European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 14, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Care this is the final instalment in the stars and stripes five Day series on child care. By Deedee Arrington Doke staff writers of what s so Tough about taking care of children it s instinctive say some who be tried parenting. You Experiment. Or you get advice from your own parents and friends. Or you mix and match your parenting ideas with a Little help from or. Spock or. Joyce Brothers Ann Landers your parents friends and any other source who seems reasonably intelligent. You take your chances and Hope for the Sake of you and your child you la be a decent Parent. Unlike parenting child care providing for Money is a profession that requires training and certification if you plan to work your Trade in . Government housing or in a . Military child care Center. And some Don t make the Grade. Including this College educated stars and stripes reporter who recently flunked out of a we Klong course in child care for care givers and family Day care providers. I failed a written test on reviving babies and other children when they pass out. Although i m childless children Are not exactly alien to me. I helped raise two younger Sisters and a brother and i earned pocket Money in Junior High and Early High school by baby sitting for neighbors Little ones. In fact the extensive at Home involvement with younger siblings convinced my High school Home economics teacher to give me an a in the Quarter Long child care segment of that Long ago class. But it did t count for Beans when it came to child care training in Baum older West Germany. Day 1 the first Day of training for workers in child care centers and family Day care providers focuses on child development and punishment is. Discipline. These subjects Are covered in the first half of the morning through films and class discussion. In the second half we try out a few Art projects. The class includes nine women most of whom work in Baum older s child care centers. A movie we watch stresses that children develop in their own unique ways. Adults however can encourage development in numerous ways. By talking to children adults can help them develop language skills. Encouraging Little ones to play allows them to try different roles express their feelings and develop their motor skills. We discuss the confusing roles of punishment is. Discipline. Punishment like hitting and Yelling is not doing much for children s self esteem says instructor Karen Brown who is an education specialist with Baum older child development services. We need to look at reasons Why children misbehave and help them learn right from wrong she says and encourage self discipline through guidance. Be careful about How you phrase things Brown urges. Don t offer them a Choice if they Don t have a after a break we head to the Art room. Now we re going to get a Little dirty. Art should be creative. Having kids Cut out outlines of frogs from sheets of paper for example is not going to Hurt but it won t stimulate creativity one teacher says. Instead interest the kids in food in Art. Not necessarily Macaroni collages or Lemon or Lime printing we re told but things that Aren t something a child will recognize immediately As at our disposal Are sponges Cut in different shapes spices Petroleum Jelly and sheets of paper. We happily spend the rest of the morning dipping our fingers in gooey Jelly mopping the stuff around our paper and sprinkling spices in Kaleidoscope designs or imprinting a sponge s Mark on paper with cornstarch paints. The key is to be creative and allow the kids to be creative we re told. Day 2 tuesday also is divided into two sessions child abuse prevention and detection followed by a segment on nutrition. Teaching the child abuse segment is Nancy Parker a social worker who talks about the four different types of abuse physical emotional neglect and sexual and How to detect them. Generally if it leaves a Mark then it s our business Parker says of physical abuse. If a child isso eager to please or Overly compliant he or she May be the victim of emotional abuse. A woman who works at a child care Center hesitantly reports that a child under her care frequently fondles him or herself while stretched out on a mat. Might that mean that a child is being sexually abused she wonders yes Parker says advising the care giver to bring the behaviour to the attention of either the Parent or a supervisor at the child care Center. Under Karen Brown s Tutelage we turn to nutrition and learn that chocolate pudding contains roughly As much sodium As Corn chips. In planning menus for kids in our care we should avoid cheese dips cheese spreads canned soups luncheon meats hot dogs Salty snack foods. Condiments such As Mustard Ketchup and Steak sauces should be used kids like natural tasting foods Brown says. At military child care centers and family Day care Homes the emphasis is on what s called family style that Means that All menu items Are deposited on the table the kids set the table themselves the kids and teacher serve themselves at the table and everyone is expected to Converse during the lunch. Afterwards the kids help with cleanup. In Short Brown says the children should be involved in All phases of let kids eat foods in the order they like and Tell the Center director or Parent if kids just won t eat a certain food Brown advises. Day 3 today i m in a class of three. My classmates Are women who work in their Homes As family Day care providers As opposed to my classmates of the past two Days who work in the Baum older Community s child development centers. These Day care providers must take training at regular intervals to keep their certification current. The subject matter on tap involves a self rating system Home care providers should use to gauge the Quality of care they re giving their customers. Using the family Day care rating scale nicknamed Fedors care providers can rate themselves and thei raking the Grade training course tests Mettle of care givers is Ken George during a training session for Day care Center workers at Ramstein a Germany program director Debra Shick demonstrates one of the uses to which kids put paper plates. Air Force Day care Center workers must undergo 36 hours of training within the first year of being hired. Homes from 1, or inadequate to 7, or excellent in 33 different areas. The rating scale covers the types of toys available furnishings and spaces the care giver should have to provide a suitable care environment. It also asks the care provider to rate himself or herself on elements of Basic care learning activities opportunities for children s social development and How Well she meets adult needs including a healthy relationship with the parents of the children in care and balancing personal As Well As professional responsibilities. In practical terms the rating scale lets care providers know they need to tackle cultural awareness for instance by having on hand dolls from a minimum of two racial groups and encourage children to choose activities without being limited to traditional roles. On the surface it seems easy. But Here again family Day care providers must have an array of materials spaces allocated to specific uses by children and special furnishings for children that Many parents Don t Supply at Home. Examples include Steps near a sink so kids can easily Wash their hands a Junior size House for acting out play and child size coat Racks. We re also reminded that babies Aren t to be left alone with their bottles propped up beside them meaning they re to be held when they re fed. Holding babies while you feed them helps the bonding process Between adult and child. Propping the bottle while they feed could Lead to an ear infection As Well As revocation of one s Day care certification. One classmate is disturbed As we go Over examples of Correct application of the ratings and see slides of outstanding family Day care Homes in the Baum older Community. Many of the Homes look More like full time Day care centers than residences where adults live too. How can she have a Home that meets the needs of her family As Well As those of a care Center this classmate asks. Her husband won t like this at All she adds. Day 4 after a Day off we return to class Friday for a Day of reckoning. The last Day. The morning starts with a rundown on childhood diseases and procedures that must be followed to prevent the spread of conditions such As measles impetigo scabies head lice pinkeye. The Bottom line is that youngsters must stay Home until they meet readmission standards for their particular conditions. Then it s time for the test. Yes that test. I miss 1.6 out of 56 questions. You could miss up to 12 and still pass. I clearly need to study up if i want to pass the next time 1 take the test if i decide to take it again. Mercifully it s time for my exit. If i d passed i would have spent the afternoon learning about medication and How to administer it to a child. I decide that if my husband and i Ever opt to have children one of us had first better get a Day care certification. If we Don to we run the risk of exposing our child to a care provider who s better qualified than we Are. Saturday january 14, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 17
