Assistant Questions

[PeanutsGalore]

Don't forget ladies....Nan never said that overweight people cannot do childcare period...

Yes, Cheerfuldom, she did. Her exact words were: "It would be impossible to do this with an extra 80."

... My assistant is overweight (sorry if thats too blunt) but I only have 6 kids max here. If I was running a larger program, she may not have the stamina and capabilities to keep up with kids as well. Thats just the honest truth. When a job requires physical health and stamina, a person who is not fit and healthy has a harder time doing it, that doesn't make it impossible, just harder. Why is that offensive?

It's not offensive. You didn't say the same thing Nan did. You're just pointing out a fact without making it a blanket statement that makes it true for all fat people. Nan went beyond that by describing how she discriminates, which is what I take issue with.

Listen, there's nothing wrong with pointing out the truth. There's nothing wrong with noting that someone who is overweight may be out of shape. There is no question that the size of your body affects what you can do and how you can do it. I'm not even arguing that. The question isn't one of obesity though; it's body size and type, in conjunction with overall health. Slim people can be unfit and out of breath after walking a flight of stairs, someone who is really short may have issues getting a baby in and out of a crib safely--especially with the new laws getting rid of drop sides, a super tall person may lift a baby too high and hit it's head on the ceiling or god forbid, bump it into a ceiling fan, and yes, the overweight may have trouble seeing their own feet. But so may a woman who is really well-endowed, but otherwise slim. In fact, none of the health issues or concerns that have been outlined in this post are specific to obesity or being overweight, not even the fact that someone has to wheel around in order to be mobile. An extremely obese person may have to have wheels in order to be mobile, but so does someone who has no legs. We can't discriminate against either of them. What we do have the right to do is test their individual ability to do the job that we're offering, and if they can't do it in the way we need them to do it, they shouldn't be hired, because it's an important job. But they shouldn't be discriminated against.

My question to you Peanut is this: Have you ever had a staff assistant? Have you ever advertised for one? Have you ever done the interviewing necessary?

I have been interviewing, both for an assistant and for a babysitter for my own child. Which is why I jumped into this thread, to see if anyone had any suggestions, because I can't even seem to find people to show up for the daggone interviews, and nobody has completed the process. And none of them were overweight.

I have had several staff assistants and Nan isn't trying to discriminate based on obesity. She's simply stating that overweight individuals can not perform the job requirements as efficiently as another person.

Take this for example:

You have a staff assistant that you pay $8.00 an hour for. Just to do diaper changes on 8 children, it takes you a total of 16 minutes. That's 2 minutes per child to get the child/lay them down/undress/change/dress and back to play. Say your assistant is 275 lbs. It takes her a total of 40 minutes to change diapers and you change all the kids 5 times a day! Would you rather pay $10.66 per day to change diapers or pay $26.66? That's a difference of 2 hours per day! 2 hours per day times 5 times a week times 52 weeks in a year is equivalent to an additional $4160 a year!!!!

But this is the point...what does this have to do with weight? What, do her arms weigh 3000 lbs apiece and make it difficult for her to change a diaper? Maybe she's just slow! You've never seen a skinny person move slow?

All people come is all different shapes and sizes and everyone does things differently. However, working for Nan, she has a very structured system & there is a particular way she wants things done. It's proven effective for her for this long so why fight it.

We are all entitled to hire who we want but if you think obesity and childcare aren't hand in hand, you are mistaken. There is a center right across the street and those women are very large! There is no crime against being obese but it does limit abilities.

Would you rather hire someone that can see their feet while carrying an infant down the stairs or someone that can't even make it up or down the stairs without being out of breath?!

I never said that. I never said that obesity never impacts ability to care for a child. It can. But it doesn't always in every case. It's not that obesity DOES limit abilities, it's that it CAN. There's a difference.

I don't particularly care if someone can see their feet. I haven't seen my own feet since I developed breasts, and that has nothing to do with weight. You know what? I figured out how to walk up and down the stairs without tripping over my own feet a long time ago. I also manage to get up and down the stairs with multiple babies in hand with no problem. Not something I would choose to do, because who wants to run up and down the stairs with babies all day long, but if there were an emergency, I could scoop up 3 babies at once and get them to safety quickly, because I've thought about how to do it, have a plan, and practice it! And so should anyone of any size.

I understand Nanny's point about obesity hindering the provider's ability to effectively work with children. I don't neccessarily agree that it affects ALL obese workers, but it does happen. ...Just know that I don't discriminate based on size, but I happen to agree that obesity CAN effect our work with children.

Thank you for stating the point in a reasonable way! Why would anyone blast you?

[nannyde]

I conducted a FCCERS assessment on a program where the provider was morbidly obese. Her work with the children was so limited that she used a desk chair on wheels to get around the entire three hours I was there. So, yes it can and does have an impact on working with children.

Crystal

How would she be able to evacuate the kids in an emergency and then be able to attend to them right after the emergency until help arrived?

[actaktmdt]

Start with what the centers in your area pay entry level staff and take it from there. If she brings a kid... that's another story.

If she brings a child it would be one that would transfer from her home dc to mine. She her self is single, never married no kids of her own. She's done her own daycare for 15 years. She owns a small house and asked licenseing to make her # small which is why I think she's having a difficult time geting full. She's wonderful with kids and my daughter went to her when I was working out of my home.

[nannyde]

If she brings a child it would be one that would transfer from her home dc to mine. She her self is single, never married no kids of her own. She's done her own daycare for 15 years. She owns a small house and asked licenseing to make her # small which is why I think she's having a difficult time geting full. She's wonderful with kids and my daughter went to her when I was working out of my home.

Would she continue to get the money for the kid she brings or would that go to you?

Where I live a home provider who can only have a few kids can make more money than they could make working for me.

It's risky to have her bring in a kid and have that kid be under your policies and your decision making. What happens when you disagree with what should be done with the child.

In my world that would happen within the first couple of hours of working with someone who had experience with a kid and a former relationship with the parents. My staff assistants duties do not include ANY kind of parent contact. The most contact she has beyond meeting them in interviews is when she sees them at the door when she brings kids to me.

I don't take children that are referred by my staff assistant or related to her in any way. Nothing personal... just want everyone to be on an equal footing when decisions must be made. I also really want to protect the confidentiality of everyone here. So for me... it's best to keep the relationships separate.

"I" couldn't manage that but that's not to say you can't.

Have you asked her what salary she wants and what hours she wants? I would NOT consider the income she brings with the child because she can't guarantee that income tomorrow.

Also consider that being wonderful with children may not actually translate to working well with you. I've seen MANY friends go into business with each other and have it fall apart with a lot of bad feelings. You also should really really consider WHY she is so experienced and so awesome with kids and why she can't make it right now. Even with a small set up she has been successful for 15 years. What changed?

Not to be gloom and doom... I've also heard of partnerships working out. I think we have a few on this board where providers are working with other providers and it's working out. Crystal is and I think Country, Meeks and Shug

[wdmmom]

[QUOTE=PeanutsGalore;131802]

But this is the point...what does this have to do with weight? What, do her arms weigh 3000 lbs apiece and make it difficult for her to change a diaper? Maybe she's just slow! You've never seen a skinny person move slow? QUOTE]

Ever heard the quote, "TIME IS MONEY?!" When you see a percentage of your income being paid out, you want your moneys worth. I don't want to see my assistant playing toys with the kids, I want to see her earning her money. I want to see her cleaning, sanitizing and folding laundry when the kids are doing activities. You and I don't get to sit on our rears all day...why should we pay someone else to be able to do that?!


QUOTE=PeanutsGalore;101802][I also manage to get up and down the stairs with multiple babies in hand with no problem. QUOTE]

My staff assistant is allowed to take 1 child down the stairs at a time. She must have the child securely held with 1 arm while the other remains on the handrail. Now if she's 100 lbs overweight, it's going to take her 4 times as long (if not longer) to get up and down the stairs, to get all the kids, and to get them tucked in. Then you throw in the liability factor of someone that's overweight with breathing problems. No thanks. I don't want to see my staff assistant passing out because she can't run the stairs 5 or 6 times. Then to have a kid in tow at the same time, the liability heightens.

Staff assistants that have formerly worked at centers have the misconception that their job entails watching kids play toys. That may very well be at some in-homes as well. I want to see my assistant be able to get up and down off the floor to change diapers easily. I want to see her able to squat down to wipe the walls or get up and down the stairs without looking like she is going to pass out. I want to see my assistant helping me with all of the other hard work that keeps the business running effectively. All of the cleaning that is necessary, the laundering, the loading and unloading of the dishwasher, etc. None of these things are unnecessary requests...and again...they are requests.

Obesity as with any medical condition, you have to select your assistant based on experience (if any) and the liability factor. Is she a clutz, does she have uncontrollable seizures, does she have narcolepsy, etc. I wouldn't want to place my child in a situation where a person with a medical condition like these that could potentially affect my child.

Another perspective you could look at is this:

You pay a staff assistant to come in 3 hours a day. She comes in and changes diapers = 40 minutes. She runs the vacuum= 30 minutes. She cleans the kids up from lunch = 40 minutes. She changes diapers again = 40. She takes them to bed = 30 minutes.

There's 3 hours killed...just like that! And what did she do exactly?! You are paying her $25 a day and she's not doing anything that you can't physically do and in a lot less time!!!


It's not advantageous to pay someone if you aren't getting what you expect. It's no different than any employer. If your job performance isn't what they expect it to be, you're repremanded or fired.

[cheerfuldom]

Peanuts, I am not going to quote your whole message but I believe the "IT" in the quote regarding mine and nan's comments is again referring to her staff assistant job, not childcare in general. Just because her particular staff assistant job requires a very physically capable person doesn't mean that every childcare job does. But I think we can all agree that being healthy and fit (not necessarily skinny) is the best scenario for any job, including taking care of children in any capacity. I think you have taken the comments way too personally and I am not seeing that intention in any of the posts made by anybody but thats just me.