Children in a family style childcare are truly like a big family. They are very close and love each other and their providers very much. The routine can be counted on daily, and it is a safe and secure part of their little lives. They count on this normalcy and continuity and develop in a healthy way emotionally from this very stable routine.
When it became evident in March that Coronavirus would effect us all in such a severe way, I decided to take the steps to stay open as an emergency childcare facility. Not only to stay in business, as I would have lost my 35 year career in a blink of an eye, also for the parents that I work for who are essential workers, but mostly for my childcare children.
Since then, we have had so many children out of care for long periods of time that, (as I expected) it has taken a very noticeable emotional toll on the children here. They have asked me countless times where all their friends are and if they are coming back. Children leaving childcare is a normal part of their growing up in a daycare. New children come in care that they have to get used to and they watch as their older friends move away or grow up and go to school etc. This is something that they don't like and sometimes can even be very devastating to them, but we talk about it a lot to help them deal with these loses.
This new routine is very different and very worrisome to them and is too difficult for them to process. Their grown ups are worried, and sometimes out of work. They are home so many more hours than normal and they miss their routine and daycare family. These emotional upheavals can make children act out at home and in childcare. I have tried very hard to keep the stability that they are used to for their benefit. It is so hard for them to understand where everyone has gone or if they will ever come back. And when their friends do come back for a day or two, its weird and new all over again. This new normal is very stressful for them too.
Hopefully the situation will right itself soon, and I pray for that daily and for all of the little kids whose lives have been effected so strangely from this. Being home with parents is a rare and happy thing that most little children in childcare NEVER get to experience, what a blessing! However, as wonderful as this is for them, the trade-off for them can be a hard thing to adjust to.
So please be aware and very understanding of these new and strange emotions that they feel from this new and challenging state of events in their lives as well.
When it became evident in March that Coronavirus would effect us all in such a severe way, I decided to take the steps to stay open as an emergency childcare facility. Not only to stay in business, as I would have lost my 35 year career in a blink of an eye, also for the parents that I work for who are essential workers, but mostly for my childcare children.
Since then, we have had so many children out of care for long periods of time that, (as I expected) it has taken a very noticeable emotional toll on the children here. They have asked me countless times where all their friends are and if they are coming back. Children leaving childcare is a normal part of their growing up in a daycare. New children come in care that they have to get used to and they watch as their older friends move away or grow up and go to school etc. This is something that they don't like and sometimes can even be very devastating to them, but we talk about it a lot to help them deal with these loses.
This new routine is very different and very worrisome to them and is too difficult for them to process. Their grown ups are worried, and sometimes out of work. They are home so many more hours than normal and they miss their routine and daycare family. These emotional upheavals can make children act out at home and in childcare. I have tried very hard to keep the stability that they are used to for their benefit. It is so hard for them to understand where everyone has gone or if they will ever come back. And when their friends do come back for a day or two, its weird and new all over again. This new normal is very stressful for them too.
Hopefully the situation will right itself soon, and I pray for that daily and for all of the little kids whose lives have been effected so strangely from this. Being home with parents is a rare and happy thing that most little children in childcare NEVER get to experience, what a blessing! However, as wonderful as this is for them, the trade-off for them can be a hard thing to adjust to.
So please be aware and very understanding of these new and strange emotions that they feel from this new and challenging state of events in their lives as well.
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