European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 02, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes mblbbipmbimT""""1" readers express thoughts on child care though i admit my House is sometimes cluttered with toys or Messy with after lunch crumbs i can assure you that neither my Home nor my family is  when i interview prospective children and their parents. I make it a Point to listen Well to hear their needs. I then provide them with an introduction letter to inform them of my program and policies. I a never abrupt nor do i treat them As  before i Ever bring out a contract. I make sure the family and i suit each other. In response to your Reader who wrote against acc providers. I must say that i feel it s a terrible Sham that All of us providers Are judged based on a few bad experiences. Like any other  there will be Good and there will be bad. If she did t like the con tract which i admit seemed extreme she should have kept looking for a provider who met her needs. Actually it is a far belter idea to seek child care prior to Job Hunting As there is much less pressure to find someone appropriate. Back to the contracts. While i Don t take the Day before and after holidays off i do get paid for Federal holidays even though i Don t watch children those Days. My opinion is that the Parent is generally paid the same being in the military or civil service and the same situation would hold True if the child were in the Day care Center. I m sure there arc parents who feel they should not pay for Days the child does not receive care but they should try to understand that we provid ers depend on our incomes just As they do. I love the Lime i spend at Home and enjoy my Day with my  there arc Many acc providers 1 know who arc the same. Please keep in mind that Weall have our own business ways and if you Don t like one of us or our practices please Don t give up. Keep looking until you re satisfied your child will be Well cared for and Happy. Laurelle Rodgers Berlin if she had problems with the contract Field trips holidays termination of child care Why did t Sherry to work with the provider to change it i always Tell the parents. If there is something you Don t like let work on a  however the vast majority sign the contract then complain. A contract is an agreement Between two panics not rules that a provider wants you to abide by. It also protects the parents. The provider is providing service to you for which she is certified. Therefore you arc getting a service child care. I got the impression that before you even entered the first lady s House you were angry at her for can celing out twice both at the last  so of course you saw All the things you did t like. You wrote that the contract states she can terminate child care for any rules not followed and still require you to pay the time remaining on the contract usually two weeks. My solution Don t break the rules if you want to find someone else give her two weeks notice. That in t very hard to do. Is it sadly. I would like to add that people give forethought to whom will change their car s alternator than to whom will change their child s diaper. You child will be fed. Nurtured and cared for by this woman. Don t you think she deserves to hav Christmas and thanksgiving holidays off after All she does have a family life. Name withheld Tom Jon a Spain just because you had a bad experience with one provider does t mean All providers Are bad. On the whole. Family child care acc providers Are Lov ing caring people. We love children. That s Why we Are caring for them. If you have an interview with a provider an you feel that her Home is unclean her contract unreasonable or other things that you Don t agree with leave. There arc Many providers out there but if All else fails go to the Day care Center. Every certified provider is required by regulation to have a written contract. We Don t use this contract to see How much we can get out of the Parent behave it to protect ourselves. This is our business. Even though we have contracts they Don t always work. How Many times has a provider had to change dinner time cancel going to the movies with he family or miss a class because the parents Haven t picked up the child Al the agreed upon time we arc people too with families that deserve to have some Lime. If your complaint is a reasonable one go to the acc director. That person will try to help you. If it s because the providers Home is dirty their License can be suspended open your Mouth to the right people. Give the acc providers a break. There Are lots of us out there who Are doing a great Job Karl Stone Salisbury Munich West Germany Why do All the Crummy providers gel All the press Many Good providers have openings because a lot of parents seem to Settle for a provider who has a unreasonable contract or one they Are not real comfortable with. Please Stop for your kids Sake. The love and Trust you to the Best of your ability take time to search for a Good provider. My contract protects myself my parents and also my kids. After All they arc what it s All about. You As parents need to remember that provide Sand their families arc people with feelings Loo. I include our families because they Are also involved Inthis. The House we use is theirs. We get up at 5 30 a.m., and our Days with your kids Don t end until5 30 . And sometimes later. We average if Lucky about $1 an hour per child and can just have six Alan Given time. That includes our own kids. Our husbands sleep with earplugs if they Are shift work ers our kids share us and toys All Day and do Home work at 7 30 . A big Friday night for us is disinfecting toys or grocery shopping. Don t get upset when i need a Day off  m not goofing off. Let me explain some of your kids arc not Well enough behaved to take out in pub Lic in a group. I can t run six ways at one time. But More importantly my car does t have enough Seatbelt for six kids so i won t take them out in it. There fore i have to have an Early closing or late opening Roget prescriptions filled. To care for kids i Musl be healthy so i have to see the doctor and dentist so Domy husband and kids i take the kids because your children arc exposed to my family. I have to have License that must be renewed every year. I try to provide uninterrupted service. I worked outside my Home once i know what it Slike. I have three backup Sillers All certified. I have five kids plus my own to place. Some Limestall three Sitters arc full or won t Lake an under 2" or a part timer. I can t reschedule my appointment or class the Yare hard to get and my License could expire without the class. If you Are asked to find a Sitter Don t gel mad i tried. My hands arc tied. My income in t steady the hours arc Long. I havea hard time going to the bathroom and not gelling walked in on. I Don t get Breaks or a lunch hour away from my Job. I get All kinds of questions i Don t know How to answer depends on parents beliefs. My jeans Wear out in the Knees. The crafts often end up on the floor same with the food and juice. My Over head is High a paperwork fee to get the License insurance toys age group Oriente food Craft sup plies toothbrushes towels laundry soap. And emotions run High when a child moves away but All in Al this is the Best Job i be Ever had. The kids arc just super. If you can t find a provider you can work with and like Why Don t you be one name and location withheld it s a lot of hard work and takes a lot of time to meet the standards they expect of you to become a provider. So after All this the last thing we need arc inconsiderate parents. Don t get me wrong not All my kids parents Are this Way but a lot feel i have nothing better to do except sit at Home not knowing if they Are bringing their kids that Day or not. A simple phone Call would cure that problem. But instead i end up calling them and find out they Aren t going to bring the child for three Days and forgot to Tell me that s where my contract protects me from a no show situation of not getting paid because of the laziness of a person who can t make a phone Call. Two weeks Advance pay is so we cannot be walked out on and not paid. The centers take a whole month up front. So Why should t we Lake two weeks. The Point i m trying to make is that we re nowhere to offend people who need our services but this is a business in our own Home and we need contracts for our Protection. Name and location withheld i Loo found Many contracts insulting in my search for acceptable child care. One contract required one month s notice if i planned leave while i still had Topay one half the rate. I had to provide notice of a recall. One Siller demanded i Purchase a Walker or she would t care for my child. When my last Sitter quit she gave me two week notice but on the last Day announced i had to pick my child up at i . What she expected me to do until 4 ., i have no idea. I Don t expect a lot from a Sitter All i ask i that my daughter have supervision and her face hands and diaper Are kept clean. In return. I always pay promptly i provide All food juice milk required As Well As diapers and wipes. Many Sitters seem to find that unreasonable i think some providers need reminding of a few things first they arc providing a service. They work for the parents and child not the other Way , they arc getting paid to do something they would probably be doing anyway staying Home usually with their own children. I would give my Eye Teeth to be in their shoes finally they need to remember the parents the work for Are military. For the most part we arc not paid Well and we have unusual demands placed onus. We Don t ask for the things we do just to make a Sitter s Day difficult. We just Don t have any Choice. Name withheld Ramstein a West Germany or. W. Anthony Donohuk ph.d., conducted study in Pursuit of his doctoral degree in child and family studies at the University of Wisconsin. He reported that of the 386  family child care providers surveyed the average number of daily ours worked was ii and the average hourly pay 1.45, which is $4,000 annually. It is surprising to me thai All providers arc not of the Quality described in the recent letter considering the Lack of fiscal incentive. However most arc dedicated professionals who want to serve a Community need through caring for and guiding the development of children of working parents. I was angry to read of the poor Quality of the Home mentioned yet i was also angry that the author be grudge her provider benefits. Paid holidays leave and Advance notice of work schedule or changes arc Normal benefits that All employees expect or their employer. Military members May not receive All of these benefits but on the other hand they arc compensated by Cost of living expenses and medical and dental care. Parents if your provider does not do a Good Job Tell the family child care director she he will appreciate the feedback and find another one. If you find a provider who keeps your children Happy healthy and growing give her him what she de serves decent pay some Days off Advance notice of changes and verbal Praise for doing a Good Job. Not Only will you keep a Good provider for yourself but you will keep one for the . Kathryn s. Barrett family child care outreach worker Bundlach West Germany i Don t know about other communities but Here in Wal Ryburg the jag office wrote our contract Sand they Are responsible for deciding any disputes. However if you Are not Happy with the contract As written there Are several places where the provider and the Parent can wite in their own specific agreements on certain matters such As times and fees Etc. I usually work Between Iso and 250 hours per month. While i find child care extremely Reward ing it can also be exhausting and frustrating. .1need time off occasionally. My family is also entitled to some time in their own Home when i Amnot devoting my entire attention to other people s children. A Good percentage of my after hours time is spent keeping up on the educational requirements needed to maintain my certification. Without the contract i have had no recourse incas of non payment. Outside of the acc framework i have had parents Tell me i forgot can i pay you next week i be had checks Bounce. I had one Parent go awol owing two months of regular fees plus Athree week Field exercise. This is How i earn my Liv ing i have Bills to pay i also put about half of yearnings Back into my program for food materials and equipment. Be Happy that you had 20 providers to choose from. In our Community there is a waiting list of parents looking for infant providers. Leslie Gene Reed Wurzburg West Germany