How long will he last???

I'm trying hard to convince myself that daycare is a good thing. Henry is supposed to go two days a week but since he started he's only managed one week where he's made it both days each week. Henry was never sick before daycare but from day one he's had a constantly runny nose, caught a stomach bug and had the odd unexplainable fever. All that is to be expected. Those places are a breeding ground for all kinds of things. I'm also aware that his immune system will eventually catch up and his illnesses won't be so frequent. What I find hard to accept is what that place expects of their staff members. I believe that their sole responsibility should be to the children in their care but they are forced to fill other roles which fall out of the scope of childcare. Several mornings I have dropped Henry off only to find a playground full of unsupervised toddlers because the carers are busy with the leaf blower cleaning an adjoining play area or mopping the floors or filling in endless amounts of paperwork or even cleaning toilets. They inform me that these jobs are their responsibility. They form part of their job description. When I asked were they understaffed the reply was no. Before 8am there are only two assigned carers despite the fact that a majority of toddlers are dropped off before this time so their parents can make it to work on time. Both carers are sometimes nowhere to be seen when I arrive. I can't leave there until I know someone is around and sometimes I've waited up to ten minutes with these kids until a carer shows pulling off rubber gloves after scrubbing the toilets or something. All the carers are wonderful people but I'm not sure if I like the fact that they so readily accept that part of their job is to keep the place clean when the children should be their top priority. I asked them once why the centre didn't hire an after hours cleaner so they could do the job they're paid to do and they said that it would cost too much. I know that child care workers get paid a pittance which seems ridiculous given the amount of money parents fork out each day to keep their children there and trust they are being cared for.

Henry came home from daycare yesterday with a bottom that was so red raw it was almost blistered. He was screaming in pain and wouldn't let us touch him to take care of it. Henry has NEVER had even the slightest hint of nappy rash or burning so I was surprised. All I could surmise was that he had been left in a dirty nappy for some time before he was changed. I know the group leader of his daycare group recently left to take up another position in another town and they are in the process of trying to replace her which leaves the burden of caring for eight small toddlers to the other wonderful group assistant and a part timer who has been brought in to help her. I know there is no way I could take care of eight toddlers on my own and do a good job or as good as I wanted anyway so I can't blame her for his red bum but I can blame the system for not doing enough to ensure that a child doesn't have to sit in dirty pants for hours on end.

The centre Henry attends is part of a huge multi-site, multi-country childcare conglomerate and the director is worth an absolute fortune yet his staff members who should be employed only to take care of the children are filling about three different job roles.