Wednesday, January 4, 1989
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SECTION
HOME FRONT ©
‘Day Care
A Necessity For Women In Today's Working World
By GLENDA LOFTIN
Staff Writer
Wage-earning mothers within two income
families and single parent heads of households are
the rule rather
ty
an the exception in today’s socie-
Quality care, cost, location, effect on the
developing child, and guilt are only some of the
problems facing those in need of child care.
According to research done by the team of Dr.’s
Flake-Hobson, Robinson, and Skeen, in their book,
“Child Development And Relationships,” in the
years between 1960 and 1975, the number of
employed married women with preschool children
more than doubled.
As of March, 1980, almost 57 percent of mothers
with children under the age of 18 worked outside
the home.
By 1990 it is estimated that the number of
employed mothers will reach 10.5 million, leaving
only one in four married women at home as full-
time homemakers and mothers.
For the majority of these women, working out-
side the home is an economic necessity. Faner]
The number of single parents has also increased
dramatically over the years. Therefore, child care
has become an important issue for most American
households. :
Most experts agree that parents who provide
their children with quality child care while they
are working need not feel guilty or worried. But,
what exactly is quality child care?
According to Leslie Brigiman, a mother with
three children in day care, it involves several
things.
“Since it is necessary that I work, I wanted to
leave my children in a place as near home-like as
possible. A place with a clean atmosphere. °
I know they get some things at the center that
they can’t get at home, such as field trips, so I
don’t feel guilty.
Other factors I had to consider were cost and
location. I live in Charlotte and work in Lincolnton,
so I was fortunate to find a good day care center in
Stanley.”
Even if quality child care is available, some
parents still suffer guilt. :
Melissa Griffin, a mother from Stanley with two
children in day care, has mixed feelings.
“I have lots of guilt, but I can live with it. I don’t
like someone else taking care of my children, but
it’s necessary.
I think an established routine is important for
the children. Observe them. Are they happy and
well- adjusted? If they are listless and moody,
something is wrong. I also believe group interac-
tion after the age of two is good for children.”
Griffin has definite opinions about child care na-
tionwide.
“Business, industry or government need to pro-
vide child care. Women make up too much of the
work force to have these needs ignored,’’ she said.
According to the Department of Human
Resources Division of Facility Service in‘Raleigh,
Gaston County has 93 licensed day care centers
and 47 registered homes. Costs range from $75 to
$173 per month for one child receiving care.
Registered homes may keep as many as eight
children, but no more than five of them may be
pre-schoolers. It is suspected by some that many
homes currently caring for children may not be
pogisiered with the state and are operating illegal-
y.
Emphasis is on individualized learning, with
children making choices of what to work with from
prepared materials. The teacher’s role becomes
one of support, not direct instruction.
Another child care alternative established in
1964 under the Economic Opporiuniy Act is the
Head Start Program, so called because it was
designed to break the poverty cycle and give
children between the ages of three and five a
“head start” in life and school.
Between 1972 and 1975, Home Start, A Head Start
type program was initiated in some states. It was
set up in private homes by paraprofessionals, com-
munity members trained to work with parents and
children.
Many parents prefer a total child development
ER EY
Inside
Love
At
First
Bite!
That's -
what you’ll
find at
Peggy's
Restaurant in
Kings Mountain,
which is operated by
sisters Peggy Childers.
Loretta Owens, Sherry Short and Sue Rhea.
Page '5-B
~One of America’s leading gospel music
groups, The Singing Americans, will present a
Soncers Sunday at 7 p.m., at Temple Baptist
urch.
Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Bob McRae,
foresees many challenges for Kings Mountain
Schools in 1989.
Page 15-B
\
Page 12-B
center for their child. These centers offer transpor-
tation, health care, nutrition, including rca:
and educational opportunities. ~~ ~~
Rules and regulations for such a center are
numerous enough to fill a notebook. Understan-
dably, child care at such a center can be higher.
Karen Johnson, a Mount Holly mother with two
children in day care, understands this.
“I know my children are in a good day care
i where they are loved and cared for,”’ she
said.
‘‘Some parents feel that cost is a big chunk out of
their paychecks. In such cases, I don’t see how
working is worthwhile.
“You pay for what you get, and you're getting
more for your money these days -- transportation,
breakfast and field trips.
“I’m a teacher, so my children are only in child
care during school months. During vacation and
holidays, I keep them with me, but I still pay to.
keep their spot open at the center”. ;
Joey Toler of Stanley has two children in day
care. He has found a child development center that
meets his needs.
“What I look for when choosing a center are care
givers who give special attention and kindness to
each child.
The children need to be recognized as the little
people they are, individual people with individual
nee ” =
It is generally agreed that no one child care
situation is best for all. But involvement by one or
both parents or uardians is vital in the develop-
ment of the child. Hp lean BEE
Two working mothers---Denice Talbert and Debbie
Crawford---said they decided to enroll their children in
day care to give them the opportunity to associate with
No 'Best' Way To Rear Child
But Day Care Doesn't Come Close To Home Care
By GLENDA LOFTIN
Staff Writer
D.S. Huntington, author of ‘Handbook of Infant
Development,” tells of a sign hanging in a toy shop
which illustrates the changing attitudes toward
childrearing over the years. It read, 1910 -- Spank
Them; 1920 -- Deprive Them; 1930 -- Ignore Them;
1940 -- Reason With Them; 1950 -- Love Them; 1960
- Pnank Them Lovingly; 1970 -- The Hell With
Them!
As for the eighties, this decade has produced
more questions than hard and fast answers for
many American parents.
Should I remain home with my child or place it
in a day care or preschool situation? If I choose
day care, will my child feel neglected and unlov-
ed? If I opt to keep my child at home, will oy child
be deprived of early social interaction skills with
other children, or will he or she lag behind their
peers intellectually? Can I afford to stay at home?
What is best for my child?
According to researcher Diana Baumrind, there
is no such thing as the “best” way to rear children.
But, expert oninion is divided on the effects of
child care outside the family during the early
ears.
y In his study of children from birth to three years,
Burton White, author of “The first Three Years of
Life,” concluded that children given at home care
showed a more accelerated pace of development
other children. "It's worth it to us, we had Christopher,
_ 3, enrolled in day care when he was a year old," said
"Mts, Crawford, who works full time at Allen's Flower
Shop. She said she and her husband, Calvin Crawford,
decided that since Christopher was an only child that
he needed the close association with other children.
"They learn a lot and go to movies, the library and par-
ticipate in a number of activities," said Mrs. Crawford.
Denice and Billy Talbert enrolled their daughter,
Britt, 4 , in day care two years ago. Mrs. Talbert,
works at The Herald, said she is quite pleased with her
daughter's progress and that she feels the cost of the
program is worth it in dividends the child receives.
"Britt has met so many young people and is learning a
lot," she said. "Parents can depend on a day care facil-
ity to be open when you need them," said Mrs. Talbert.
In Kings Mountain, day care costs range from $40.
to $45. weekly per child. Service is available to work-
ing mothers on both first and second shifts.
Bolin Day Care, 901 Ramseur St., is owned and op-
“erated by Mrs. Barbara Bolin. The 90 children are in-
volved in kindergarten and pre-school activities on a
daily basis from 6:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Daily visi-
tors to the classrooms can watch busy hands engaged
in artwork, finger painting, pre-school materials and
enjoying games and classroom activities such as mak-
ing ornaments for a Christmas tree or other holiday
decorations. Breakfast, snacks and hot lunches are
provided to children from infant to age 12. The facility
also enrolls after-school children, many of whom at-
tend classes at North School, located across the road
from the facility. Prices range from $40. per week per
child from K-pre-school and $45. for infants and tod-
dlers. :
Other members of the staff are Mrs. Bolin's dgugh-
than those in day care situations.
White admits that his position is not a popular
one, but he is firm in his beliefs.
Quoted in a previous interview, White said, “The
gap between what they will get in a substitute-care
situation, and what we have found to be the best
conditions for the best development, is just too
great for me to support it (day care).
“Nothing in the way of substitute care,”” White
said, ‘‘comes close to what families can do in the
home.” :
White further stated that ‘Anyone who has used
such care with their children tends to feel extreme-
ly guilty when someone suggests that’s not a good
thing to do.”
According to White, leaving a child in the care of
a grandparent or other close realative would be
preferable to day care.
Author Deborah Fallows, seems to share some
of White’s views. According to “The Dilemma of
Child-Care,” an article reviewing Fallows’ book,
“A Mother’s Work,” in Psychology Today,
Fallows gave up her prestigious academic post at
Georgetown University ‘because I felt that I
wasn’t offering my son the kind of childhood I
wanted him to have.”
She argues that “quality time” is no substitute
for quantity time and says, ‘Parents, as the uni-
que and special people in their children’s lives,
need to spend as much time as possible with their
children.”
ter, Cindi Shytles, Gina Holmes, Marie Page, Debbie
Chapman, Kelly Rikard and Christi Carroll.
Humpty Dumpty Day Care on Bethlehem Church
Road is also a busy place this holiday season where 22
youngsters have decorated classrooms and put up holi-
day decorations. The youngest child at Humpty
Dumpty day Care is 13 months and the oldest child is
five years. Co-owners and directors Jo An Morrow
and Peggy Blackburn also open the faiclity to after
school students and to working parents daily from 6:30
a.m. until 5:30 p.m. at a cost if $40. per child, $45. for
one child, if untrained, and $62. for two children.
Donna Henderson and Pam Morrow also assist in the
program,
The children are making Christmas stockings,
Rudolph the red-nose reindeer, snowmen and
Christmas ornaments. Like other day care facilities in
this area, the facility offers field trips and a wide vari-
ety of activities.
Linwood Day Care, Groves St., accommodates 17
children from 6:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. daily and rc-
cently opened a second shift for working mothers. The
' facility has been owned by Charles and Karen Hardy
for one year. The Hardys enrolled their first child on
second shift schedule in November. Children have
been busy this week decorating the classroom for
Christmas and making ornaments and other holiday
decorations to share with their families. The cost for
day care is $40. per week per child.
A total of 40 licenses day care centers operate in
Cleveland County and 32 registered day care homes
are open in Cleveland County. Child-care rates in
Cleveland County range from $152-$170 per month
for one child.
Sandra Scarr, chairman of the University of
Virginia’s psychology department and author of
‘“Mother Care, Other Care,” maintains that Bur-
ton White's preference for leaving children with
realatives is impractical and unrealistic since
many such realatives have their own job obliga-
tions.
In a recent interview she says, ‘What really
matters is the quality of care they're having, not
who’s doing it. It used to be grandma but now it’s
somebody like grandma.”
According to “Child Development and Relation-
ships,” there are some advantages to having
mothers employed outside the home. Maternal
employment can have positive modeling effects on
children.
Once stable and predictable substitute care is
found, employed mothers can achieve career
satisfaction with an absence of excessive guilt and
worry. If suitable child care is found, and warm,
uality parent-child relationships are maintained,
ni should be no negative effects on children.
The whole family can be happy.
Specifically, girls whose mothers work outside
the home typically plan to work outside the home
themselves. These girls tend to have higher self-
esteem. Research also shows that when mothers
are wage-earners, daughters and sons have less
sterotyped sex role ideas than children of mothers
who stay at home. Maternal employment also en-
courages r interaction, independence, and
responsibility -- especially for boys.