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From: pc@hplabsb.UUCP (Patricia Collins)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: childcare
Message-ID: <1850@hplabsb.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 14-Sep-83 13:53:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: hplabsb.1850
Posted: Wed Sep 14 13:53:53 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 16-Sep-83 11:13:35 EDT
Organization: Hewlett Packard Labs, Palo Alto CA
Lines: 52


	I caste my vote for net.children!

	For those who believe that childcare (by someone other than
the parents of the child) is a necessary evil:

	My six month old son attends a small day care center for five
hours a day.  He loves it!  He plays outside under a big oak tree and
babbles at the leaves and the birds.  He is lovingly cared for by a
talented, competent, knowledgeable staff who attend to his every squeak.
This center follows the Pickler method, which focuses on active
involvement with little ones and an attempt to facilitate their learning
to cope with life's frustrations.  The staff verbalize with the children
("Are you sad that the toy fell out of your hand?  Let's pick it up again.").
Even at six months, my son is learning how to interact with others.  He
is quite aware of the other children and watches the older ones intently.
He is held a lot--not just when he cries for attention.  

	The center is responsive to parents' preferences, within the
structure of their philosophy of childcare (Pickler).  At the end of each
day, I hear all about my son's day.

	NOW:  While I have read at least 30 books on child development,
I don't know anywhere nearly as much as the childcare specialists do.
They are in a position to recognize development problems or physical
abnormalities which I might only recognize much later.  
	If I or my spouse were home all day caring for our son, we would
probably not provide the diverse environment a center can provide.  We
COULD take our son for daily hikes or buy him the unending string of safe,
stimulating toys he has at the center, but we probably would not provide
as intebs

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