The Elephant In The Room/0-3

Most people believe that the child care system in the US is broken. After spending the last 50 years actually working in the "system", I can say for sure that the "system" isn't broken. There never was a system.

It's time to create something new.

I'm in a unique position now after serving as an English tutor, early childhood special ed assistant, child care worker, preschool teacher, kindergarten teacher, teacher/director, before and after school and summer program director, Head Start teacher, community college instructor, community center board secretary, and licenensed family child care provider. It's like I have the privilege of a bird's eye view.

I've worked directly with over 800 children and many of their famiies. I've earned degrees in education (NIU) and human development (Pacific Oaks). I understand the impact that early care and education, especially 0-3, has on the trajectory of a child's life.

I also understand what happens behind closed doors at child care facilities of many different kinds: the good, the bad, and the ugly. I'm not telling those tales today.

I'm advocating for those who remain dedicated to the children and to their families regardless of pay or lack of respect as professionals.

Some people and places provide the absolute best care for children during the first few years of their lives, and some do not. If you wonder why this is true or you feel confused because you add up the the child care fees after counting the children and wonder where all that money is going, imagine this scenario:

What if tomorrow, all of the elementary schools in the US had to start charging parents fees for the cost of the buildings and all of the maintainence, teachers and principals salaries, staff wages, cafeteria workers, playground equipment, books and classroom furniture, and materials like paper and workbooks. How could they possibly charge enough to make ends meet?

That scenario is the financial reality of child care in the US.

So if you've found child care that does a good job of educating and caring for young children, you can thank the teachers, nannies, grandparents, and child care providers because they are doing the actual work for very little pay and worse yet, very little respect.

At Early Childhood Rocks, nonprofit, we are creating something new starting from the bottom up. As much as we want to change the reality of child care for the children and their families, we realize that attitudes need to change first.

That's why we're working on a children's book that highlights all of the things that caregivers can do to enhance ther babies brain power and their problem-solving skills during the first few year of their lives. That's when attitudes and habilts begin to form, including the habit of positive, assertive communication.

This is the perfect opportunity to get things right from the beginning and to educate caregivers in brain science instead of pointing fingers and throwing unproven child-rearing theories around. The research for this children's book can be found in The Baby Brain Toolkit, which is free for our community members.

Here's a sample page of our future publication:

If you're interested in seeing the book as it progresses in an on-line format, and getting a free on-line copy when it's ready, sign up for our community here.

If you are an early childhood care and education professional, we need you to sign up and give up your input as we progress. Our future depends on you.

Nanci J  . Bradley is an early childhood and family educator, author, teacher, family aerobics instructor, and an all-around fun-loving person. She believes in the power of sleep, healthy eating, lifelong learning, and most of all, PLAY!  She studied early childhood ed at Triton College and received her BS in education in 1986 from NIU. She received her MA in human development from Pacific Oaks College in 2011. She lives and teaches in Madison, WI, and founded Early Childhood Rocks, a nonprofit org dedicated to creating change through early childhood education.