Working with children there are, of course, lots of moments where cleaning needs to take place. It is a part of our job to keep the environment safe for children. This was true before covid, and it’s especially true now. Cleaning is a part of my job, it is NOT its entirety.
I used to work for a for-profit centre where the appearance of cleanliness was paramount. I was constantly afraid to make something messy, to the point where I felt under pressure to limit sensory and art play, which are important experiences and explorations for young children. I didn’t though. This took a toll on me… exhausted and stressed I would spend my lunch breaks, my limited planning time, and after my shift cleaning. Worst of all; I felt like I had to use the time I am supposed to be with the children… to “clean”.
Then… one case of hand foot and mouth appeared, and another. At this time there were a lot of new staff transitioning, and sanitization of toys was not getting done. So I had enough and I began to do a heavy clean hoping to sponge the room of the virus on my own. That night my feet were hot, I had a high fever, my eyes watered. The next day my feet and hands were incredibly itchy and welts began to develop. I had to sleep with ice packs between my hands and feet for an entire week to get relief. Later my nails peeled off. It took forever for my skin to go back to normal, it was embarrassing, and I was at a loss.
I was asked by the director “where did you get it from?”… I was stunned, I was not the first case of this in the centre and I felt like I was being directed to say I got it somewhere else. I turned to my director and I said “here”. Something had to give, our centre had no cleaning service to take care of end of day/extra cleaning. So we would need to do a full scale clean of a 3 sink, 3 toilet washroom and a large classroom, and we were also in charge of doing a 4 room centre’s laundry. All of this without the paid time out of the program to do it.
This was my breaking point. It was either that I was risking everyone’s health, or risking not spending time with them. I felt heartbroken, like I was missing out on the parts of education and care that made the day special, and made opportunities for learning and being together possible. This wasn’t the child care I wanted, this wasn’t the child care the children deserved. I ultimately made the decision to leave this position, but I have never stopped advocating, because we all deserve better.
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We know that well-funded early years programs prioritize the experiences of young children. We also know that valued, appreciated, respected and well-compensated educators with decent work can prioritize their pedagogical work with young children. All children, families and educators deserve a well-funded, public child care system that ensures their needs are a priority. We need the Ontario government to work cooperatively with the Federal government to deliver a publicly funded, non profit, universal child care system with decent work for all.
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