One-on-One with Chris Cross


Beyond Custodial Care

By Chris Cross, National Trainer and Consultant chris@courageworksinc.com

Few people wake up and say “today I am going to change my life and dedicate every waking hour to caring for other people’s children while earning very little money and getting even less thanks in return.” Let’s face it…few would make this choice. Yet, many of you did! I’m not talking about custodial care where you primary goal is to just make sure that you do ‘no harm’ to the children in your care (like feeding them and keep them from hurting themselves or others). I’m talking about a true commitment to offering quality care to the children and their families who come to your home.

 

You rise everyday and prepare your home for the brigade of little people marching into your living room that for the next ten hours will be transformed into a premier quality early care and education classroom. Then, just like magic after the last child leaves, the classroom walls disappear and it’s your home again. Poof! Just like that. (We wish…)

 

For some of you those walls come down, but for others they remain constant fixtures in your home décor. My friend says her house is decorated by the famous designer “Le petite Tyke” (That’s Little Tyke to you and me). But regardless of whatever different means you use to transform your homes you should never forget that there are “many right ways” to achieve success and that you contribute to our society in the most meaningful way possible.

You fill a void in the lives of many families…the home environment that they may not be able to provide because they have made the choice to work. And we know better than anyone that it doesn’t matter why they made that choice—either they needed to, or they chose to—we respect parents for making those choices.

 

We support their families by caring for their children for as long as they need us to. Ten or more hours a day, five or more days a week, 50 + weeks a year, from birth to age thirteen - you’re there when families need you. How do I know this? You wouldn’t be reading this article if you weren’t committed to your profession.

 

What we sow together today – society will definitely reap tomorrow!

YOU impact children:

  • When you provide a safe, nurturing environment
  • When you teach them valuable life skills – like cooperation and conflict resolution
  • When you prepare them to be successful in school
  • And especially when you help them build a strong, healthy self-image

YOU impact families:

  • When you care for their children - when they can’t
  • When you nurture and strengthen the family unit through shared values
  • When you offer parenting skills and child development information
  • And especially when you offer emotional support

 

We at CourageWorks Inc would like to congratulate everyone in the profession of family child care (including the caregivers, agency support staff, private consultants and trainers, organizations and businesses) for the tremendous work that has been done over the past two decades.

 

However, we have much more work to do – but together we can and will reach our primary goal of high quality care for all children. The road toward this goal has to include higher wages, respect from society, better training, more technical support and of course benefits such as the availability of affordable health, disability, dental, life and insurance, and retirement plans!

 

We challenge each of you to look beyond the success of your own individual program – to see the need for your input and help on a larger scale within the profession. Whether you choose to be a mentor, an active support group and/or association member, activist or lobbyist, and/or advocate – you can make a difference. Stand up and be counted – and especially don’t let others define your profession as custodial care! The profession needs you!

 

Chris Cross is the Immediate Past President of NAFCC and currently the co-owner of CourageWorks, Inc.  As Director of the Florida Family Child Care M.E.N.T.O.R. program from 1999-2003, she was instrumental in the creation, development and maintenance of their statewide program. She is co-author of ‘ME! Mentoring Essentials’ (available on the NAFCC website). Email her at chris @ courageworksinc.com regarding information on future articles; training opportunities; and consulting.