Submission #2347

I am the parent of two beautiful children who have been in full-time childcare since infancy. I am an educator at the public school and college levels and my husband is an educator and member of the Canadian Forces. Childcare is essential to our family unit and allows us to not only do our jobs but support our community as well. It can be a scary thing to put your baby in childcare, but from the moment both of our children started at their centres, our fears were eased. The experiences we had with the educators at our centre made us feel confident that they were receiving exceptional care and nurturing. Both of our children bonded with their caregivers – ECEs and pedagogical support workers. They look forward to seeing them every day, ask about them on the weekends, and come home with wonderful stories about their days. They know all of the members of their centre’s staff by name and I know they trust them completely.

We have seen ALL the staff at our centre go above and beyond for the children in our community. They create core memories with them, fundraise when families are hit by hard times, and give the children a safe and nurturing space to retreat to when things are tough. I have seen my children be comforted, supported, and listened to in challenging moments of transition, and the social emotional skills they have learned at their centre will positively impact them for the rest of their lives.

We are immensely grateful for ALL of the staff at our childcare centre and the services they provide. They have created an environment that is a second home to our children, and act as primary caregivers when we cannot be there. I cannot imagine either of our children having the positive experiences they have had without the essential contributions of the pedagogical support workers at our childcare centre.