You Are Required to....???

[nanglgrl]

In Iowa we have to take 12. I participate in Childnet so I have to take 16. At least 6 of the hours have to be in a group setting and CPR/1st Aide/MANDT do not count towards those hours.

I don't think the classes help most of the people that really need it. People are only required to show up, they don't have to actually understand the material or follow it. I'm not saying they don't help anyone. I'm sure there are some providers that still have no idea that babies are supposed to sleep on their backs, without blankets, etc. but seriously unless these providers live in a shack without electricity in the middle of nowhere they probably just aren't fit to be a provider. It's just common knowledge these days.

I find the classes incredibly boring and sometimes insulting. They talk to the providers like they are children. They teach the classes at an 8th grade level because that's where they think most providers are intellectually. At a recent class I took my seat and there was a binder, some pamphlets and a piece of blue paper folder in half. I asked the person next to me what the paper was for and the instructor overheard and replied, "that's for you to write your name on and fold in half in front of you, I know it's all pretty confusing isn't it?" -She said this with a sing song voice as if she were talking to a child confused about the obvious and it took all I had not to walk out.

I'm sure some states have awesome trainings and trainers. The ladies that do our trainings are nice and educated but most of them have never done daycare and have no idea what we do all day. Some of the trainings aren't horrible but for the most part they are just common sense.

I've sat through trainings where there are providers that have been in business 10, 20, 30 plus years. They've taken over 100 hours of training in that time on child development and they still have no idea.
The people that are on this board are seeking information and therefore being educated. Who better to get information from than other providers? I've been in classes where people say outrageous things but no one calls them out on it they just move on to the next thing...here if you say something ridiculous you end up with a 5 page thread....I hope I didn't just put myself into one of those moments. :: Sorry, I'm just feeling a little beat up by this job right now. Not the kids or even the parents but I just wish there was a way to weed people out of this profession who had no business getting into it in the first place. Sigh.

[Starburst]

Sorry, I'm just feeling a little beat up by this job right now. Not the kids or even the parents but I just wish there was a way to weed people out of this profession who had no business getting into it in the first place. Sigh.

Well some people just want to do this profession not because they like working for kids but because they think it is an easy way to make money; IMO if any type of job seems too easy than they are probably forgetting something or doing something wrong, though there are some people who are just born naturals and are very organized. But the good thing is that most of the people who think this is a get rich quick type of job usually fade out after a year or two because they were not prepared for the stress of dealing with kids or parents or the actual work involved in the maintenance of the home/license and the work after hours to set up.

[slorey]

In NY we have to have 30 hours if training every 2 years for both family child care as well as center employees. The first 15 hours need to be in the first 6 months of employment someplace new. After that, you can space it out however you want. When I had my ds 2 years ago I procrastinated on doing the training and ended up having to do almost all 30 hours online over the course of a weekend right before my license expired! It wasn't fun and I probably would not do that again, but it worked for the time.
We also have 9 areas and have to have training for each area:
1. Business Record Maintenance and Management,
2. Child Abuse & Maltreatment Identification & Prevention,
3. Child Day Care Program Development,
4. Identification, Diagnosis & Prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome,
5. Nutrition & Health Needs of Children,
6. Principles of Child Development,
7. Safety & Security Procedures,
8. Statues & Regulations Pertaining to Child Abuse & Maltreatment,
9. Statues & Regulations Pertaining to Child Day Care.
It sounds worse than it really is because we only have to make sure our training covers all topics, but many classes cover more than one area. Our local Child Care Council offers many classes throughout the year and usually do a pretty decent job with them, although after being in childcare for almost 15 years, most of it is just review of information for me. But, still helpful to have a refresher course. Forgot to mention, family child care providers are also required to have current CPR and First Aid, but those training hours can count towards to total training hours needed so it's not that bad.