In North Carolina regulation regarding childcare are developed and administered by Child Care Commission under the Division of Child Development and Early Education. I have had the privilege to speak before the Child Care Commission on more than one occasion. I remember the first time. I was extremely nervous to be giving my opinion to who were in my opinion those who were the ultimate authority in North Carolina when it came to child care.
“The NC Child Care Commission is made up of seventeen members: seven appointed by the Governor, five by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and five by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. The members include parents, child care providers, a pediatrician, early childhood education specialists and general citizens. Child Care Commission Members are appointed to serve two-year terms. Members may be reappointed and can serve up to 4 consecutive terms for a total of eight consecutive years. The Child Care Commission meetings are held quarterly, generally in Raleigh” (State).
I was dumbfounded to discover many individuals on the Commission did not know the regulations they were in charge of. While I acknowledge the unlikelihood that any one person would be familiar with ALL the regulations, the idea that those in charge of the regulations did not know many of the basics was mind bending.
As an administrator responsible for one center by North Carolina Regulations I am responsible for adhering to all North Carolina regulations. To do this I would obviously have to know these regulations. Given this is it not reasonable to expect the same from those in charge of making the regulations?
Although public forums are scheduled by the Child Care Commission to hear from the public in regards to any rule. The dates of these forums are posted on their website but as the majority of the public is not even aware of the website nor that the Commission exists it is not likely many will attend.
If the ‘rule makers’ had a better understanding of all the regulation it would eliminate some of the unnecessary and or redundant regulations. In addition a true collaboration between those working in the field, the families the programs serve and those making the rules would make a better environment for the children we serve.
A large portion of child care regulations focus on safety. While ensuring our youth is safe is good, there can be too much of a good thing. “Fundamental changes in workforce participation have mean that the majority of parents are now working and cannot be at home throughout the day when their children are very young” (Kagan & Kauerz, 2012). These children are spending a large amount of their time in a structured environment. Within these programs regulations require we keep them “safe”. The results are the children are not allowed to take risks. I think of my own childhood when we would climb trees and build forts. I can remember being as young as four and climbing a tree. Yes, I climbed higher than any adult would have allowed me. I took a risk. In fact I did this often. It was one of my favorite activities as a child. Children learn valuable lesson from taking risks. By taking risks, children learn the pleasure of success and the coping skills to conquer the frustrations of failure and the skills to persevere. Eppler-Wolff explains, “We know from both the research and looking at this generation that has been so overprotected, it’s certainly detrimental. If you can’t take risks, development is going to falter. You’ve got to get out of that place of comfort and complacency.” (Davis & Eppler-Wolff. 2009).
While we need to develop programs that keep children safe we need to work to develop them in such a way to allow our children to take risks. Children must be given a chance to engage freely in play so they can learn to evaluate their own skills. No one wants to see a child injured. We must remember that creating an environment that is overly safe can create a different kind of danger. Having children growing up in a risk-free environments can result in children that have little experience with risk-assessment. These skills are necessary for them to match their skills with the demands of the environment. As a result, many children have become very timid and are reluctant to take risks. Programs need to be developed that allow children experience taking risks AND remain safe. Working together early childhood professionals, parents and state officials can develop environments that do this.
Administering an early childhood program can be very isolating. As most program are operational for eleven or twelve hours a day, long days are typical for many administrators. As the person in charge the director often has no one to turn to when problems arise. For a new administrator this can be overwhelming. The same is also true for new teachers. Having a mentoring program can be a valuable resource for the new and experienced early childhood professional. “Mentoring programs offer new teachers and providers a practical and supportive way to learn and grow on the job. For experienced teachers and providers, mentoring programs create an opportunity to remain in the field and advance in their profession.” (Bellm, 1997).
Working with local agencies such as The North Carolina Partnership for Children and Smart Start in collaboration with the community colleges mentoring programs could be initiated throughout the state. As quoted in Kagan and Kauerz text Early Childhood Systems,” there is now ample evidence that “one-shot” workshops are generally ineffective, but that job-embedded professional development, especially individual technical assistance such as coaching and mentoring, mat predict improved teaching practices and child outcomes” (2012).
As an early childhood professional, my primary goal will be to continue improving the care our children are receiving. The three items above are a ‘tip of the iceburg’. While many programs are offering excellent care, we need all programs to offer the best possible environment for our children to thrive in. Every child deserves the best we are able to give.
Bellm, D. (1997). The Early Childhood Mentoring Curriculum: A Handbook for Mentors. National Center for the Early Childhood Work Force, 733 15th Street, NW, Suite 1037, Washington, DC 20005-2112; e-mail: mentor@ ncecw. org.
Davis, S., & Eppler-Wolff, N. (2009). Raising children who soar: A guide to healthy risk-taking in an uncertain world. Teachers College Press.
Kagan, S. L., & Kauerz, K. (Eds.). (2012). Early childhood systems: Transforming early learning. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
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Hi Marjorie,
“Don’t climb on that you might fall down”, are words that I here from staff members. I agree with you, children are not being allowed to take risk. Teachers and assistants especially new staff personnel are afraid to let children take risk because if a child falls and breaks an arm or something else they are scrutinized by the principal, many reports have to be emailed through chain of command and depending on the accident an investigation is made by the department of children services. Some parents might want to sue the teacher or the school even though they are protected, a teacher can feel overwhelmed. “Risk taking is an important skill – every kid needs to learn how to stretch themselves, how to do something that they are a little scared of doing because they haven’t done it before.” (Rende, 2014).
This in turn goes back to the policy makers that implement the procedures to follow when children have accidents at school. The chain of command is followed and many teachers are scared and feel helpless. Policy makers really need to understand the field of early childhood education before they accept the position.
Reference
Rende, R. (2014). Hands Off, Eyes On: Letting Kids Take Risks They Can Handle. Retrieved from www. Parents.com/blog/red hot parenting/
I can tell you from experience, in North Carolina if a child is injured the center will likely be cited. It is hard to balance protecting the center and allowing children to take risks.
Marjorie – Thanks for an informative (and also disturbing) post. I have found also that legislators in my state (Washington) are largely unaware of the laws they are supposed to understand… There’s plenty of work to do!