There is No Such Thing as Better

I have been on holidays this past week and I spent part of a day with a friend that runs a daycare from her home. As I watched her with 'her kids' and we shared experiences and stories, at one point she asked me "Is your daycare better?"

My immediate answer to that question is that there is no such thing as better. We are different people and we do things in a different way. But in the end I believe that our goals are the same. We want 'our kids' to learn to get along with each other, be kind, follow the rules we have and be a part of the 'community' we have built for them.

I admired the less-stress way that my friend put lunch together for her kids. I admired the loving way that she was. I noticed her consistency and fairness (and hoped that I was attaining that as well).

We have many, many similarities in the way that we handle our days. We are different people so we do some things differently but the result is the same. I hope to learn from those differences. I'd like to incorporate some of what I saw, into my world.

But I agree with my statement. There is no such thing as better ... the parents that choose us, decide to bring their children because of those differences. Those little things that the parent sees, that makes them comfortable enough to entrust us with their children. There may be daycares out there that are better for some than others. There may be daycares out there that don't meet the minimum standards of safety and care. But what I saw when I was at my friends was simply a different choice for the parents. I saw a loving care provider, a home set up for children, with guidelines to keep everyone safe and well taken care of.

The individuals that we are, creates the environment for our daycare families. Is one better than the other? Hopefully only in the eyes of the parents that we work for. It is the personal connections with our families that can sway what is better for one family. But I like to believe that we are both providing quality care. We are simply different choices for different families.