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Did you ever work in a Center? What was the experience? I worked in one and it was the most terrible work experience of my life, all my co-workers felt the same way. My sister works in another center and is the same story. Why do some centers treat their employees so bad?
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I work in a Center and I think it's because with low pay comes a bit of disrespect. The one I work for is Non-Profit so I really can't compare it to others. In fact it's the only one I've ever worked for. -
I did my high school and college field placements in daycare centers because I had planned to work in a center. I quickly learned that I did not like the daycare center atmosphere. I didn't like the large group, the politics, the cattiness and gossiping of the workers or how they treated the children but most of all, I hated the unbending structure. If the kids were having a blast playing dress up, they would have to stop just because the clock said it was time to do puzzles. I much prefer caring for children in a home atmosphere where there's some flexibility, no politics, no gossip or crap from other workers, etc.Doing what I love and loving what I do.Comment
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I worked in a daycare center for 1/2 of a day and quit at lunchtime.
It was a very reputable place in our area!
The kids walked around with snotty noses and no one wiped them. The staff never washed their hands (theirs or the kids) before or after diaper changes.
The kids would drop food all over the floor and then just eat it, share it with eachother, etc.
I was disgusted and walked out.
Of course when the parents came everything was "on."
I swore my kids would never go to a daycare center ever.Comment
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I have worked in two centers (when I was getting my college degree).
One was horrendous (and is a very popular daycare chain, The Children's Courtyard) and one was just fine. Not the most amazing place, but not the worst place to work in the world either.
I took off 1 day to miscarry a baby at The Children's Courtyard, and they called me up at the end of it and said, "Are you coming in tomorrow?" I had to tell them no, I was still miscarrying. They replied, "Aren't you DONE yet?!"
I also reported someone that I knew was abusing children to many people higher up at The Children's Courtyard and she wasn't fired until 2 years later. She knew just where the cameras wouldn't be able to see her. Seriously.Comment
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When we left the Air Force and moved back here, I took a job opening early just on Saturdays (5AM) at a local center. It was horrendous. As the kids (mostly just dumped by parents who wanted to go back to bed) went back to sleep....I busied myself cleaning the filth. I found a moldy, half eaten jar of baby food in the block box. I could only find a handful of crayons and when I asked the girl who came in at noon about it....she told me the owner didn't like replacing things and that's all they had.
The bathrooms were a health hazard, so was the kitchen. I went home with raw knuckles and cried. The following week, I arranged for licensing to show up while I was there. I showed them around and they they were dismayed. I called the owner, told him to get down there and when he expected me to help him make excuses, I gave him a piece of my mind and told him I was the one who called licensing (they don't normally go out on weekends) and I quit. sad to say, he did just enough to amend the huge long list licensing gave him and is still in business today. It's sickening.
After that, I got a job in another center and spent three glorious years there. Great owners, great staff. I only left because my last daughter was born and I wanted to be home with her. I still pop in when I have time and see the owners and their kids. They knew I was leaving to do home day care and they were very happy for me. It wasn't great pay...but the work atmosphere was wonderful.Comment
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yes and it was horrible. I can't even write about it.Comment
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I worked in one well known and big center, they have 3 different centers. My coworkers where fine, one or 2 just would not get along with me but it did not bother me. What I could not stand is how they treated us, I mean, staff crying all the time because they would be so hard on us,I just hated it. Hate how structured they are with the kids, they are kids in day care not teenagers in school. My co-worker use to call it "baby boot camp"Comment
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I know, we could write a book about terrible things in DC, one thing I know is that as a parent, if I knew how the staff is treated and how the kids are treated and the real things that happen in there; I would not give money to a place that makes the person that cares for my child miserable.Comment
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I think it must depend on the type of center that it is. We have a daycare center on the city college campus where you must volunteer at in order to complete your CD AA and even there they say the same things that have been discussed here. However we have a RIE center on base in the next town over that I was able to observe and it was so calm and soothing. The kids were very happy and you just feel their contentment and bond with the childcare providers. They had low numbers and it was all child led, it was very nice. The staff all seemed happy and said that they loved what they did, it was very impressive. Their whole theory revolves around being an "educarer" vs an "educator" where the child is respected as an individual, even infants.Comment
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I worked in a not-for-profit centre which is basically the "cream of the crop" in terms of daycare employment. My pay was gov't subsidized so I was making 3X what others were making in for-porfit daycares. I also got wonderful benefits and paid into a pension plan. My salaray was similar to a teacher. Depending how long you were there you had the potential to make upwards of $65K with 5-6 weeks of vacation. It was pretty sweet. Most of the people there had been there for 20+ years because you had to 'earn' your way in by doing years of supply and building up your seniority.
At for-profit daycares it seems that employess are treated like crap! I worked in one for a total of 2 months. The guy who owned the centre was an Engineer and didn't have a clue. Just hired some recent ECE graduate to run the centre and then hired relatives to work there. It was a disaster to say the least. At one point they were making a young girl sit in her own vomit to 'teach her a lesson' and I completely lost it on them. In the end I got recruited by the not-fot-profit and they didn't want me to go. The owner told me he'd offer me a bigger salaray and when I told them the starting rate at the other centre his jaw dropped and he said he just couldn't compete with it. High turnover rates in for-profits for sure!Comment
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Look, ladies, I am not going to say that ALL CENTERS ARE HORRIBLE! Yes, some are, but not all. I pride myself in having a small, very clean, very well run center. With only 15 children to three staff members, our ratios are super low, and our employee is paid well, treated with respect and loved by the children. We have a stellar reputation with extremely low staff and student turnover. Those that know me here know I get upset with center- bashing. Sweeping generalizations hurt. There are horrible home daycares as well, but I would never say that here. I have a child enrolled that came from an absolute nightmare of a home daycare where she was mistreated, but I wouldn't make sweeping generalizations based on that one place. I know as a "center person" I am WAY outnumbered here, Hunni Bee the only other one I know. Huge centers with high ratios and poorly paid staff and negligent directors do exist, but we are NOT all like that. Sigh. Hurt. Looking for some affirmation and support here please! OP, really, centers can be good places to work. Some children love their center, mine do.Comment
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