Daycare poll

I'm looking for some honest responses. No explanation is required,
and no one will be called upon (by me, anyway) for their responses.
Anyone can answer, regardless as to whether or not it would apply
to you.


Question: If you were looking for a full or part-time at-home
daycare provider and you answered an ad for a new one in
your area and found that it was run by a man, would your
immediate gut reaction....

A. To consider it equally, without care of the gender of
who was running it.
B. Feel a twinge of uncertainty, but would likely get over
it and consider the place.
C. Would consider the place with plenty of reservations,
but probably put it last on your list.
D. Not give it another thought and look elsewhere.


Follow-up Question: If the daycare were not at home,
but instead at a place of business, would that change your
answer at all to the above question?


Thanks in advance for honest responses.


P. Tierney

"P. Tierney" wrote in message
news:U9yOe.58648$084.12275@attbi_s22...
I'm looking for some honest responses. No explanation is required,
and no one will be called upon (by me, anyway) for their responses.
Anyone can answer, regardless as to whether or not it would apply
to you.


Question: If you were looking for a full or part-time at-home
daycare provider and you answered an ad for a new one in
your area and found that it was run by a man, would your
immediate gut reaction....

A. To consider it equally, without care of the gender of
who was running it.
B. Feel a twinge of uncertainty, but would likely get over
it and consider the place.
C. Would consider the place with plenty of reservations,
but probably put it last on your list.
D. Not give it another thought and look elsewhere.


Follow-up Question: If the daycare were not at home,
but instead at a place of business, would that change your
answer at all to the above question?

I've never had this problem. At the risk of not being pc, I think I might
be along the lines of C or D.

If it were a center, I would probably go with A or B. Depends on what vibes
I get from the guy, they layout of the center (if it had an open layout with
lots of windows), etc.

My kids go to a homebased daycare that has a man caring for the kids. The
person who runs it and does most of the childcare is a woman. The man
shuttles the kids around, does the gardening and holds the younger kids. My
kids have always loved him, so I don't see a problem. It might have been
different if I had met him first and he presented himself as the owner of
the daycare (he is married to the owner).

In article U9yOe.58648$084.12275@attbi_s22,
"P. Tierney" wrote:

I'm looking for some honest responses. No explanation is required,
and no one will be called upon (by me, anyway) for their responses.
Anyone can answer, regardless as to whether or not it would apply
to you.


Question: If you were looking for a full or part-time at-home
daycare provider and you answered an ad for a new one in
your area and found that it was run by a man, would your
immediate gut reaction....

A. To consider it equally, without care of the gender of
who was running it.
B. Feel a twinge of uncertainty, but would likely get over
it and consider the place.
C. Would consider the place with plenty of reservations,
but probably put it last on your list.
D. Not give it another thought and look elsewhere.


E - Give it serious consideration, as I frequently look to expose my
kids to people who are working outside of gender stereotypes. That
means women doctors, man teachers, stuff like that.

That being said, the most important thing would be the quality of the
program, period. However, if I found it to be a quality place, I'd be
MORE likely to select it because a man was running it than less likely.


Follow-up Question: If the daycare were not at home,
but instead at a place of business, would that change your
answer at all to the above question?


Nope.


Thanks in advance for honest responses.


P. Tierney


--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

P. Tierney wrote:
I'm looking for some honest responses. No explanation is required,
and no one will be called upon (by me, anyway) for their responses.
Anyone can answer, regardless as to whether or not it would apply
to you.


Question: If you were looking for a full or part-time at-home
daycare provider and you answered an ad for a new one in
your area and found that it was run by a man, would your
immediate gut reaction....

A. To consider it equally, without care of the gender of
who was running it.
B. Feel a twinge of uncertainty, but would likely get over
it and consider the place.
C. Would consider the place with plenty of reservations,
but probably put it last on your list.
D. Not give it another thought and look elsewhere.

I would almost always choose centre-based care over at-home care but if that
wasn't the case - option B, but only if he was looking after his own
pre-school child(ren) as well - otherwise, option D)..



Follow-up Question: If the daycare were not at home,
but instead at a place of business, would that change your
answer at all to the above question?

All other things being equal I would prefer to send my child to a daycare
centre that had both men and women carers so I would consider him a rare
asset in that environment - option A+

Tai

P. Tierney wrote:
I'm looking for some honest responses. No explanation is required,
and no one will be called upon (by me, anyway) for their responses.
Anyone can answer, regardless as to whether or not it would apply
to you.


Question: If you were looking for a full or part-time at-home
daycare provider

I wouldn't ever use an at-home daycare provider unless it was a private
individual in my own home. In that case it would depend on the
individual as to whether or not I hired him/her. Gender would not be
an issue.



and you answered an ad for a new one in
your area and found that it was run by a man, would your
immediate gut reaction....

A. To consider it equally, without care of the gender of
who was running it.
B. Feel a twinge of uncertainty, but would likely get over
it and consider the place.
C. Would consider the place with plenty of reservations,
but probably put it last on your list.
D. Not give it another thought and look elsewhere.


Follow-up Question: If the daycare were not at home,
but instead at a place of business, would that change your
answer at all to the above question?

No. There is a Montessori preschool here that has a wonderful male
teacher. I would send DS there in a minute and probably will.

-L.

As a male early years student: A. I find prejudices against men working
with children baffling. If anyone would be bold enough to explain why
they feel prejudices towards men in childcare roles I'd very much
appreciate it.

P Tierney writes:

Question: If you were looking for a full or part-time at-home daycare
provider and you answered an ad for a new one in your area and found
that it was run by a man, would your immediate gut reaction....

This means sending my child to this person's home, where this person will
be the sole care provider, right? (What we'd call a "child minder" in the
UK.)

C. Would consider the place with plenty of reservations, but probably
put it last on your list.

Follow-up Question: If the daycare were not at home, but instead at a
place of business, would that change your answer at all to the above
question?

If it were just a question of where it was, no. If it were a nursery run by
a man but with other staff around, that would be a completely different
matter, and then one of the staff being a man would probably turn into a
plus.

I'd be very uncomfortable about my pre-verbal child being cared for by
*any* single, unsupervised care provider that I didn't know well myself, so
TBH your hypothesis is unlikely to hold for me. But yes, I'd be more uneasy
if it were a man.

Sidheag
DS Colin Oct 27 2003

richard mowatt writes:

As a male early years student: A. I find prejudices against men working
with children baffling. If anyone would be bold enough to explain why
they feel prejudices towards men in childcare roles I'd very much
appreciate it.

OK, here goes. I'd be very uncomfortable about my pre-verbal child being
cared for by *any* single, unsupervised care provider that I didn't know
well myself. That's why he's at nursery, where although he has a key
worker, there are always several adults around. If he were being mistreated
in any way, he currently wouldn't be able to tell me about it. References
and gut feel only go so far for me. I want to be confident that if someone
caring for him were mistreating him, there'd be another adult around to
notice and stop it. So I'd be most unlikely to use (what I understand as)
at home daycare for him at all, unless it were run by a friend of mine. I'd
be even more uncomfortable about a man in this situation than a woman.
That's a feeling, not necessarily rational. It may well have to do with the
vast majority of sexual abusers of children being men, even though of
course I know that the vast majority of men who work with children are not
abusers.

If this lack of accountability could be overcome, then I'd be with whoever
it was (Banty?) who said that a carer being a man would be a plus, because
it would help to counter gender stereotypes. If, for example, a man joined
the staff of DS's nursery, I'd be very happy about that.

Sidheag
DS Colin Oct 27 2003

"P. Tierney" wrote in message
news:U9yOe.58648$084.12275@attbi_s22...
Question: If you were looking for a full or part-time at-home
daycare provider and you answered an ad for a new one in
your area and found that it was run by a man, would your
immediate gut reaction....

A. To consider it equally, without care of the gender of
who was running it.
B. Feel a twinge of uncertainty, but would likely get over
it and consider the place.
C. Would consider the place with plenty of reservations,
but probably put it last on your list.
D. Not give it another thought and look elsewhere.


I would answer D

Follow-up Question: If the daycare were not at home,
but instead at a place of business, would that change your
answer at all to the above question?

I would then possibly consider him, if he was not the sole carer.

"P. Tierney" wrote in message
news:U9yOe.58648$084.12275@attbi_s22...
I'm looking for some honest responses. No explanation is required,
and no one will be called upon (by me, anyway) for their responses.
Anyone can answer, regardless as to whether or not it would apply
to you.


Question: If you were looking for a full or part-time at-home
daycare provider and you answered an ad for a new one in
your area and found that it was run by a man, would your
immediate gut reaction....

A. To consider it equally, without care of the gender of
who was running it.
B. Feel a twinge of uncertainty, but would likely get over
it and consider the place.
C. Would consider the place with plenty of reservations,
but probably put it last on your list.
D. Not give it another thought and look elsewhere.

B.

Follow-up Question: If the daycare were not at home,
but instead at a place of business, would that change your
answer at all to the above question?

That would change it to A, assuming that there were other
workers there. Otherwise, still B.

Thanks in advance for honest responses.

Bizby