Undervalued, underpaid and overwhelmingly important in our kids’ lives

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/04/2023 (868 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Before I had kids, I never fully realized how many people would be helping me raise them when I did.

Obviously, I knew that I’d be a working mother (I can’t afford not to be), and I knew that my daughter would go to daycare, but I didn’t fully take into account that there would be people outside of my immediate family who would be help raise and shape who our children are and who they will become.

To be embarrassingly frank, I didn’t think much about the work of early childhood educators, nor did I consider the relationships our family would have with them before they became an important part of our life and our routine.

The 32nd annual Manitoba Child Care Association’s Week of the Early Educator starts today, an opportunity to celebrate the vital work of those unsung heroes and the difference they make in our lives.

I remember when my daughter was small. She has always been a spirited kid with a fire in her belly and a sparkle in her soul. It’s charming, and I think these are some of her greatest qualities.

But it takes mounds of patience raising a kid who’s will is as strong as iron. In the early years, I struggled a lot. (I still struggle, but I feel like I am growing, and maybe even getting better at it).

I can’t even begin to count how many times I’d pick my daughter up from daycare and be met by an ECE who would encourage and even teach me how to interact better with my child — sometimes just by example, and other times the help would come by way of conversation, or even advice, if I asked for it.

I’m the parent, and there are, of course, things I know best about raising my child. Motherhood is my responsibility and privilege, but, there are several instances where I have learned how to be better, thanks to the these educators.

I don’t think I can fully express how grateful I am for all of the ECEs throughout the years who have been (and are still) part of our lives.

These are the folks who, day in and day out, see the best and the worst of our kids. And if we’re being honest, they probably see the best and worst of us, too.

They are there during some of the most important and formative years of our children’s lives. They offer structure, routine and are crucial participants in development and learning.

And in return for that critical contribution, they are woefully underpaid and undervalued.

MCCA established the week to honour these people in 1992, following the release of the national Caring for a Living Study.

“The celebration is intended to recognize the valuable work of those who ‘care for a living’ by providing early childhood education, family support, and a service that contributes to the social and economic development of our province,” the association says on its website.

If you’d like to do something to celebrate their role, perhaps co-ordinate with your daycare and maybe some of the other parents and put together something special for the staff. Coffee and doughnuts? Maybe lunch? A nice card thanking them for the work they do?

More information is available at: http://wfp.to/0eZ.

shelley.cook@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter @ShelleyACook