about whether children should be at home with their parents. However, governments cover many care costs, including subsidies to stay-at-home guardians in South Korea, Finland, and Denmark.
Child care programs in the Nordic nations are the utmost liberal, with free upkeep for low-income kin. In Denmark, parents of toddlers receive a quarterly child benefit, and significantly subsidized children care up to ten years, which is essentially government-run but includes private centers and home-based maintenance. Children in Germany can attend “Kita” classes from a few months to the end of elementary school. Parents reimburse tuition grounded on their revenue in certain areas, but it is unrestricted in others, such as Hamburg and Berlin (“The True Cost of High-Quality Child Care Across the United States”, 2022). Before their children start public pre-school at two or three, parents can acquire tax recognitions to 85% of costs incurred in attending crèches or employing home-based “childminders” in France. Parents in several other nations pay a far higher share of their earnings but still obtain more administration aid than the U.S. Japan has subsidized child care, but the parent’s share of the tuition is high, and seats are scarce.
Free pre-school is available in England and Ireland, although only for a few hours every day. Governments occasionally contribute to the cost of child care to achieve specific policy objectives (“Chicago’s Key Resilience Challenges”, 2022). Since there are no good policies that protect childcare systems, the challenge is prevalent in Chicago as families struggle to obtain affordable and quality childcare services as they leave for work. The social milestones and trends relating to the extensive childcare challenge in Garfield include racial disparities. Chances are not equally reachable, and economic adversity is experienced unduly by Chicago’s Latino and black residents (“Chicago’s Key Resilience Challenges”, 2022). Political trends include poor relations between blacks and whites, while historical challenges include violence and poverty. Various interventions, including the intervening of the federal and government policies, were made by various communities to eliminate the challenges (“The Economics of Child Care”, 2022). However, the interventions were not successful since the USA, in general, is still facing the issue.
Needs Analysis
Child care has been a financial hardship for most parents, with costs in many areas rivaling college and causing families to make decisions. This high cost, on the other hand, frequently compensates for the authentic cost that care workers incur, and very seldom, if ever, encompasses the “true” cost of healthcare is, the rate of providing high-quality, developmental level-appropriate, secure, and dependable child care manned by a professional way remunerated worker (“The True Cost of High-Quality Child Care Across the United States”, 2022). A dynamic cost estimator tool is one of the resources available in childcare. Other resources include a conducive environment, pacifier, diapers, baby blankets, wipes, bibs, and excess clothing. The governments may use the cost estimator tool to show the finances of childcare costs, calculate the actual childcare costs in each Region, and genuinely comprehend why quality daycare is out of grasp for several families.
Existing interventions towards the problem include government intervention by offering free subsidies and pre-primary education to parents to reduce the costs they incur in childcare. The cost approximating tool is helping the populations in calculating the costs they incur in daycare per month to avoid miscalculations. Federal and government policies reduce daycare costs for working parents and ensure children receive quality care (“The True Cost of High-Quality Child Care Across the United States”, 2022). However, these interventions are ineffective since public subsidy to care general admittance is inadequate. Lack of quality care, a clean environment, and poverty are the existing challenges in society that prevent addressing the challenge. This childcare cost problem is the one that the community needs to address since providing all families with affordable, high-quality child care will improve the economy, end discrimination, raise women’s labor force involvement, and improve children’s well-being. Employed families represent the population of individuals impacted by the wide-ranging childcare prices.
Anthropological Services Project Proposal
Statement of Necessity
Garfield Park is a 184-acre in Chicago and is undergoing high childcare expenses due to state laws, labor, and operating expenditures. Primary and secondary sources are essential in gathering information about the vast daycare prices in Chicago’s Garfield Park. History tends to repeat itself, and primary materials can aid the researcher in learning more about Chicago’s high childcare expenses and their effects on the inhabitants of the Garfield neighborhood. Other communities that have had to deal with high daycare costs include those in Washington, D.C. Downtown, Brookland, Capitol Hill, and Adams Morgan are among these societies. Washington has the most expensive kid upkeep; the monthly expense of baby and adolescent care is about the same as a one-bedroom room.
Massachusetts has the second most costly childcare; cities of Amherst, Agawam, Barnstable, Bridgewater, Braintree, Franklin, Palmer, North Attleborough, Randolph, Watertown, Southbridge, Weymouth, West Springfield, and Winthrop in Massachusetts have high daycare costs. Some countries provide free public pre-schools where children can get shared, pre-academic, and overall life aids that will support them prosper in college and beyond. In Europe, new parents often take a 14-month paid maternity leave, and children usually start public school at three. Child care programs in the Nordic countries are the most liberal, with low-income relatives receiving free care. From a few months till the end of primary school, children in Germany can attend “Kita” classes. In some regions, such as Hamburg and Berlin, parents reimburse tuition based on their income, but it is unrestricted in others.
Racial disparities are among the social milestones and trends related to Garfield’s wide childcare dilemma. Chances are not equal, and Chicago’s Latino and black residents face disproportionate economic hardship (“Chicago’s Key Resilience Challenges”, 2022). Political developments include racial tensions between blacks and whites and crime and poverty, which have been historical issues for the city. Diverse initiatives, including federal and government policy action, were made by various communities to address the difficulties (“The Economics of Child Care”, 2022). However, the efforts were ineffective, and the problem persists across the United States. For most parents, child care has long been a financial burden, with expenses in many locations rivaling those of college and forcing families to make difficult choices. Government intervention in free subsidies and pre-primary education to parents to reduce childcare expenses are examples of existing interventions.
Interventions such as federal and state legislation help working parents save money on childcare while ensuring that their children receive quality care. These initiatives, however, are ineffective because public funding for general admission to care is insufficient (“The True Cost of High-Quality Child Care Across the United States”, 2022). Existing societal difficulties such as a lack of quality treatment, a clean environment, and poverty hinder the problem from being addressed. The community must address the issue of childcare costs because providing all families with cheap, high-quality child care will boost the economy, eliminate discrimination, increase females’ labor force contribution, and advance children’s happiness. The demographics of those affected by the problem are working families. Language barriers, unfamiliarity with palliative care/hospice settings, skepticism of universal healthcare support, previous anecdotes, religious differences, beliefs in alternative treatments, and uncertainty are all cultural aspects that childcare workers should take for children.
Program Proposal Description
Garfield community in Chicago should implement the child care subsidies evidence-based program as a solution for the extensive childcare costs. The child care funding program will provide financial help to employed parents or those attending college to refuge the prices of specialized center-based or in-home child care. Infant care grants are frequently accessible by low-income families; suitability criteria diverge by state. Child care subsidies can make a difference in the community by supporting low-income adults in safeguarding their youngsters’ healthy progress while supporting their families. Increased access to subsidies could provide children and their families with various long-term benefits. Augmented family revenue and reduced deficiency can benefit children’s achievement and success in the short and long run (Giannarelli et al., 2019). Families might pick higher-quality child care with a subsidy, which would help their children’s growth.
More consistent child care subsidies can aid families to spend less time from the workforce and improve their financial well-being and salaries path in the long run. More consistent children care can benefit families to spend less time from workforce and enhance their financial comfort and earnings path in the long run (“What If We Expanded Child Care Subsidies?”, 2022). Increased access to subsidies could provide children and their families with various long-term benefits. Families might pick higher-quality child care with a subsidy, which would help their children’s growth. Increased family revenue and reduced scarcity can benefit children’s achievement and success in the short and long run.
Goals and Objectives
The childcare subsidies program aims at helping parents with childcare costs and facilitating persons to contribute or upsurge their partaking in the labor force. It will enable children’s presence in child upkeep to provide their early knowledge and growth. The childcare subsidy will attain these goals by making childcare reasonable for various families and providing more aid to truncated and middle-income parents. This project will increase free time and earnings for mothers and their salaries and free time. Joining daycare may upsurge children’s future pay, life anticipation, and school admission for older relatives.
Method/Intervention
Various activities must attain the goals of the childcare subsidies project. Among the activities include daycare subsidies for moderate families, childcare education programming and primary care, the hiring of high-quality, skilled caregivers, and the funding of daycares in underprivileged areas are all examples of activities that will be available. Greenspace, play equipment, public recreational spaces, walking routes, community gardens, walkways, and sports facilities are all infrastructure examples that encourage physical exercise and psychological health. The events will be nutritious lunches and snacks and learning opportunities that promote school preparation. These activities will ensure children obtain quality learning, nutritious food, increased jobs, availability of affordable childcare, and playground equipment.
Employment/Management/Resource Requirements
The possessions necessary to device the program include staffing and overall budget desires, location, source of funds, and a plan. Staffing will ensure the project is accomplished and operating costs reduced. Funds will ensure the amount of capital required to execute the project is available. Project planning delivers structure and anticipation for the implementation stage, eradicating wasteful actions and patterns. Budgeting will ensure the project manager saves time and money and ensures the project lies within budget. Ten staff members will be required at the program’s start, and the management will supplement them as the childcare program progresses. The employees’ qualifications will be required to have include at least a high school diploma relating to childcare. Their general duties will entail organizing a reliable everyday routine, including adequate meals, naps, playtimes, and instructive activities. Backing children’s growth, such as offering activities that progress their comprehension of the globe and aid them to learn novel skills.
Program Evaluation Plan
The data collection process includes analyzing the problem, selecting opportunities, planning, collecting data, interpreting it, and analyzing the outputs. The organization will know the project is successful if it meets its objectives, is delivered within the allocated time, within the budget, and delivers the expected value. The firm will consider the scope, client satisfaction, quality, schedule, and budget to evaluate the project’s success. Cost, technical specifications, time, quality requirements, business objectives, and client satisfaction are the scholar’s measures to evaluate the project’s success. The project manager will be responsible for measuring the project and collecting quantitative and qualitative data.
Guidelines for Program Implementation and Stakeholder Communication Tool
The project’s first step will be identifying the stakeholders in the implementation plan. The following steps include prioritizing the goals, defining variables, creating the schedule, identifying challenges, and presenting the project to the stakeholders. The project will officially start on 2/4/2022 and accomplish on 12/5/2022. The key stakeholder, the researcher, would connect with first is the project sponsor using email as the announcement tool. An email will be the most effective tool since it disseminates data and offers a quick response. Working parents with children who need care are the target audience. The statement plan relies on the childcare subsidies program that ensures affordable childcare costs. Conversation goals include cooperating with stakeholders about the project schedule and making suggestions about the project.
Professional Reflection
This project has helped me learn more about the residents of West Garfield. They need to better their area have clashed back against relocation, violence, and deficiency that afflicts the Region in the 1950s for decades. They formed block weapons and nonprofit establishments like Bethel Novel Life, which has emphasized land growth, reasonable housing, social agendas, and job formation for nearly four decades, relying on “the community’s people, physical possessions, and faith foundation” to reinforce its ties to other sections and provide prospects for residents. This project has taught me that West Garfield Park is home to various people incurring expensive childcare costs. Child care that is both high-quality and cheap is critical to a child’s development since it allows them to learn outside the classroom. It is also valuable for parents because it allows them to stay in the workforce while promoting their children’s healthy growth. Many working families, however, do not have access to high-quality childcare.
Raising a child in Chicago, IL, can feel like a never-ending series of financial difficulties. Adequate childcare is expensive, out of sync with the parents’ schedule, or challenging to locate for many families. The Obstacles that Parents Face in Finding Quality and Affordable Child Care are a challenge to work, specifically for mothers taking unpaid caregiving tasks. The Center for American Progress (CAP) conducted a short poll in 2019 to learn how parents make child care work for their families, particularly over the summer (“The Financial Challenges of Childcare”, 2022). A total of 1,000 parents took part in the poll, which revealed that inexpensive childcare is difficult to come by, resulting in work security concerns (“The Financial Challenges of Childcare”, 2022). In addition, most of the parents who took part in the study had to make sacrifices at work and home to maintain a work-life balance due to the lack of child care services and their high costs.
Child care expense is a significant obstacle in selecting the best summer child care center for their children. When it comes to finding excellent child care, another hurdle that many families experience is availability. When parents require child care, programs are frequently provided outside of the hours, uncommon during the summer. Even if parents can locate open programs, distance from job and home issues render them unavailable. Several parents mentioned other specific factors, including finding exemplary child care service for their disabled children. Other parents said it’s tough to find reliable, safe, and trustworthy arrangements for their children during the summer because babysitters, family members, and others they can “trust” are frequently unavailable. Child care is predominantly out of grasp for low-wage workers.
Despite the economic importance of child upkeep, governmental subsidy for general admittance is severely insufficient. The central Child Maintenance and Growth Fund (CCDF), recognized by the teenager Care Progress Block Grant implementation, or CCDBG, represents the principal communal financing foundation for child attention. This federal-state corporation program, which desires matching reserves from the statuses, offers money to help entitled families obtain child care over subsidy coupons remunerated to the benefactor for a qualified young one. However, this program barely reaches 1 in every seven eligible children due to a lack of financing. Many families in need of child care assistance do not satisfy the eligibility requirements.
The subsidy value the amount that breadwinners can get for each registered subsidy-eligible child is typically inadequate to cater for the entire price of functioning a quality child care facility. A child care benefactor who can regain care costs through parent instruction has no enticement to source child care niches to eligible families, harshly limiting options for families relying on this support to obtain child care. Although federal standards mandate that states set expense rates at levels that allow a majority of child care providers to participate, only one state, Maine, has done so as of 2020 and even at that point, charges are still grounded on a dysfunctional market that fails to justify for actual care costs. The regulation places the weight of child maintenance costs primarily on people who cannot afford the actual care costs in most areas. Families are remarkably priced sensitive, as child care generally accounts for most of their regular budget, obliging them to put price ahead of a range of other considerations.
There exists a high call for children care in numerous areas. Despite this, stock does not encounter demand since families are paying what they can get, yet this rarely caters the total price of conveyingg the facility, which is particularly true for baby and toddler. The gap among the actual costs and what various families can pay for is much bigger, causing scarcity of child support. The traditional stock and petition shop can only operate in high-income sectors, where parents are more likely to devote a good part of their pay on child attention. Child care earners can have enough money to capitalize on excellence when they own sufficient money. This project involves various processes: identifying the stakeholders, prioritizing the goals, defining variables, creating the schedule, identifying challenges, and presenting the project to the stakeholders.
The outcomes of this scheme include better learning programs, increased quality, and affordable childcare. My coursework culminated in the capstone development by increasing my stakes and focusing on accomplishing the mission. While completing the venture, my strengths include accountability, being an effective communicator, strategic planner, and critical thinker. I encountered various problems such as great expectations, poor stakeholder engagement, and scope challenges. In my future professional life, what I have learned will help me to become a successful project manager since it has enabled me to acknowledge the failures measures that ensure the success of a plan and the communication strategy and its significance in managing a project.
This project will be helpful in the job market and further studies in various ways. First, it will enable people to know the several habits high childcare costs impact their well-being. Second, it will ensure that working women have a better option for their children. In this project, I intended to establish a program that could significantly eliminate the extensive childcare costs in the Garfield community in Chicago. Hence, I recognized the childcare subsidies program as the right program to benefit Garfield community members. Establishing the right program went well. I found it complex to establish the right stakeholders for the project. To better my experience, I would like to conduct a shareholder analysis or valuation of a scheme’s key members and how the project will solve their difficulties and needs.
Reflecting on my time at SNHU, I started as a scholar who lacked more information about starting and executing a project. I have become a successful project manager with sufficient skills that guarantee a successful closure. I will be a top-notch project manager with broad project management knowledge and skills. The program aligns with the code of ethics for human services professionals. The program guarantees respect for all persons’ self-esteem and well-being, promotes autonomy; supports social fairness; and integrity, uprightness, authenticity, and objectives. However, during my education and the completion of the project, I incurred various ethical challenges, such as honoring social diversity. As a human service professional, these dilemmas will aid me in learning various cultural considerations and how they impact childcare systems. They will assist me in learning how I should approach people from various cultural backgrounds.
For quite some time, there has been a debate on where poor mothers should have the right to withdraw from their jobs and receive certain reimbursements from the government. Even though it was addressed by the US government several times, there was no united stance on the matter, which allowed for nonstop arguments pro and against poor mother welfare. Given that the process of combining domestic work and a paid job is extremely challenging, women’s family responsibilities quickly became the cornerstone of employment, forcing employers to make a quick decision on whether they would like to reimburse poor mothers or not. The lack of conditions welcoming the deployment of similar strategies made many authors argue for the elaboration of legislation that would support mother welfare and overcome the evidently conservative gender politics agenda. The current paper overviews two of the most vivid arguments on childcare written by Nancy Hirschmann and Theda Skocpol in order to define the possible advantages and flaws in their points of view.
Aligning Welfare Benefits against Skocpol’s Arguments
One of the key facts mentioned by Skocpol in her article was that the similarities between pensions and other types of welfare did not provide women with enough rights to equality and exposed them to even more challenges than before (427). At the time when that article was written, it could only mean that the similarities between female and male occupations were overlooked and not taken seriously by the government. The new types of social spending were ignored by supervision representatives because they were not sure about the possible success of such initiatives on a long-term scale. Accordingly, the leadership that was later established by the National Welfare Rights Organization could have prevented women from being perceived as unable to support themselves. This argument is crucial because it draws the line between being economically immobile and being a mother, which also means that single parents are not impractical for the state either.
The fact that Skocpol also argued about the Congress and its relationship with the courts and probation officers leaves room for the claim that public funding is a reasonable investment that cannot be ignored by the government. According to her, the practical importance of single parents (especially mothers) cannot remain without supervision owing to the increasingly high chances of keeping families intact (450). As a matter of fact, this approach to welfare became prophecy-like over time, as women started getting recognized more, and the number of their educational and job-related opportunities started increasing drastically. The idea that an unemployed man could be a better fit for the organization than his identical female counterpart started fading and the movement for women’s rights took a breath of fresh air. With the demand playing a bigger role than a person’s gender, it became more evident that welfare is not the only way to support women (especially single mothers) and display awareness.
Hirschmann’s Opinion on Welfare as an Update to Skocpol’s Viewpoint
When Hirschmann updated Skocpol’s argument on the subject of welfare, she approached the question from a different angle and bashed the government for the reform that turned welfare into a form of dependency that should have been cured in order to make women look better in the eyes of the US society (144). The key to her position was that the concept of feminism should revolve around changing the world’s perception of females and their responsibilities within the framework of such aspects of human lives as familial construction, societal contribution, professional successes, and interpersonal interactions. The existence of family-life balance finally became a thing in the government’s eyes and allowed for further updates that could support the strength of industrial capitalism. Therefore, it may be concluded that the existence of welfare became a universal need for households where it takes more resources than usual to carry out all the responsibilities and care for children or adults.
Similarly, the subjective view of social construction mentioned by Hirschmann could also be viewed as an essential change due to the government’s biased viewpoint as well (155). The false distinction between the so-called dependent and independent families became the essential obstacle on the way to establishing a correct governmental system where welfare could be perceived as a necessary asset and not a begged competitive advantage available to women. The policy established to support the welfare initiative was one of the most successful stages in US history that allowed for multiple further improvements and helped many women to combine parenting and waged work in the most appropriate manner.
Conclusion
The fact that parental responsibilities remain a private asset and not a social liability makes it easier to conclude that the current extent of the influence of welfare is not broad enough to include poor mothers in the discussion. In addition to this, men still tend to earn higher incomes on average, which makes it harder for women to compete for an identical state of affairs. The division of labor based on gender does not seem to affect today’s world as much as in the times of Skocpol and Hirschmann, but it should be claimed that caregiving tasks cannot be accurately aligned against welfare and vice versa. In other words, parenting responsibilities should not serve as a marginal concept that may only be manipulated to help women earn money while not working at all. Families with a single earner are seriously disadvantaged due to the lack of opportunities related to finding a high-paying job that would take parenting into consideration. Therefore, the pioneering works written by Skocpol and Hirschmann unlocked the potential of welfare and came up with a response to the pressing needs established by the community.
Works Cited
Hirschmann, Nancy. The Subject of Liberty. Princeton University Press, 2003.
Skocpol, Theda. Protecting Soldiers and Mothers. Harvard University Press, 1995.
The process of raising children and caring for them is quite complicated and tedious, and parents sometimes need extra help to look after their child. Certainly, at an early age, babies cannot be left alone because they are tied to mothers, and caring for them is an integral part of parental activities. However, a few years later, when a child is able to walk, talk, eat, and fulfill other needs, the participation of not only parents but also other persons is permissible.
According to Steinberg et al., the perception of the environment is formed from the very beginning of life, and contact with other people is an essential condition for development (111). For my child, I would choose standard daycare where he or she could be in contact with other children and, at the same time, receive appropriate help from nursery teachers.
I would like the daycare staff to be sufficiently qualified to ensure the safety of both my child and other children in the same group. Also, I would count on good nutrition with the sufficient content of all the necessary vitamins.
In order for a child to develop and not just spend time in daycare, it is essential for nursery teachers to involve children in various play activities. As Steinberg et al. argue, babies perceive the world through touching, and appropriate games for the development of fine motor skills would be helpful (116). Optimal daycare is a group of children of ten to twelve with two nursery teachers who have professional education in working with preschoolers. The environment should ensure that the child is ready to return there regularly. In this case, I could devote time to work and not just upbringing. Therefore, daycare is the optimal environment that promotes children’s education and communication.
Work Cited
Steinberg, Laurence, et al. Development: Infancy Through Adolescence. Cengage Learning, 2010.
For a long time, the US Navy has been suffering from a lack of capacity in childcare facilities more than other military branches, which creates additional problems such as long childcare waiting lists and additional budgetary costs.
Discussion
The US Navy has been suffering for decades from the insufficient capacity of childcare facilities.
It is necessary to note that this problem is also relevant for the civilian population and other US military branches, especially the Army. According to Werner (2019), “lack of available and affordable child care is a national issue for our generation; for our Navy, it is a critical readiness issue” (para. 4).
The COVID-19 pandemic gave humanity a lot of misery and sadness, as well as three good things. Increased international collaboration and public awareness are two of those three good things that the COVID-19 crisis brought to the world. The third one is that the event highlighted the issue of lack of capacity in the Navy childcare. The Department of Defense (DoD) Military Family Readiness Council expressed their concern and recommended expanding childcare capacity across all military sectors in fall 2020 (Military Times, 2020).
The reason for this increased attention from the internal organizations of the US DoD is apparent. The readiness of a warfighter directly depends on the well-being of their family (Military Times, 2020). Therefore, the DoD must provide military personnel with all the necessary needs and infrastructure, including childcare structures, to maintain the Navy’s full combat readiness.
Lack of capacity in childcare as a core problem creates additional ones. These are long childcare waitlists and additional budgetary spending. As of 2019, The US Navy had “9,000 infants and toddlers that its child care centers don’t have room for…” (Werner, 2019, p. 1). The US Navy needs to expand its capacity for childcare to address these interconnected problems successfully. Increasing the capacity of childcare requires significant financial costs associated with investing in new or existing child development centers and other related structures (Jowers, 2021).
The construction of new childcare installations requires not only big money but also time, usually from three to five years (Jowers, 2021). Moreover, it also needs an appropriate physical place (Congressional Research Service, 2019). The sphere of influence of the US Navy is vast, meaning highly variable terrain. Sometimes the future construction site requires adaptation, which also increases lead times and costs. Delay is unacceptable in Navy childcare’s current critical condition that is also complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Delay will not only accelerate the impending infrastructure crisis within the US Navy but will also exacerbate it. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a number of short- and long-term measures to start solving the major problem now.
Recommendation
Increase the salaries of the personnel of childcare facilities.
Hire more childcare providers in existing childcare installations.
Draw attention to and make the profession of a childcare provider more attractive by establishing and implementing recruitment incentives and retention payments. For example, US Army officials “implemented $1,000 recruitment incentives for family child care providers, as well as $1,000 retention payments” this spring (Jowers, 2021, p. 11).
Build new childcare infrastructure in places where capacity is most lacking and where the most significant number of military operations will be taking place in the coming decades. This measure has already been described above.
References
Congressional Research Service. (2020). Military child development program: Background and issues. Web.
Jowers, K. (2021). This is what the pandemic taught us about military child care. Military Times. Web.
Military Times. (2020). DoD council to recommend expanding military child care capacity. Military Officers Association of America. Web.
Werner, B. (2019). Navy child care waitlist for on-base services is 9,000 kids long. USNI News. Web.
The paper considers the problem of childcare for the military as one of the conditions for their retention. Since the influence and strength of the country depends on the state of the armed forces, military families need high-quality social security, including childcare. The significance of this policy direction is significantly increasing in the context of modern social problems associated with unemployment, military conflicts, and a pandemic. The paper reviews the primary child care programs offered by the US Department of Defense. However, there are significant problems regarding the care of the military’s children. As a solution to the problem of caring for children of military personnel, the idea of redistributing resources within the existing system is proposed.
Introduction
The state tries to provide various social support to the military since the security and well-being of the state depend on military service. The US authorities are interested in providing service members and their families with various benefits and privileges. According to Weiss and Castro (2018), the social protection of servicemen is primarily aimed at stimulating conscientious service and compensating for legislative restrictions on a number of their general civil rights and freedoms. Childcare problems prevent service members from obeying their duty and cause harm that makes them late or absent from work. Moreover, childcare problems can lead to dismissal from the army. Thus, comprehensive childcare for military personnel is an essential means of retaining skilled personnel and a key focus of the Department of Defense.
Main body
The family of a serviceman is a relatively specific social group, for which, along with the functions and problems common to any family, features are inherent in the military service. Congressional Research Service (2020) notes that in 2016, the Department of Defense had nearly 85,000 couples with two military personnel with children and 55,300 single parents. The importance of social protection of service members and their families, including childcare, is steadily increasing in current conditions. It is due to the aggravation of previously existing and the emergence of new social problems of society – unemployment, payment for medical and educational services, and loss of several social guarantees. Furthermore, the importance of childcare for the military is associated with the active participation of American military personnel in local wars, armed conflicts, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism operations. Especially the problem of childcare for the military has become more complicated due to the spread of COVID-19 and the introduction of quarantine measures for pupils of educational institutions. In contrast, military personnel is forced to fulfill their professional duties. Thereby, modern social trends actualize the problem of childcare for the military.
The main reason for the problem in the importance of safe and affordable childcare for the military is that there is a high likelihood of a decline in the productivity of military personnel. Weiss and Castro (2018) state that if parents are forced to put up with inadequate childcare or cannot find quality childcare, they may be distracted from their responsibilities or, in some cases, may not even come to work to take care of their children. Moreover, there is some evidence that childcare problems can influence retention decisions. Thus, the main reason for the need for comprehensive childcare for the military is its relationship to the performance of military personnel and their motivation for service.
The US Department of Defense offers childcare development programs on and off military facilities for children from birth to 12 years of age, including full-time, part-time, short-term, and intermittent education. Nevertheless, according to Covert (2017), the US Department of Defense policy states that childcare is not a right. It means that members of the service are not guaranteed childcare support from the US Department of Defense and must have appropriate care plans for their dependents. Therefore, the US Department of Defense’s Child Development Programs offer some childcare services.
The US Department of Defense’s primary childcare services include Child Development Centers (CDCs), Family Child Care (FCC), and School-age Care (SAC). CDCs provide childcare for children ages six weeks to five years, FCC provides childcare at home for children from four weeks to 12 years old, and SAC is looking after children after school or kindergarten, during holidays, and school closings. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Defense provides complimentary childcare through childcare programs and services that supplement the CDC and FCC programs to improve the availability of childcare services for the military.
United States military seamen are eligible for the United States Department of Defense Childcare Assistance. The Navy Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) fee assistance program is administered by Child Care Aware of America (CCAoA). Department of Defense (2020) affirms that members of the Navy can get help paying for childcare in the community where they live if they cannot access care in their institution. In addition, there is Navy EFM Respite Care, which provides Respite Care for Exceptional Family Member (EFM) and provides parents with the opportunity to rest and rejuvenate.
However, there are significant problems regarding childcare for military personnel. According to Congressional Research Service (2020), the need for childcare requires a more careful assessment and decision to expand the number of subsidized places and categories of military personnel that fall under the programs. On the other hand, Weiss and Castro (2018) note that children in care centers get sick more often than children receiving home care, leading to an increase in the time of absence from work for military parents. Thus, there is now growing recognition that the system needs to be changed to meet better the needs of the Department of Defense and military families.
One solution to improving childcare to retain the military may be to reallocate resources within the existing system at a constant cost. By following this strategy, the Department of Defense could potentially provide military benefits to more people and families, as well as provide types of care that have a tremendous advantage. According to Congressional Research Service (2020), reallocating resources could include redirecting money from the CDC to the FCC, addressing childcare benefits to different types of families, or focusing benefits on different types of care. Moving resources from a CDC service to other services, especially the FCC, can improve the system’s ability to meet readiness and retention needs.
The Department of Defense may also reallocate resources to provide more childcare benefits more equitably. To do this without increasing overall costs would require a reallocation of funds from those currently receiving a significant subsidy to those receiving little or no support. According to the Department of Defense (2020), while it is always tricky for an employer to remove or reduce existing benefits, it can be relatively easy to achieve in childcare because as children grow, families move from CDC, which is the most subsidized, to other types of services. In turn, Congressional Research Service (2020) notes that transferring resources from CDC to other care options can be a challenge, in part due to the requirements of the MCCA. Thus, reallocation of resources, although it has some disadvantages, is an effective method.
Conclusion
Therefore, childcare is an issue of the retention of the military. If parents are faced with inadequate quality childcare or cannot find care, they may not be able to cope with their responsibilities, be absent from the workplace, or even leave it. In turn, highly professional military personnel guarantee the strength and influence of the state, as a result of which, the provision of affordable childcare for the military is a vital direction of the state’s policy. The US Department of Defense maintains the largest employer-sponsored high-quality childcare system in the United States. Although the Department of Defense provides thousands of places for child military personnel every year through accredited Child Development Centers (CDCs), family orphanages, youth centers, and other extracurricular programs, this service sector has shortcomings and difficulties in functioning. One of the solutions to improve the quality of care for children of the military to retain them can be the redistribution of resources within the existing system.