Welcome to number 4 in my series on home daycare educators and the important work that they do with children!
I’m passionate about home based childcare options – in Australia we call this sector Family Day Care and I'm currently highlighting some of the wonderful work that professional family day care educators do all around Australia. We’ll take a peek into their childcare environments, talk about why they love what they do and even share a few of the unique challenges that only this role offers.
New to this series? Catch up on previous posts by clicking the links below:
Part 1 HERE.
Part 2 HERE.
Part 3 HERE
If you are considering opening a family day care service from your home this series will be a valuable step inside what is really involved and the type of educator you need to be to make it work for you…and also your own family.
If you are a parent who is considering choosing family day care as your childcare option this series will certainly help to show why I personally believe this is one of the best options available today for children and families requiring care. You can also read THIS GUIDE to finding a quality family day care service.
If you are confused about what home based or family day care services offer I hope this series will answer some of your questions.
During this series I am featuring one Australian educator each week – I’ve asked each educator the same questions and I’m going to share their answers and photos with you in every article. There is such a wealth of experience, different personalities and interesting environments across the family daycare profession and this series provides just a glimpse into how a few local educators are doing a job they love!
Home Daycare Educator Spotlight
Debbie Johnson
What is your Family Day Care service name?
Deb's Day Care
How long have you been a Family Day Care Educator?
17 years!
What qualifications & experience do you have?
Advanced Diploma.
Certificate VI working with children with additional needs.
What is your philosophy regarding working with and caring for young children?
My philosophy is to have an environment that is respectful, open and welcoming, that provides to all children and families in a nurturing manner a safe place to be, to ‘play to learn’, to make friends, feel safe and to grow confidence in achievements and for every child to reach their full potential.
For parents to have piece of mind that their children are in the next best possible care other than their own.
What do you love about being a Family Day Care Educator?
The connections with families and the pure love of their children, the extension of my own family.
- I love watching their innocence above all else.
- Watching them grow and achieve
- Receiving the love back from the children
- Playing all day!
- The opportunities for Personal Development
- Being home for my now 3 children and 2 grand children and husband.
What is your biggest challenge working in this sector?
The amount of documenting that needs to take place and keeping it up to date and current.
Getting a balance of my own family and work and also maintaining my own personal well being.
What do you feel are the biggest benefits to children attending a family day care service like yours that the community and families might not be aware of?
- The personal bonds made with parents and their children.
- The aspect that in general the Family Day Care Educator goes way beyond being just the child's Educator.
- The smaller child to educator ratio is beneficial for those children with additional needs.
- There is far more scope for children to discover the community and beyond.
- A higher likelihood of children learning the day to day life skills that will hold them in good stead to become great citizens.
- Out of core hours care and overnight care available – useful for those families not working regular business hours!
Thank you to Debbie for opening her home to us and sharing an insight into her work as a professional family day care educator. Love seeing those happy faces and the obvious commitment to outdoor play and exploration together as a group!
If you would like to contact Debbie you can leave me a message in the comments below and I will get your message to her.
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