If One More Person Calls Me A BABYSITTER...

[Meeko]

People think daycare is babysitting because honesty that is why they are paying you....to watch their child while they are at work. The teaching part is just a perk for them.

Most daycare is just babysitting. Yes, we own a business and we are professional in our field but that doesn't change the fact that we are watching kids in our homes because parents are out working.

Most of us aren't watching kids in our homes just so we could teach them....if we were, there wouldn't be so many posts/vents on here about how we are frustrated because a parent is bringing their child to us when they weren't at work.

I've never heard a teacher complain that Timmy was brought to school today but his parents aren't at work.....

Babysitters might be teenagers working for mall money but daycare providers are the same thing just adults who work for bill money.

Before everyone gets all hot under the collar and starts ranting about how we are all teachers etc etc. My opinions are mine and many might disagree with me (as is your right) but unless there is a degree on your wall and possibly a student loan in your budget/finances, we are care providers. Professional adults who provide child care (i.e babysitting services) for parents while they go to work.

We may teach the kids a boat load of things while in our care (and that is awesome) but the parents didn't seek out our services to teach their child anything......they might have been swayed by the "perks" of what you teach when choosing you over the next provider, but when the day comes to a end, we are being paid to watch their kids.

Call me what you want, I don't really care. Just respect my policies and pay me on time.
FWIW~ I have the degree and the student loan, but am licensed as a family child care provider NOT as a preschool center. Yes, I choose to teach the kids but that isn't why my dck's are here everyday.

I really, really want a "LOVE IT" button........

[Crystal]

I'm an Early Care and Education Professional. I am a Director, running an Early Care and Education Program. I am a Teacher, teaching children through the Reggio Emilia Approach, which I have studied in depth.

I don't sit on babies

I don't take care of days

I provide early care and education to 14 children for up to 12 hours a day.

I have a degree and am working on a Master's Degree in Human Development, and have hundreds if not thousands of hours in training, BUT, I did not call myself a babysitter even before I had all of that. I was an Early Care and Education Professional from the beginning.

[Unregistered]

Some of you need a reality check. Daycare provider is a fancy name for babysitter. Parents pay us to watch their child. We sit with their child while they are not able to do so. Don't we have other better things to fuss over?

[Michael]

Some of you need a reality check. Daycare provider is a fancy name for babysitter. Parents pay us to watch their child. We sit with their child while they are not able to do so. Don't we have other better things to fuss over?

Sorry, but this is an ignorant statement. All states require a minimum age of 18 (adult) and most require a license or registration. Standards are also strict and insurance is also required. I don't know many 15 year old babysitters that fall into that name label.

[sharlan]

To me, it's all semantics.

I don't really care how they refer to me, as long as they treat me with respect and call me.

[Crystal]

Some of you need a reality check. Daycare provider is a fancy name for babysitter. Parents pay us to watch their child. We sit with their child while they are not able to do so. Don't we have other better things to fuss over?

bwaaahhaahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!

No. I don't have better things to fuss over. I don't fuss about my families (I love them all) I don't fuss about my children (I love them all) I don't fuss about much of anything really. I absolutely love my work and am very flexible with my families.

When you work diligently day and night to provide a high quality environment and early learning experiences for children, spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to equip that program, spend thousands of dollars and hours on your education and training, etc. you've earned the right to a little respect and a title. Just because someone pays me to care for their children does not give them the right to treat me like a teenager. I am an adult and I consider this a career. I have worked hard to provide an AWESOME program for my families and children. I go above and beyond what most providers do. So, yes, I prefer not to be called a babysitter.

Anyways, I don't really even want to fuss over being called a babysitter. I think once in my almost 15 years of working with children I was called that and it was by a Grandmother who happened to pick up one day. No sweat off my back. BUT, I completely understand how the providers who dislike it feel.

I also believe if we want parents to treat us with respect, then we need to show them that we are professionals. We are not going to be considered as such if we don't believe it ourselves.

To those who want to be called babysitters, well, more power to ya!

[Crystal]

Sorry, but this is an ignorant statement. All states require a minimum age of 18 (adult) and most require a license or registration. Standards are also strict and insurance is also required. I don't know many 15 year old babysitters that fall into that name label.

Thank you.

[Country Kids]

Sorry, but this is an ignorant statement. All states require a minimum age of 18 (adult) and most require a license or registration. Standards are also strict and insurance is also required. I don't know many 15 year old babysitters that fall into that name label.

Thank you!!! Added insurance to my list.

[Kaddidle Care]

I'm a babysitter.

I think it's a great job.

hehe! I was a babysitter too - AND I taught ABC's and 123's. Colors, shapes.. eh - she was the daughter I never had and I treated her that way. She was much better behaved than my boys. ::

It kind of reminds me of

Secretary/Administrative Assistant
Stewardess/Flight Attendant
Cashier/Sales Associate

Don't let it rattle you. You all know you're worth millions in our eyes.

[SuzanneL70]

I do call myself a childcare provider. In some peoples eyes I maybe a babysitter but in my eyes I do much, much more than a babysitter.

I have to: Have cpr/first aid training
food handlers card
many hours of training a year
have my house inspected yearly by the STATE
Have to follow state guidelines
Have a Certificate of Registration hanging on my wall
Have permission slips for everything
Have childcare locks on most drawers and door handles in my home
Serve USDA food
background check for me and everyone over 18 in my home even if
they are not involved in the childcare
Work 11 hour day while the parents are at work
Have to be over the age of 18
I do it in my home

Those are just a few things I can think of right off the top of my head

A babysitter: Maybe have training through the Red Cross
Hopefully be over the age of 12
Eat the parents food
Text or be on the computor
Work possibly 2-4 hours
Go to the parents home


I think I have the right to call myself more than a babysitter. Also, I don't take care of babies.

No one ever calls a Nanny a babysitter! I think when you have a nanny it gives you some sort of prestige or something.

This is 100% EXACTLY how I feel about it!
However I don't think most parents are TRYING to be insulting when they say "babysitter"...they just don't understand the implications that word has to us, as Childcare professionals. It sounds undermining, like we're sitting on the couch eating bon bons and texting our friends while the kids are running amok, unattended. I bet its safe to say NONE of our dc parents think that is what we do even though they may use the word "babysitter". They just don't make the connection...or maybe I'm just wishful thinking... I don't know- I'd just like to think they respect us a little more than that.

[AnythingsPossible]

If we were babysitters, we would be paid more and it would be ok if we watched tv and talked on the phone while we were working. I would love to be paid what babysitters are paid around here!

[Blackcat31]

Some of you need a reality check. Daycare provider is a fancy name for babysitter. Parents pay us to watch their child. We sit with their child while they are not able to do so. Don't we have other better things to fuss over?

The thread about early drop offs wasn't interesting enough?

Discussing whether we are babysitters, caregivers and/or teachers sounds like a pretty good thing to fuss over to me.

Maybe it is posters like you that give "unregistered" folk the reputation they have? :confused:

[Zoe]

I will say that my daycare kids know what I am called. We were talking about what we wanted to be when we grow up and my DS and an angel SA that I take care of both said, "I want to be a childcare provider."

Made my day!

[Unregistered]

Sorry, but this is an ignorant statement. All states require a minimum age of 18 (adult) and most require a license or registration. Standards are also strict and insurance is also required. I don't know many 15 year old babysitters that fall into that name label.

We all watch people's children while they are gone, whether we call ourselves a daycare provider or a babysitter. It's irrelevant whether you need license and insurance to watch a child or you watch a child without it. You're both doing the same job....babysitting.

[Crystal]

From the NAEYC:

Who Are Early Childhood Professionals?
Professionals in the field of early childhood education include individuals who
provide direct services to young children (from birth through age 8) and their
families, as well as those who administer the programs in which these individuals
work and those who provide professional development for these individuals.
Early childhood professionals who provide direct services to children and families
include:
• Teachers, teacher assistants, and caregivers in:
o Campus children’s centers in two- and four-year higher education
institutions
o Child care programs
o Head Start and Early Head Start programs
o Kindergarten and primary grade programs (1st – 3rd grade)
o Out-of-school-time programs
o Part-day preschool or nursery schools
o Prekindergarten programs in schools and community-based agencies
• Family child care providers
• Early intervention specialists and others who provide education and care for
children with disabilities and their families
• Home visitors in Head Start, Early Head Start, and other programs
• Child life specialists (in hospitals and other therapeutic settings)
• Nannies who provide care for young children in the children’s homes
Early childhood professionals who administer programs include:
• Program directors, education managers, curriculum specialists, and others
who manage programs or have oversight responsibilities for classrooms in
the programs noted above
• Principals in public, charter, and private schools that serve children from birth
through third grade and their families
• Public and private agencies that administer family child care networks
Professional development providers for these individuals include:
• Faculty in two- and four-year and graduate programs in institutions of higher
education
• Adult educators / trainers in public and private organizations
• Child care resource and referral (CCR&R) agency staff
• Head Start / Early Head Start training and technical assistance providers
• Program administrators who provide training and technical assistance to their
staff
In addition, other early childhood professionals provide monitoring and support
services to program administrators and direct service providers, such as state
and local agency licensors and other early childhood agency staff, early
childhood specialists in state (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs), U.S.
Administration for Children and Families and U.S. Department of Education
program specialists, and others.