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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 02, 2010 | Updated 0 hours, 27 minutes ago
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4/15/2008 12:03:00 PM  | Email this article • Print this article • Comment on this article | ANALYSIS
Why child care isn't valued ... and some reasons it should be
By KATHRYN B. BROWN
EO associate publisher
Child care is a constantly challenging profession, requiring intelligence, patience, in-depth knowledge of child behavior and development, creativity, sensitivity, love for children and a sense of humor.
Sadly, today it also requires a tolerance for long hours at low wages, often without health and retirement benefits.
Child care as a profession isn't as highly valued as it should be.
As a nation, we don't pay our child care providers well. In 2003, the annual average wage for child care providers in Oregon was $15,705 - compared to the average of $34,442 for all industries.
In Oregon, more than one-third of all children are in paid child care between birth and age 5. This is a critical time in children's lives, and they need to be in safe, stable, nurturing and mentally-stimulating environments. Those child care providers who provide such high-quality environments should be justly compensated for their important work.
Sadly, because wages for child care providers are so low, many of those who would excel at caring for children choose to go into other professions. Many child care providers don't even view themselves as professionals, probably because society at large doesn't value their work.
A 2005 report by the Oregon Child Care Information Partnership points out that for many families, financial circumstances limit their access to quality child care - it's just too expensive. So, child care establishments have to keep their prices low, and they do this by paying low wages. The result: The child care industry has an inexperienced and minimally-trained work force, with high turnover. There are few incentives for child care providers to get advanced education and training above and beyond what is mandated by state licensing rules.
If we - as a county, a state and a nation - fully recognized the value of high quality child care and set forth to train and compensate child care providers at a higher level than we do currently, the benefits would outweigh the costs. These benefits include more productive parents in the work force, less employee absenteeism, and - most importantly - children who are better prepared to learn in school, because they have spent time in high-quality child care environments with well-trained, well-compensated child care providers who stay in their jobs long term.
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