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Book |
Quote/Comment
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Every Child's Birthright
by Selma Fraiberg , ©1977
Chapter I, Birthrights, p31
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For
those...babies who have been deprived of mothers or mother
substitutes--babies in (daycare) institutions, for example--there is no
sorrow at the disappearance of a human figure or the absence of another
person. Since no one person is valued above others, all people are
interchangeable.
Category = Behavior |
Every Child's Birthright
by Selma Fraiberg , p54 |
A baby
who is stored like a package with neighbors and relatives while his mother
works may come to know as many indifferent caretakers as a baby in the
lowest-grade (day-care) institution and, at the age of one or two years, can
resemble in all significant ways the emotionally deprived babies of such an
institution.
Category = Behavior |
Every Child's Birthright
by Selma Fraiberg ,Chapter IV, Child Care Industries Incorporated,
p79-80 |
For
queasy parents who leave a tearful child in the care of anonymous sitters
and (day care) care-givers, the industry has a slogan: "THE MINUTE YOU LEFT
HE STOPPED CRYING."
Category = Behavior |
Every Child's Birthright
by Selma Fraiberg, p80 |
As an
industry, Child Care Industries is in a unique position. Its services and
personnel can range from "good" to "deplorable'", and the consumer in the
age range of one month to six years will not write letters to the management
regarding the quality of service. [Nor is he in a position to withdraw his
patronage.] Since his parents are not really the direct consumers of the
services rendered, they are rarely in a position to judge the quality. In
other trades this is known as a seller's market. The question for us is,
"How fare the children?"
Category = Quality |
Every Child's Birthright
by Selma Fraiberg, p82 |
As the
direct consumer's advocate I must make a blanket indictment of...all such
(daycare) services of Child Care Industries Incorporated, which provide
anonymous sitters for small children.
...A child cannot feel valued when he is left in the care of a succession of
anonymous sitters.
Category = Quality |
Every Child's Birthright
by Selma Fraiberg, p87 |
..."ideal" nurseries...are rare.
The majority, by far, of the preschool full-day nurseries that are known to
me do not have expert teachers or professional staffs attuned to the
individual needs of each child and his family; they offer, at best,
"custodial care." For mothers who are seeking "mother substitute" care and
an educational program, these nurseries (day-cares) fail on every count. We
do not need to "prove" that such programs can be damaging to many children.
When a child spends 11 to 12 hours of his waking day in the care of
indifferent custodians, no parent and no educator can say that the child's
development is being promoted or enhanced, and common sense tells us that
children are harmed by indifference.
Category = Development, Quality |
