This morning while on the treadmill I was watching CBC News World. As I am sure you are all aware the city of Toronto is in the throws of a city worker strike. The segment focused on the garbage strike but for a few minutes they talked about the 2800 daycare children that have also been affected.
My interest was peaked when the segment turned to a working mom who has since been forced to stay home with her two children while her daycare closed due to the strike. There are shots of her children, happily playing in the park while she looks on, checking emails and texting from her Blackberry. The mom conveys her dismay at having to care for her two children while attempting to "stay in touch" with the office. Up until this point I can commiserate with her. It must be difficult to suddenly find yourself out of work as a result of a third party grievance. However, it was the next thirty seconds that left me running at 4.5 mph all the while shaking my head. Once again, my opinions were validated. People honestly do not understand the responsibilities we face each day.
In the last thirty seconds of the segment two sentences struck a nerve with me. The first sentence followed an explanation by the woman about her now, jobless days. She told the reporter that her day was filled with entertaining, cooking, and caring for her two boys. And, this in turn made her "exhausted at the end of the day". For now, I'll just leave that sentence with you to ponder.
The second sentence that really struck a nerve with me was after she conveyed to the reporter that she has researched her options. Apparently this mother has contacted a temp agency to hire a professional caretaker for her children. The mother did not follow through on this idea as, in her words, "they charged $22 an hour!". Now, if that statement is not enough I will also tell you that had you seen this clip yourself you would have had the benefit of also seeing the body language that accompanied those words. The mom had a look of shock and dismay on her face when announcing that ridiculous rate to the reporter. And, my guess is that she did not even take into account that the actual provider would receive but a fraction of that $22.
So, going back to the first quote and closely followed by the second, I have to ask the question; if it's "exhausting" for a mother to care for her own TWO kids then what makes it so ridiculous for a caretaker to earn $22 an hour to care for a stranger's children? Maybe I'm daft but I just don't understand.
I often read message board threads by parents who complain about the cost of daycare. Of course, this takes into account that, for the most part, they are only paying the low cost of about $3-$4 per hour of care for their child. And then the inevitable occurs - a daycare provider will pipe in and "educate" these parents on the true value and cost of care. This information always leads to some parent stating that earning $20 an hours is "a lot of money to stay at home". Sigh. Am I the only one who sees the correlation between what typically is said of home daycare providers and the statement made by the parent on the CBC segment? Now there's a double standard staring you in the face. It's "exhausting" to stay at home and care for your own two kids but it's "ridiculous" to think that a provider earns a gross of $20 an hour to care for five kids. Hmmm...I must be living in a parallel universe.
When will parents realize the value of good daycare? When will we be viewed as more than just temporary kennel keepers? When will people start to value daycare workers' wages and benefits more than those who pick up our garbage? I value the garbage man. Honestly, I do. I could never do his job. He deserves to be paid more. But, sadly, I don't see too many people standing up with their signs in the streets demanding that daycare workers be paid more. Where is the balance? You can't find the balance because it's non-existent.
I think the strike in Toronto might be the best thing that ever happened to Torontonian daycare employees. Perhaps their hiatus away from their jobs will allow them the time they desperately need to regroup and recharge. And maybe, just maybe, in that time the parents will also realize their value. How many days do you have to experience exhaustion caring for your own two kids before you start to understand? Of course, the daycare workers will earn their new wages and benefits many times over on their first week back to work. I don't envy the over-tired, grumpy kids lacking naps and routine during their time away that they will be forced to deal with. But hey, that's why they get paid the big bucks.
To all the Torontonian daycare workers on strike I have this to say; hang in there, enjoy your time off and know that Judy stands behind you. Good luck and I sincerely hope the strike benefits you. You work hard and deserve to be compensated likewise.
For concerns, advice or suggestions I welcome your email at judytrickett@yahoo.ca
Precise and Excellently said Judy! My only wish is that everyone in Ontario could read this. Many thanks!
ReplyDeletethat's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a long time, the mother who was going to hire a temp to watch her kids because she was exhausted! She should never have had those kids in the first place!!! You know I sat down at the end of 2008 and figured out my wage per hour over the course of the year and after I paid my expenses it was well under minimum wage in my province! Something like $7 per hour. Sure it looked somewhat decent before I factored in my food and other bills, it was about $13 per hour which is what I would most likely max out at if I were employed outside the home in a similar work environment that I was in off and on between my daycare days. Each year at tax time, I end up netting only about 53 percent of my gross pay. And I am a frugal kind of gal when it comes to meals and snacks and craft supplies etc. Unfortunately we do our fair share of hotdogs and KD in this house lol.
ReplyDeleteYet again another woman who wants the best care available for her child (although apparently she's not the one to give it), but won't pay for it.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I find it sad that this woman has no family or friends that could help her out at least one day a week. I'm sure she is a big-time networker on her blackberry for work, but never even considered expanding that networking web to include back up care for her children.
It's not uncommon in my community for some providers in my neighbourhood to close for the summer and give their parents a list of students who are babysitting. They'll pay the student between $30 & $40 per day, depending on the number of kids and the children get to hang out in their own home for the day.
But perhaps that above option wouldn't make that woman into enough of a martyr and she wouldn't be able to be on t.v. to bitch about how difficult things are for her.
I don't know. The idea of getting to spend my summer outside on an extended vacation playing with my kids sounds great to me :0) That's probably why I'm a daycare provider. I can't imagine being cooped up in an office all summer.
ReplyDeleteStill I know what you mean about being undervalued. Most parents could not do what we do, but still there seems to be this stereotpe that all daycare providers are unskilled, uneducated people who stay home because they can't get a better job.Certainly not worth 20$/hour. Couldn't possibly be that we are highly educated people who provide care because we enjoy it? Nah that's too easy
Judy, I gotta say i'm an avid reader of your blog. I found it when you posted the link on kijiji at a time when I was scouring the web for a daycare provider for my little girl, who my husband and I took turns staying at home with for the first 2.5 years of her life.
ReplyDeleteMy little one hasn't headed off to daycare yet, she is starting next week, but I have spent a few minutes each day for the last few months reading your musings and have really enjoyed it. Yes I know that a lot of it is directed at unappreciative and lame daycare parents, but I think that's why I like it. I want to know what it is like to be a daycare provider, because I'm going to be leaving my little girl with one every day. And I'd like to be known to our provider as the Mom who "gets it". I think your blog helps me "get it".
I will always remember the first day I took my girl for a gettin' to know you "play morning" at the new provider's place. We went around to the backyard and some part of me expected to find this harried woman being run ragged by 6 kids. Instead, she had three kids up in swing chairs, a couple of the girls were playing in a playhouse, and another little boy was climbing on a playcenter. All happy, all content, all totally managed confidently, calmly, and quietly by our amazing new provider. I knew right then that she was a special person with a special talent, and that it was something that was worth MONEY.
She'll always have my respect for what she does all day, and the real "class" with which she is able to do it.
If you keep writing, I'll keep reading!
~Tanis
Tanis, that was a really nice comment! I wish more parents were like you!! Yesterday at our Canada Day celebrations, we were sitting in our chairs watching kids all around us have fun, and this woman who has a boy in my son's class was sitting next to me and we were chatting about childcare and summer and work in general and I was telling her how this is the best time of year for a provider, I absolutely love my afternoons in the sun at our local playpark with the kids. She looked at me like I was nuts and then asked me if I really enjoyed what I do for a living. I'm wondering if she is among those people who think I am just another woman who can't land herself a 'real' job and settles for staying home with her kids for a living.
ReplyDelete@junglejen
ReplyDeletePerhaps this woman was just curious? Why would you assume most people think you are "just another woman who can't land a real job?" I've never heard of people automatically assuming this of childcare providers.
Well said about the mom stuck without care. BUT....when city run daycare workers make $50K+ a year, get their schooling reimbursed, have RRSP contributions, GREAT health coverage, get 2-4 weeks vacation and 30+ sick days that carry over for life, I say, I am NOT sympathetic to there "plight".
ReplyDeleteLMM