In the 10 plus years I've worked in day care I've bought many supplies for my kids. When I've been in the infants' class I've bought baby food, blankets, clothes, baby powder, corn starch, baby wipes and, of course, diapers.
I like to keep at least one package of diapers in my class to serve as a back up in case one of the babies runs out. I always buy store brand diapers. Dollar General (DG) and Family Dollar (FD) were the usual stores I purchased diapers from but, about three weeks ago, I just happened to buy some Walgreens diapers. I was in the store and suddenly realized that I wouldn't have time to stop by GD or FD for diapers and make it back to work on time. So I decided to buy the diapers at Walgreens. I'm so glad I did!
Of all the different store brand diapers I've bought Walgreens' are the best. They look and feel like the expensive name brand diapers. And they don't run big, which is good because they fit Arnie just right. Arnie is whom I was buying the diapers for. He's under weight and the other store brands tended to run big and didn't fit Arnie snugly. In fact, the size 3 diapers from DG and FD were so big that they comfortably fit Jessa who's 3 months older than Arnie! But Walgreens' diapers treat Arnie just right.
The price for Walgreens diapers is a little higher than other store brands, but lower than the name brands. And you get the same quality. So I say, "Three cheers for Walgreens' diapers! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!"
Monday, July 30, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Do I Really Belong In This Job?
Well, this is the second Friday since I returned to work from vacation. I was going to post last week about how being back at work was going, but I'm kind of glad I waited until today. I think I have a better perspective on my job now than when I first went back.
I'm really starting to wonder if I belong in day care. I need a new job for financial reasons but I also feel that I need a new one for deeper reasons. I'm not fulfilled in day care. Don't get me wrong. I love my babies dearly, and the thought of being away from them and having someone else caring for them really hurts. Too, their parents trust me with their most prized possessions and I feel that if I quit I'll be letting them down. But everyday the feeling that I'm wasting my life grows more and more intense.
There're a couple of causes of this feeling. First, I don't get any respect on the job. My co-workers and my boss think that my class is easy because the babies are so cute. None of them appreciates how hard my class really is and nobody does anything I ask them to do when they're in my room. When I went on vacation I specifically asked that the babies not be rocked to sleep or spoiled in any way. Guess what? When I returned to work the babies had been rocked to sleep and spoiled. And I wasn't supposed to notice. That's how dumb they think I am. Either that or they think that since the infants' class isn't a real class it doesn't matter if what I request gets done or not. And there's more.
I constantly get stuck with the phone when my boss is out of the office. That's right; I'm expected to play secretary while trying to care for four demanding infants. When I complained I was told that the phone was left with me because my room was, get this, the quietest room in the building! Another time I complained I was told, "How hard can it be?" That let me know how little my boss understood about just what goes on in my class. It was another dose of we-don't-have-to-take-you-seriously-because-you're-just-the-infant-teacher syndrome. I'm sick of that! I may be "just" the infants' teacher but I work hard. I'd like to see my boss take two of my babies into her office for two or three hours and care for them while doing all of her office duties. Of course, that won't happen.
Another reason I think I'm wasting my live in day care is that there's no intellectual challenge in it. I get great emotional highs caring for my babies, but there're no intellectual highs to match them. I didn't realize I was missing that until I was talking with my friend about my job and she said she wished I was using my brain power at work. It was like a light bulb went on over my head. That's when I realized what I was missing at work.
Taking care of four babies is physically challenging and emotionally rewarding but it requires no mental effort at all. Keeping little babies clean, dry, fed, and entertained isn't rocket science, as the saying goes. At the end of the day I feel like I've accomplished nothing. That's a miserable feeling. And no amount of hugs, smiles, laughs, and funny faces from the babies compensates for that. I don't know what to do. There's no way for me to get intellectual gratification at work. Getting puked on and wiping snotty noses just don't get the mental juices flowing.
So I'm at a crossroads. I want and need to change jobs/careers for a few important reasons, but my love for the babies--and their parents--is holding me back. I can't stand the thought of "my" parents or the babies feeling abandoned if I leave, but I need to have my own life. That's another thing I realized about my job; it's an obstacle to me having a life of my own. By caring for their children I'm giving up my own life so "my" parents can live theirs. That seems so unfair. But I got myself into this situation and it's up to me to get myself out.
So I guess the answer to the title questions is no, I don't belong in this job. I don't know what job I do belong in or when I'll find it, but day care is not it. Admitting that makes me sad. I hate the thought of not seeing my babies everyday; I love watching them grow, reach their milestones, and learn new skills. I don't know how I'll cope with not having cute, chubby faces to snap pictures of all the time. But I'll learn because the pay off will be having my life again. And that'll be a wonderful pay off indeed.
I'm really starting to wonder if I belong in day care. I need a new job for financial reasons but I also feel that I need a new one for deeper reasons. I'm not fulfilled in day care. Don't get me wrong. I love my babies dearly, and the thought of being away from them and having someone else caring for them really hurts. Too, their parents trust me with their most prized possessions and I feel that if I quit I'll be letting them down. But everyday the feeling that I'm wasting my life grows more and more intense.
There're a couple of causes of this feeling. First, I don't get any respect on the job. My co-workers and my boss think that my class is easy because the babies are so cute. None of them appreciates how hard my class really is and nobody does anything I ask them to do when they're in my room. When I went on vacation I specifically asked that the babies not be rocked to sleep or spoiled in any way. Guess what? When I returned to work the babies had been rocked to sleep and spoiled. And I wasn't supposed to notice. That's how dumb they think I am. Either that or they think that since the infants' class isn't a real class it doesn't matter if what I request gets done or not. And there's more.
I constantly get stuck with the phone when my boss is out of the office. That's right; I'm expected to play secretary while trying to care for four demanding infants. When I complained I was told that the phone was left with me because my room was, get this, the quietest room in the building! Another time I complained I was told, "How hard can it be?" That let me know how little my boss understood about just what goes on in my class. It was another dose of we-don't-have-to-take-you-seriously-because-you're-just-the-infant-teacher syndrome. I'm sick of that! I may be "just" the infants' teacher but I work hard. I'd like to see my boss take two of my babies into her office for two or three hours and care for them while doing all of her office duties. Of course, that won't happen.
Another reason I think I'm wasting my live in day care is that there's no intellectual challenge in it. I get great emotional highs caring for my babies, but there're no intellectual highs to match them. I didn't realize I was missing that until I was talking with my friend about my job and she said she wished I was using my brain power at work. It was like a light bulb went on over my head. That's when I realized what I was missing at work.
Taking care of four babies is physically challenging and emotionally rewarding but it requires no mental effort at all. Keeping little babies clean, dry, fed, and entertained isn't rocket science, as the saying goes. At the end of the day I feel like I've accomplished nothing. That's a miserable feeling. And no amount of hugs, smiles, laughs, and funny faces from the babies compensates for that. I don't know what to do. There's no way for me to get intellectual gratification at work. Getting puked on and wiping snotty noses just don't get the mental juices flowing.
So I'm at a crossroads. I want and need to change jobs/careers for a few important reasons, but my love for the babies--and their parents--is holding me back. I can't stand the thought of "my" parents or the babies feeling abandoned if I leave, but I need to have my own life. That's another thing I realized about my job; it's an obstacle to me having a life of my own. By caring for their children I'm giving up my own life so "my" parents can live theirs. That seems so unfair. But I got myself into this situation and it's up to me to get myself out.
So I guess the answer to the title questions is no, I don't belong in this job. I don't know what job I do belong in or when I'll find it, but day care is not it. Admitting that makes me sad. I hate the thought of not seeing my babies everyday; I love watching them grow, reach their milestones, and learn new skills. I don't know how I'll cope with not having cute, chubby faces to snap pictures of all the time. But I'll learn because the pay off will be having my life again. And that'll be a wonderful pay off indeed.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Quotable Quotes: Family
"Where does the family start? It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl. No superior alternative has yet been found." Sir Winston Churchill
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Wimps, Weaklings, and Wussies
Have you seen those nanny shows on tv? You know the ones, Nanny 911 and Super Nanny? I find them a hoot. Every time I watch them I can't believe that intelligent people let the whole country, even the whole world, see that they're totally incompetent parents. I can't believe the level of child spoiling there is out there. I see this in day care, too. Parents who are total wimps, weaklings and wussies with their kids. Parents who actually appear to be scared of their kids. It's sickening.
Even before the nanny shows debuted, there were plenty of examples of baby whipped parents on tv. Several years ago there was a spate of "I'm Scared of My Child" episodes on Maury Povich's talk show. They were shocking. There were kids as young as seven literally ruling their homes, hitting their parents to keep them in line and throwing outrageous tantrums to get their way. But what was really disgusting were the parents, all mothers, crying helplessly and pleading with their super brats to behave. YOU DON'T ASK CHILDREN TO BEHAVE, YOU REQUIRE IT!!!! I couldn't understand why those moms didn't get it. But there was more.
Another Maury Povich show discussed obese children. There was a 4-year-old boy who was extremely overweight, and guess what his parents said? If they tried to limit the amount of food the child ate he would throw a tantrum, so they let the kid stuff himself. I was dumbfounded. Those parents were risking their child's health, even his life, because they didn't want to deal with his tantrums! And sadly, they weren't the only parents doing that. The father of a 100 pound 2-year-old let his daughter eat an entire package of hot dogs for lunch because, he claimed, he loved her too much to say no. So another child's health was put at risk by a "loving" parent. And the sad parade of parental incompetence didn't stop with Maury Povich's show.
On an episode of 20/20 a mom let her preschooler make a total ass of her. The family was about to leave home for the day when the child insisted she had to have a stuffed animal on the way to day care. The mom got out of the car, went back into the house, and got a toy. The child whined that it wasn't the right one and the mom went back to get another toy. That one wasn't right, either. Back and forth the mom went for what seemed like forever. It never occurred to this supposedly intelligent woman to tell her daughter no and then let her scream all the way to day care. My mom, and most moms of her generation, would've had no problem doing that. But today's parents act like not giving in to their kids' every demand is a crime. How did we come to this?
I think the astronomical increase in two income families is largely to blame. Most working parents feel a great deal of guilt over leaving their kids in the care of substitutes. They try to assuage that guilt by spending "quality" time with their kids, meaning the little darlings are horribly indulged so they'll like mom and dad. Too, showering their children with everything they ask for, and even things they don't, helps working parents justify their employment--they "have" to get so much for the kids! So parents indulge the children to assuage their guilt, thus making the kids ever more demanding, which leads to more indulging, this time to keep the kids quiet. It becomes a viscious cycle. But there's more.
Many parents today are uncomfortable being the boss in their family. The collaspe of traditional values in America has led to a disrespect for parental authority, even among parents. Many of them now are indecently willing to give up a large chunk of their authority over their kids in exchange for less responsibility, responsibility which is then transferred to day care centers and schools. Combine this parental abdication with the current obsession with children's self-esteem and "positive" discipline and you have the perfect spoiled brat recipe.
How do we get out of this mess? Return to traditional values! As I stated above, parents of my mom's generation had no problem telling their kids no. They and their children knew who was in charge (hint: it wasn't the kids). Today's parents need to get the same confidence in their authority. It's a vital prerequisite to teaching children character. If kids learn good character in childhood they'll be blessings to society as adults. It is parents' job to make sure that happens. It's a daunting task; no wimps, weaklings, or wussies allowed!
Even before the nanny shows debuted, there were plenty of examples of baby whipped parents on tv. Several years ago there was a spate of "I'm Scared of My Child" episodes on Maury Povich's talk show. They were shocking. There were kids as young as seven literally ruling their homes, hitting their parents to keep them in line and throwing outrageous tantrums to get their way. But what was really disgusting were the parents, all mothers, crying helplessly and pleading with their super brats to behave. YOU DON'T ASK CHILDREN TO BEHAVE, YOU REQUIRE IT!!!! I couldn't understand why those moms didn't get it. But there was more.
Another Maury Povich show discussed obese children. There was a 4-year-old boy who was extremely overweight, and guess what his parents said? If they tried to limit the amount of food the child ate he would throw a tantrum, so they let the kid stuff himself. I was dumbfounded. Those parents were risking their child's health, even his life, because they didn't want to deal with his tantrums! And sadly, they weren't the only parents doing that. The father of a 100 pound 2-year-old let his daughter eat an entire package of hot dogs for lunch because, he claimed, he loved her too much to say no. So another child's health was put at risk by a "loving" parent. And the sad parade of parental incompetence didn't stop with Maury Povich's show.
On an episode of 20/20 a mom let her preschooler make a total ass of her. The family was about to leave home for the day when the child insisted she had to have a stuffed animal on the way to day care. The mom got out of the car, went back into the house, and got a toy. The child whined that it wasn't the right one and the mom went back to get another toy. That one wasn't right, either. Back and forth the mom went for what seemed like forever. It never occurred to this supposedly intelligent woman to tell her daughter no and then let her scream all the way to day care. My mom, and most moms of her generation, would've had no problem doing that. But today's parents act like not giving in to their kids' every demand is a crime. How did we come to this?
I think the astronomical increase in two income families is largely to blame. Most working parents feel a great deal of guilt over leaving their kids in the care of substitutes. They try to assuage that guilt by spending "quality" time with their kids, meaning the little darlings are horribly indulged so they'll like mom and dad. Too, showering their children with everything they ask for, and even things they don't, helps working parents justify their employment--they "have" to get so much for the kids! So parents indulge the children to assuage their guilt, thus making the kids ever more demanding, which leads to more indulging, this time to keep the kids quiet. It becomes a viscious cycle. But there's more.
Many parents today are uncomfortable being the boss in their family. The collaspe of traditional values in America has led to a disrespect for parental authority, even among parents. Many of them now are indecently willing to give up a large chunk of their authority over their kids in exchange for less responsibility, responsibility which is then transferred to day care centers and schools. Combine this parental abdication with the current obsession with children's self-esteem and "positive" discipline and you have the perfect spoiled brat recipe.
How do we get out of this mess? Return to traditional values! As I stated above, parents of my mom's generation had no problem telling their kids no. They and their children knew who was in charge (hint: it wasn't the kids). Today's parents need to get the same confidence in their authority. It's a vital prerequisite to teaching children character. If kids learn good character in childhood they'll be blessings to society as adults. It is parents' job to make sure that happens. It's a daunting task; no wimps, weaklings, or wussies allowed!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Vacation!
I'm on vacation!!!!! I love my babies and I miss them very much, but I'm enjoying my vacation A LOT!!!!! I did go to Kiddieland yesterday to leave instructions for my substitutes and to drop off the laundry I'd done for the babies. The washer and dryer at work are broken; in fact, they've been broken for at least 6 weeks. Rather than depend on my boss to wash the babies' laundry at her house I choose to do it myself. That way I know it'll get back to work when the babies' need it. Anyway, I took the babies' things to them and spent more time there than I'd planned.
Jessa was really happy to see me. Her face lit up when I walked into the room and she crawled to me as fast as she could. I picked her up and she laid her head on my shoulder, her way of showing affection. That made me feel so good.
The boys were a different story. Gregory was sleep and Riley was chilling in the swing. That left Arnie to pay me some attention but he was more interested in getting Jessa to play with him. I'm not that close to Arnie. I thought he was very homely when I first met him and his personality is a lot like Eeyore's. Plus, he makes nap time a nightmare. Still, Arnie and I are slowly forming a bond. He likes to sit with me and watch the mobile hanging over the rocking chair, and I'm learning different ways to make him laugh. Hopefully we can get as close as I am with the others, but you don't always click with every baby you have.
After I left my room I went to the 2's class to take some pictures of Emma, who used to be in my class. I wound up taking pictures of all four kids who were there at the time. It was more work than I imagined. Getting the kids to stay seated, smile, and hold the props the way I wanted took some effort. I have a new appreciation for child photographers!
After more than an hour I finally left Kiddieland and enjoyed a day of relaxing driving, tv watching, blogging and internet surfing. That's what I plan to do all week. Ahhhhh!!!
Jessa was really happy to see me. Her face lit up when I walked into the room and she crawled to me as fast as she could. I picked her up and she laid her head on my shoulder, her way of showing affection. That made me feel so good.
The boys were a different story. Gregory was sleep and Riley was chilling in the swing. That left Arnie to pay me some attention but he was more interested in getting Jessa to play with him. I'm not that close to Arnie. I thought he was very homely when I first met him and his personality is a lot like Eeyore's. Plus, he makes nap time a nightmare. Still, Arnie and I are slowly forming a bond. He likes to sit with me and watch the mobile hanging over the rocking chair, and I'm learning different ways to make him laugh. Hopefully we can get as close as I am with the others, but you don't always click with every baby you have.
After I left my room I went to the 2's class to take some pictures of Emma, who used to be in my class. I wound up taking pictures of all four kids who were there at the time. It was more work than I imagined. Getting the kids to stay seated, smile, and hold the props the way I wanted took some effort. I have a new appreciation for child photographers!
After more than an hour I finally left Kiddieland and enjoyed a day of relaxing driving, tv watching, blogging and internet surfing. That's what I plan to do all week. Ahhhhh!!!
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