pro - fes' - sion - al (adj.) 1. Of or engaged in a specified occupation for pay.
(Webster's World Dictionary)
Sounds simple, right? But when you look closer at what it means to be a professional in child care, it's not so simple. Professionalism is not only belonging to groups or organizations, or even just being paid for your work. It is much more; but sometimes it is hard to define.
- Jan, a licensed provider, often hired her friend Mary as her substitute. Mary was happy to do it. But when Mary opened her own child care business, Jan was overheard to say, "I don't feel Mary will be a very good provider."
- Providers in an association hold monthly meetings. But lately, personal conflicts among members have led to open bickering at the meetings. So instead of receiving support, providers leave upset. The association is in danger of disbanding.
- Anne, the mother of 8 month old Sarah, is angry because her provider, Myra, has misplaced Sarah's bottle. As Myra leaves the room to try once more to find it, 4 year old Billy pipes up and casually asks, "Is it still in the toilet?"
Each of these stories will be repeated among people of the community, casting a shadow upon family child care in general. When that happens, ownership of family child care's image is given away, and providers lose control of how they wish to be viewed by the general public.
By striving to market a professional image, providers can gain back control of how the public will view them and their career. Tips to accomplish this are:
- Improve Yourself. Dig into books, other publications, educational tapes, and courses dealing with your main job: children. Improve your knowledge of child development so you can project your knowledge to others. Materials on self-esteem will teach you to "like yourself" and your profession. That valuable lesson will carry through every time you have contact with others in your area. You can find information in libraries and from Resource & Referrals. Or you can also complete a program which will give you accreditation, after which you can claim the same prestige given to center-based caregivers.
- Create a "portfolio" of yourself, complete with photos of your children, the rules you follow, some sample parent agreements, etc. Such a portfolio is a great tool to use for prospective clients and to show key community people who have never taken family child care very seriously.
- At meetings, strive to keep your group's focus on the issues at hand. Do not allow negative comments. Join in and help strengthen the whole group. (As an example, if everyone volunteers for two tasks each year, the work load will be divided equally among all members.)
- Support Each Other! If some providers in your own area choose to join a voluntary accreditation program, make sure you let them know you appreciate their efforts. As newly-licensed providers become more involved, welcome them. If a provider is chosen to be interviewed by the local paper, let her know that you also benefit from her visibility.
Market yourselves positively!
So . . . how do you define "professional?"
From the September, 1991, issue of The Teddy Bear.
