02/16/2026
Whomever wrote this is spot on…and somehow we still manage to be present with the children. For anyone who thinks we are just babysitters or thinks that they will “just watch kids in ther home for a little extra cash without being licensed”. This is my job, my career, my passion, my livlihood and why I sometimes work 11 hours a day with children plus 3 more in the evenings and 15-20 more hours on the weekend.
copied from a friend
FOR ALL MY CHILD CARE PROVIDERS/FRIENDS
“I Want to Be Present for the Children”
I want to be present for the children—
but the CACFP binder is open on the table,
meal counts waiting,
milk quantities measured,
signatures missing in blue ink instead of black.
I want to be present for the children—
but DHS just changed a rule,
and I am rereading policy pages
while a toddler tugs my sleeve
wanting to show me the worm he found in the garden.
I want to be present for the children—
but the food auditor is coming,
so I double-check the fridge thermometer,
recalculate grain equivalents,
and count strawberries one more time.
I want to be present for the children—
but the state just pulled funding,
and now I am recalculating tuition,
reworking budgets,
wondering how to keep my doors open
without breaking families.
I want to be present for the children—
but licensing just pulled in the driveway.
Ratios.
Training hours.
Emergency forms.
Handwashing logs.
Outdoor square footage.
I want to be present for the children—
but QRIS wants documentation,
evidence,
portfolios,
environmental rating scales,
lesson plan reflections typed and uploaded.
I want to be present for the children—
but the STARS visit is next week,
so I label shelves,
print policies,
highlight credentials
to prove what love already knows.
I want to be present for the children—
but state auditors need reports,
attendance verified by the minute,
sign-in sheets aligned with subsidy portals
that freeze without warning.
I want to be present for the children—
the babies learning to trust the world,
the two-year-old finding her voice,
the four-year-old asking why the leaves fall.
I want to sit in the grass
and listen to their stories.
I want to rock the fussy infant
without glancing at the clock.
I want to kneel eye-to-eye
and marvel at their questions.
But instead,
I document.
I file.
I upload.
I calculate.
I prove.
And somewhere in all the oversight,
all the compliance,
all the monitoring and measuring—
they forget.
They forget
that behind every binder
is a provider holding a baby.
Behind every spreadsheet
is someone wiping tears.
Behind every regulation
is a child who just wants
connection.
We are not factories.
We are not numbers.
We are not portals.
We are caregivers.
Teachers.
Nurturers.
Safe places.
And above all—
We are trying
to be present
for the children.
