In defence of child care educators

Yet again another day where another politician derides the work of the child care industry. David Lleyonhjelm decided to use Channel Ten's The Project to attack the child care sector as being where the only things child care workers do is 'wipe kids noises and stop them from killing each other'

A pretty vacuous and ignorant remark made worse on Sunrise by Australia's favourite flame haired politician Pauline Hanson agreeing with him. Now I am willing to bet neither have spent a day in a child care facility to understand what the good educators both men and women do within child care facilities.

I have spent time in child care centres before a mental health issue struck and I left, interacting with children and observing what a child care educator does so I like to thing I can help Lazy Lleyonhjelm and Hazy Hanson learn a lot about what child care educators actually do.

1.  Child care workers don't just spend the day watching the children for no reason other than to make sure they don't kill each other, they make observations on each individual child's interests and developmental needs so that when the child is playing, the educator can wotk with the child on that developmental need. Eg: If the child is struggling with language and the child is interested in dinosaurs, the educator might use an age appropriate book on dinosaurs to help improve the child's language.
2. Create lesson plans and play times that see children not only have fun but they learn and grow socially and emotionally. After all not all children have siblings at home where they can easily learn to share and believe me child care is a great place to help children uinderstand that they aren't the only ones who want to play with the duplo or with the playdough.
3. Educators foster the children's imagination. Heck, I once taught a group of children about a purple peg being a human being and having real emotions and that there were friendly dinosaurs. 
4. Prepare the young ones for the big leap that is big school. School is terrifying enough for a young child. Imagine how terrifying it would be if you weren't prepared for it or behind the other children in your class. Child care educators ensure that the children have a knowledge of 1-10 and know the alphabet.
5. Talking to parents about behaviours observed and what the parents see when the children are at home with them and any concerns the parents
6. Ensure the safety of the children, not just supervising so they 'don't kill each other' but making sure they aren't putting things in their mouths that they shoudn't, checking play equipment for anything that the children might hurt themselves on
7. To that end if a child does hurt themselves or winds up with a virus. At least one educator needs to care for that child until Mummy or Daddy can come and take the sick child home.
8. Report child abuse or neglect.
9. Keep up with changes to the early childhood education curriculum
10. Also keep up with changes in relation to federal and state laws surrounding child care. 
11. Educators more often that not deal with having to teach children right from wrong because a minority of parents cannot be bothered
12. Train students who want to work in the childcare sector
13. If the centre doesn't have a chef. Staff have to check what the children are bringing to child care is healthy and nutritous for them.
14. Handle nap time and any children whose parents have requested that they not have a nap.

In fact educators in the child care centre deal with a heck of a lot more and there's no doubt they go home some days, tired, stressed and emtional while being criminally underpaid given they are also preparing a child for the future in same ways much like school days.

So David and Pauline, childcare more than wiping noses and somehow killing each other (the children tend to kill each other with cuddles if I am completely honest). How about respecting the work a child care educator does instead of deriding it?. Because unlike most politicians, child care workers do an honest day's work instead of ripping off the tax payer to go watch polo matches, buying expensive apartments on the Gold Coast or overseas junkets for no other reason than a taxpayer funded holiday.

Then again its probably ignorance on the part of Lleyonhjelm and Hanson, maybe they should go to a child care centre in Canberra or wherever they come from and see the hard work that our underpaid childcare educators put in so to stop their ignorant bleating in mainstream media.