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I think that has something to do with some personal family cultures (espesually in cultures where woman are in charge of child care). We as a society are progressive in so many ways, but still regressive in many others. It's kinda like in that movie "Daddy Daycare" where everyone was saying it was weird for men to have a daycare. One night I got out of one of my child development classes and my mom noticed there was a few guys from that class and she said that it would make her uncomfortable to have a young kid being watched/taught by a man (she didn't seem to have issues when my brother and I were in school ?). My ECE teachers even said that they do have trouble getting more men in this field because many are either expected to pick more masculine careers or afraid of being seen as "creeps" if they show any interest in ECE/CD or implicated for abuse. One FCCP I used to work for, her daughter was looking for different daycare job in the same city (they were having mother/daughter work issues) and one FCC she went to was ran by a single dad and even her mom said that it didn't seem right- though from what we heard he didn't really set any rules (didn't make them wear shoes outside and would let them throw toys around- even at each other) but she did say it was odd that it was ran by a man and she got a bad feeling about it.
But their actually are a lot of positive aspects to having male involvment in the daycare (especially if the child is a boy and his father is not present at home). There are a lot more daycares now that are ran by married couples (literally mom and pop daycares); there is one in Carlsbad, CA I have seen the website and they charge an arm and a leg (up to $1200 a month per child; no sib discounts
) and are always full. My fiance shows lots of interest in my future business and always tries to give me suggestions/ideas for decor/furniture/toys. But he will still have his own career (not child related) and will be working outside of the home most of the time I am open.
I think it still takes some getting used to because even though more women are working and more men are staying home there is still a bit of a bias in this culture. But I think the question the OP's potential DCP was asking it might be more about knowing what your family and daycare dynamic is like and just wondering if he is supportive of your career or will be helping you or if you have an assistant. Of course it also depends on how she asks. But if you did say he was involved sometimes and she did say something like "thats weird/odd/creepy" than I would just tell her "I'm sorry but I don't think my daycare is right for you".
But their actually are a lot of positive aspects to having male involvment in the daycare (especially if the child is a boy and his father is not present at home). There are a lot more daycares now that are ran by married couples (literally mom and pop daycares); there is one in Carlsbad, CA I have seen the website and they charge an arm and a leg (up to $1200 a month per child; no sib discounts
) and are always full. My fiance shows lots of interest in my future business and always tries to give me suggestions/ideas for decor/furniture/toys. But he will still have his own career (not child related) and will be working outside of the home most of the time I am open.I think it still takes some getting used to because even though more women are working and more men are staying home there is still a bit of a bias in this culture. But I think the question the OP's potential DCP was asking it might be more about knowing what your family and daycare dynamic is like and just wondering if he is supportive of your career or will be helping you or if you have an assistant. Of course it also depends on how she asks. But if you did say he was involved sometimes and she did say something like "thats weird/odd/creepy" than I would just tell her "I'm sorry but I don't think my daycare is right for you".
But I do have a problem with the "Eeeww...men work in your daycare??" crowd. It's as if any man in daycare is automatically a complete pervert in their eyes. Hello!! Men are parents too!!! Are all fathers weird?!!! The best teachers all my kids had in elementary school were MEN!
My husband is great man. A military veteran and superb father. My son is a big teddy bear. The daycare kids adore them. The single moms, especially love that their kids get to be around kind, caring, honest moral men. Some of the kids have complete deadbeats for dads and seldom/never see them. So they love hanging on my guys and throwing a ball in the back yard.
My husband has even been known to take local kids to the park to play ball on Saturday mornings because their own dad's refuse to get out of bed.
I think people are missing out when they rule out men just because of gender. I started daycare on an Air Force base 28 years ago. One of the best providers was a man. His wife was active duty and a higher rank and it made financial sense for him to be the parent at home. He was great with kids and so started a home daycare. It was even more unusual back then than it is now. People were so weird about it at first. But he got to where there was a huge waiting list for his daycare. It was awesome.
If a prospective parent already thinks my son and husband are "creepy"....I don't want them in my home. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen. The kids are always hugging both my son and husband.. A mother who had "creepy" issues could easily accuse them of "touching" her daughter.
NOT worth it!
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