[Hadiya]

I would speak with my director first to get another opinion. If it is agreed there is reasonable suspicion, I would call CPS and report right away.

[Hadiya]

I have a lot of worries, honestly. The state of the world right now and my own personal experiences growing up are why I have many.

Gun violence and suspicions of abuse are big fears for me.

I’m worried about medical emergencies and injuries. I’m worried about making sure children do not hurt each other. I want to provide the safest environment I can so, naturally, I have a lot of worries.

[Hadiya]

Build a trusting relationship. Be honest and transparent but also gracious and sympathetic. Provide the same safe space to the families as you do their child. Work together and always collaborate when it comes to plans, ideas, goals, etc. Even though this is a team effort, the family is always the primary provider/ teacher and you should always meet them halfway if not meet them where they are at!

[Hadiya]

WANT:

-Honesty/ transparency

-Positive/ outgoing

-Responsible/ reliable

FEARS:

-Is my child getting enough interaction with their provider and peers?

-Is my child happy and enjoying their time while I am not there?

-Is my child engaged in learning or just being ‘babysat’?

[Hadiya]

Cater to their interests and dive deeper. They seem to enjoy music? Let’s look at/ listen to different kinds of instruments and music! Let’s all play or sing a song together! Maybe learn a simple song in a different language? Let’s read a book about music! Let’s explore different music from around the world!
Taking an interest and finding creative ways to really dig in to that topic will hopefully keep them engaged and excited to learn more!
Always ask open ended questions to get them thinking and talking more! Yes and no questions are not going to help you dive deeper.

[Hadiya]

Involve the children in making the schedule that way you are more likely to keep them interested and engaged in day to day activities.
Plan out meal times and outside time and base certain activities around energy level. When might they be the most energetic? When would they potentially start to wind down? What activities can support this?

Observe what works and what doesn’t and adjust accordingly.

[Hadiya]

Environment is everything. Children need to feel safe and want to feel like they are home. It is important to set up the room so that it is inviting, comfortable, and promotes learning on their own!

[Hadiya]

Prepare and practice what you will say. Provide documentation/ evidence based findings. Be gracious and understanding of the parents feelings and provide them with resources to support them and their child.

[Hadiya]

Every child develops at their own pace. Observing and documenting children’s development will help you understand where they are at and when you may need to provide additional support. It is important to meet them where they are at!

[Hadiya]

I agree that screen time should be postponed until a later age. I would rather replace screen time with music listening. Music is a powerful learning tool as it can get teach listening skills, empathy, self soothing, I believe it can increase focus and improve language skills as well.
We are social beings, the ability to connect socially is extremely important to our development and even our survival. Screen time blurs the lines of reality and I personally believe screen time can reduce the magic and learning potential of imagination! Children are still grasping the concept of object permanence as well, so I feel it’s best to withhold screen time for a while.

[Hadiya]

Observe and acknowledge children’s choices/ interests and interact with those decisions. Present an idea or activity and follow their lead! Provide strong conversations that let you in on their thought process and help them develop connections between those thoughts. Always be with them at their level!

[Hadiya]

I would check in with the parent and make sure everything is okay first. See if there is an outside factor causing the tardiness and discuss how we can support them. Maybe we could reach out to another family member that the child is allowed to be released to and see if they could pick the child up.
I would ask them to make sure they are proactively communicating with us so we can be prepared to provide extra support for the child since 20 minutes can feel like an overwhelming amount of time to them.
If the parent is unable to make a change, I would then discuss with them that picking their child up earlier could be an option. Overall, we shouldn’t have children here after hours and I don’t want the child to development any negative connotations about the center because they may feel like they’ve been left there when the parent is late- this could create a difficult drop off in the morning as well.

[Hadiya]

Early childcare providers must provide
learning opportunities that are culturally/ racially diverse in their curriculum, activities, and materials. That includes things around the
classroom that don’t reinforce stereotypes, diverse music, and
intervening when biased behavior is displayed. (WAC 110-300-0160)

This helps each child feel included and represented. This is extremely important and even more so because they have a sense of self from a very young age.

[Hadiya]

I was not surprised by the WAC regulations themself, I was more so surprised (in a good way) at how thorough the regulations are, especially regarding licensing. It makes me feel good that there are many regulations for this state because it shows how serious child care is and how serious it needs to be taken. This tremendously influences our day-to-day because we should be consistently checking in and making sure we are adhering to those regulations and implementing the best practices at all times. I will definitely be referring to the WAC frequently and will make sure to keep that knowledge fresh in my mind.