Are They REALLY Looking After Your Baby?

In a previous article, I mentioned that I have daughters who work in two different nurseries and I hear some worrying stories. It would seem that when it comes to looking after your baby or little one, it might not be all about a love for children, but more about money.

Okay, so that is a bit of a general statement, but certainly the nurseries I have contacts in (not just where my daughters work) come back with similar tales. Here are just a few.

"Food" For Baby and Children: In one particular nursery, they grab various items from the freezer and throw it all together on one tray and "cook" it in the oven. It makes no difference as to differing times that such items should be cooked for. They all go in for the same period of time and then served up for the children to eat. There is little or no consideration for the healthy eating requirements of children.

Poor Motivation For the Key Workers: These are the members of staff who have direct responsibility for your baby or child. Generally speaking, these are the members of staff who do really care about babies and children but are controlled by managers under quite a tight regime. The managers find themselves able to pay the lowest rate possible to their staff (and sometimes below the legal requirement). It is common that new members of staff join for the opportunity to work with the children and have their childcare studies funded, but they often miss the clause in the contract that says that they will indeed be funded at no cost to the staff member as long as they remain with the nursery during studies and for a specified amount of time beyond. The result is that these members of staff can be treated abysmally as such members of staff simply cannot afford to pay back the costs of the course if they leave the nursery early. They are often put upon to work extra hours and receive extra duties for no reward. I personally know some such members who live in fear of losing their job and having to pay back the mentioned amounts.

The Number Of Staff Per Child: There is a law that covers this and it is a law that is broken in at least two nurseries I know about.

There are various other incidents I could report here, but to label all nurseries as the same would not be fair - or would it. What do you know about the inner workings of the nurseries near you' Do they take good care of your baby or child' Are you sure' Or do they do just what they have to and treat their staff as virtual slaves' Just a thought that you might like to investigate for yourself.