to think that pre-school childcare is not valued?

[rainrainandmorerain]

Actually, I really mean 'looking after small children', whoever is doing it.

I used to hear this attitude from some men a lot at work - now I realise I'm hearing it from women too.

A few friends who work full time talk in very dismissive terms about what their nursery and childminders do - just changing nappies, wiping noses, singing a few songs, big deal etc. I think this is tied into a resentment about how much they have to pay for childcare, and I have a LOT of sympathy with that (have part time childcare myself), but I also think it has a lot to do with them simply not valuing the job of looking after their children.

More controversially, I have heard it from some working mothers about sahms. A kind of 'it's hardly rocket science, is it' attitude.

(Before I'm accused of having a wohp/sahm agenda - I am self employed (nothing to do with childcare!), main breadwinner, have one dc and share parenting with dp, along with some part time nannying, prob about 10 hours a week.)

I come from a background where family members have been involved in social work and child development, so I suppose I have always had some awareness of the developmental needs of small children and what happens when that care goes wrong.

So things like emotional development, building relationships, language and communication, social behaviour and self expression, along with the definable pre-literacy/numeracy skills are all part of the care of small children (and the big ones). And I think that's a HUGELY important job, whoever is doing it. I hear it dismissed as 'just playing' - which is when I think parents get angry about paying for it.

If we don't value that, why not? Is it because raising children has traditionally been seen as 'women's work' and therefore not important? Do other women buy into that attitude? Or does it date back to ideas about small children not being 'proper' people? (Victorians were big on this....)

or a father of course

Childcare is completely undervalued! I've encountered the assumption that anyone can do it, it's easy, it's not a real career, many many times! I'm a nanny, I'm qualified, experienced, I do regular courses etc in order to improve my practice- this is my career, but for some people I'm overpaid or just wiping noses and playing! I could list all I do during a regular 12 hour day but I'd be here all day!

When I initially qualified I worked in a nursery for a few years. I had to get out of that for a few reasons, the biggest being money- I was on minimum wage, doing a 40 hour week if I'm lucky. No way of affording to move out of my parent's home, no chance for promotion or advancement, no one I knew ever had a pay-rise. I have no idea what parent's were paying for the care but we were seriously underpaid. You can earn more in Tesco stacking shelves, as a cleaner, as a chambermaid.

It can a fun job, but it can be so stressful too- another reason for leaving, things such as dealing with behavioral issues without any support from the parents, discussing SEN issues with hostile parents (a coworker was physically and verbally assaulted during a meeting to raise initial concerns). What people don't realise is that not all parents are like them, the vast majority just ask how the child was, raise concerns etc but some can be aggressive, constantly late to pick-up, there's dealing with non-English speaking families and those who's culture is completely different to ours, if that makes sense.

So I moved to London, simply to find work as a nanny. Here I find other problems- resentment from certain people when they find you are a nanny, in a kind of 'how the other half live' way, assuming the family you work for are rich. No, actually, in this area if you have more than one child and work in central London with a long commute a nanny works out slightly cheaper and more flexible than a nursery/CM. I get dismissed as 'a babysitter'. No, that's not my job at all! I get people asking what I'll move on to, like this can only be a short-term job not a career. Well yes it is! I read professional publications, I take courses, I track changes to the educational system to the best I can. This is what I intend to be doing for a long time!

Until earlier this year I did a 5 day job, 12 hours a day. It ended when the mum decided to stop work and be a SAHM, but we see each other very often. She tells me it's a lot harder than she thought! She's told me she understands my role a lot more, and appreciates me more. She's thinking of trying to get back into part-time work, because her highly-skilled, stressful job is easier than being a SAHM!

Robin it's impossible to change some ignorant assumptions. My advice is to keep on enjoying your career and taking a pride in it and bugger anyone else's opinion.

Can I just add, if people see child care as 'just playing all day' well obviously that's crap as there's a lot more involvement but please remember that play is the work of children. They should be playing all day as its through play that children learn.