Don't shake those little babies!

OK, I know everyone is probably tired of me tweeting about not shaking the babies.  However, as a pediatric nurse with 20+ years of experience, I have seen first hand the effects of Shaken Baby Syndrome and it is absolutely heartbreaking.

Shaken Baby Syndrome is the condition where a child has been shaken so violently that damage occurs inside their head and to their brain stem.  25% of these children die quickly, where the other 75% die a long, protracted death, over years.  They become "vegetables", as the general public so cruelly likes to categorize them. 

Rest assured that the little "bouncy bounce" game you play with your child on your knee, or the "Trot Trot to Boston" game, is NOT what we are talking about here.  Also, a child cannot get this degree of damage from falling off a couch or bumping their head. 

Remember that crying is the only way a baby can communicate... if it's getting to you and you can't take it anymore, just put the baby in her crib and walk away for 5 minutes.  It's never OK to shake your baby.  

Babysitter or Day Care Provider?

I was having a conversation with my cute husband this morning on the way to breakfast (gotta love a man who wants to take you out to breakfast on a rainy Monday morning :))  and he was asking me about why some states have continuing education requirements for day care providers and why some do not. And, in the same vein, why do some states highly regulate who is allowed to provide continuing education, and others don't care or pay attention.  It was an excellent question.

I think that some states just do not prioritize the education of the caregivers who are taking care of their babies.  Those states are viewing day care providers as "babysitters", instead of professionals who have the ability to shape and form the little minds of itty bitty members of society.  To be generous, they are trying to decrease bureaucracy and red tape, and not have big government.  OK, I  get that.  HOWEVER, our children are our nations greatest national resource!  Why cut there???  I'll never understand that.

So, I think in many ways, its going to have to be up to the providers to decide how they want to deliver their services.  Do they want to be a babysitter, someone who merely provides a place for the children to be supervised while the parents are at work.  OR, do they want to be a professional day care provider, a small business owner, someone who provides value-added?  A teacher, a mentor, a life-long learner?

Its up to you!  I know who I would bring my kids to, though...

Social is so...social!

I'm new to all this social media stuff....well, I have been doing Facebook for a couple years now, but until THIS WEEK I really did not pay much attention to twitter, LinkedIn, blogging etc.  But now, WOW!  It's consuming a lot of time and energy and I sure hope it pays off!

I got some great advice from an old friend and schoolmate Jay Baer, who owns a company called "Convince and Convert".  He advised me to read two books, one of which I am almost done with.  The first book is "Branding Yourself", by Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacey.  The authors walk the reader step by step how to market yourself as a personal brand.  I'm thinking to myself, WOW!  This is great!  I will have all this free media at my disposal to get my message out there and start sending my message out to the masses.

So watch me go at it, folks!  I'm gonna tweet, connect, friend and blog my way to world domination!  And when I figure it all out, I'll write a class for my day care ladies on how to incorporate social media into their daycare business.  Let's get tweeting!

Bonnie McCormick RN, BSN
Day Care Professor

Forming Little Minds

On Sunday morning I sat with my family at Starbucks and read the Florida-Times Union.  Of course, I didn’t read it cover to cover, leisurely… I read the front page (then wiped my 3 year old’s nose), took a sip of coffee (tied a shoe, wiped up a spill, consoled said 3 year old), took another sip (more consoling), etc.  However, I was able to read one disturbing article on the front page regarding what we are doing as a society to the young minds of children.

The article was titled “Battling the Enemies of Fertile Young Minds”, by Jeremy Cox. In this article he outlines struggles that some young mothers face, with poverty, abuse, lack of job market, family issues etc, and how it affects the children in their care.  Some of the scenarios of these young mothers were beyond disturbing, such as the young mom who was raped while holding her young child in her arms.  The author then goes on to outline what research has shown about how negative stimuli can affect the brain development of very young children.  It was horrifying to say the least.

I believe this to be one of the main reasons I am so passionate about high quality, licensed child care.  You, as day care providers, have the unique privilege and ability to influence young children when they are most vulnerable… when their little brains are developing, forming connections, and processing all the information that is fed to them in so many ways.  If negative stimuli can destroy brain cells, just think what all of that love and compassion can do! 

High quality child care can not only provide a comfortable, safe, and nurturing learning environment for the children, but peace of mind for the parents.  As a working mom who had an AMAZING day care provider who poured her heart and soul into nurturing my children, I am eternally grateful for the gifts of love and wisdom my day care provider gave me and my children. 

To all you day care providers out there, I salute you!

Bonnie McCormick RN, BSN

Day Care Professor