Men in Childcare... What do you think?

Question

Honestly, if you went to a Childcare Center where a man was the Director... Would you allow your children to attend?

*I'm asking because this is MY goal. I am a college graduate with a degree in Child Development and Family Relations and I am currently in Grad School to obtain my Masters in Education.

Answer 1

There are many things you need to consider...

1) Many parents of young girls would feel uncomfortable with a male taking care of their child especially during potty training when accidents occur and you need to change them (young boys as well) Many parents feel more comfortable with a woman doing these duties if they are not the child's parent - even as a director you would sometimes have to step into a classroom to help when you may be understaffed or staff need extra assistance

2) As a staff at a daycare - where 99% of staff are women - we would prefer having a female director to come to for advice when dealing with children - sadly many of us women think men don't know as much about children - you may be book smart but have not been in the trenches of taking care of children for years as some of us gals have - and most of the parenting duties usually fall on women's shoulders when children are young anyway - women feel more comfortable going to the female director for advice because of these reasons

3) Also, children respond differently to male and female authority figures - some parents may feel their child receives unfair punishments from a male director because it is stereotypically harsher punishments from male authority than women because generally women tend to show more compassion than women and are more likely to give children more opportunities to redeem themselves through good behavior

Just some things to consider - I have worked with some male coworkers (not director) and generally I have been annoyed by the performance of male childcare workers because they unfortunately did not seem to handle the work the way my female coworkers have. Sorry!

Answer 2

Like the above girl says, I would prefer a female.

Answer 3

why not---go for it

Answer 4

I will prefer a Childcare Center where the Director is a woman, because women, in my opinion, know more about how to take care of children than men do.

Answer 5

of course i would. male or female is does not matter if the person in question has the proper qualifications and attitude. anything i enroll my sons in starts with me doing a basic interview with the person in charge and my choice as to whether  or not to enroll is made then.

go for it. educating young people is a very noble vocation as well as a very tough one. good for you.