Andrew W. said:
I'm not sure I think government regulation would have meant anything to me. I don't think that really screens for the kind of things that fill parental nightmares.
No, but in a registered (regulated) centre, you can know that
<LIST>
<LI>
- The environment is safe and clean</LI>
<LI>
- The food that is served is reasonably healthy (eg. no energy drinks for preschoolers.)</LI>
<LI>
- No unsafe toys</LI>
<LI>
- The kids won’t be exposed to age-inappropriate things, like PG 13 or worse movies at a preschool, age-inappropriate religious indoctrination, etc.</LI>
<LI>
- If my child gets sick or injured, there will be someone who would be capable of assessing the situation and taking appropriate action.</LI>
<LI>
- No inappropriate methods used to instil discipline (eg. Corporal punishment)</LI>
<LI>
- The carer will have training that will enable him/her to understand my child’s physical, emotional and psychological needs, and meet them.</LI>
<LI>
- Etc. Etc. Etc.</LI>
</LIST>
pwsowner said:
I'm very aware of risks that probably some here don't even realise.
Child sexual abuse:
1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused by the time they are 18.
Yes, I am painfully aware of those stats, and they are one of the main reasons why, on top of government regulation and qualifications, I insist on having multiple, unrelated carers. It reduces the opportunities any one of them would have to molest my child. There is still a risk, but less so than if my child were to spend all day in the care of one adult whose activities and interactions with my child cannot be monitored in any way.
I am really glad that you are aware of this, and you are probably trustworthy, but if I was a potential client of yours, you would be just another stranger to me. And the sad truth is that sexual predators don’t have tentacles or tattoos on their foreheads saying “pedo”. On the contrary, they are usually “nice” people who are excellent at appearing caring and trustworthy. That is how they win the trust of parents and get children under their spell. One thing I know for sure is that it simply isn’t possible to pick a paedophile out of any crowd, so by default, unless you are a close, long-standing friend and I know you very, very well, I will NOT trust you with my child, regardless of whatever nice text you put on a website. Text on a website, unfortunately, doesn’t mean a thing.
But that is just me. Many other parents are either not aware of those stats, don’t believe that “such things” happen in their nice, civilised neighbourhood, or simply believes that it happens to “other people”, believe that their children would "never let it happen to them", or are safe because they are boys, or worst, doesn’t understand the devastation it causes and so don't consider it to be so absolutely vital, so they would take the chance to trust you. You’ll get business.
It sounds like you have your ducks in a row. I still wouldn't have placed my kids with you if we were in the same area, but because we're not, that doesn't really matter, does it?
Edited to add - according to my information up to 30% of sexual predators are female, not only 10%, which is part of why I don't consider the sex of the carer to be very significant. It is however, nearly impossible to get stats on this that even approaches accuracy, because the chances of a boy reporting abuse by a woman is close to nil, and even if he does, he is more likely to be considered "lucky" than to be take seriously...