Rising Up Story #1, Val: "I worked as an ECE teacher for 15 years. Originally I left the field with the intention of just taking a break. Through a series of events I came to be employed as a forklift operator making DOUBLE what I did as an ECE. For that reason, I stayed in my new career. I've often thought about how sad a reflection on society it is, that my two chosen careers have been so ridiculously unbalanced. To be an ECE of course, I needed a college diploma which took me 2 years. To be a forklift operator I needed to take a one week training course.
Indeed, there have been times when I felt I wanted to go back into the field of childcare and nursery school. Sadly though, financially, I have become accustomed to my current income, and have no intention of returning.
Our society just doesn't seem to value early childhood education the way some other countries do, it's sad to me that this is the same situation we've faced since the early 90s and precious little progress has been made."
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No one should have to choose between a profession they love and being able to pay the bills. It is time for a publicly-funded, universal child care system that ensures decent work and professional pay for ECEs, early years staff and child care providers.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
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Rising Up Story #2 - Anonymous: “I have been working as an ECE for four years now. I have been in the same company for the past four year. There are so many times that I have wanted to leave but been afraid to. It seems to me that even if I move to another ECE job, I’ll still be facing the same bad situation I’m experiencing now.
I can't blame anyone because I know that everyone here is trying their best to create a good working environment, especially my supervisor, which I really appreciate. But enough is enough.
Despite the four years that I have been working, I still don't have health benefits and paid vacation. Before Covid I was working 7:30am split shifts, which meant I couldn’t use my 7 sick days easily. Now, because of the pandemic, it feels impossible for me to use my paid sick days.
I feel overwhelmed everyday as all the responsibility is on my shoulders alone. I have an ECA as a partner, our supervisors don’t expect them to have the same responsibilities as me, so I bear that alone. When there are complaints or demands from parents, I’m the only one expected to face them, and that adds more stress to my job.
I don't want to blame anyone, but this has become my situation for the past four years. The only thing that drives me and that keeps me going are the children that I work with. I love the job but when I am in the program I want to run away.
I want to help and be part of the advocacy for decent work. I want to be part of the voices to advocate that ECE’s should not face unreasonable and unrealistic demands. I want to help by advocating that we are educated professionals and should be treated with respect as other professionals are.”
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ECEs, early years staff and child care providers deserve respect and recognition for their work. This includes the decent work conditions that create opportunities for meaningful pedagogical and caring work. This requires a publicly-funded, universal child care system with decent work at the core.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
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#RisingUp Story #3 - Emma- I am a Mum of 2 amazing children 5 and 1, and an RECE. After the birth of my first son I decided to move from Centre based care to licensed home child care. I knew after working in centres for 13 years before I made the switch we did not get a whole lot, but in home child care we get even less for doing triple the work.
Not only am I the teacher, I am the cleaner, cook and everything else in-between. Since the start of the Covid 19 pandemic, I now spend even more time cleaning and sanitizing, leaving very little time for my children/husband to have a mum who has energy for them.
There are days that I work 15 hours a day with no breaks and no lunch time. When you break down my pay, most days I make $2.50 an hour, and that covers my wages, my bills, the food for the children, etc. I currently live in Keene Ontario where subsidies, wage enhancement, and base funding is available. That funding helps to ease the burden a little. But I will soon be moving to Port Hope Ontario, and now I worry that the same funding won’t be available to me there. How is that fair? I will be doing the same work I am doing now, but with no help from the government, simply because of my location. There needs to be a system to help all child care, no matter if it’s in a centre or in a licensed home. All RECEs should be paid the same and fairly, no matter their place of work.
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We know that during the COVID-pandemic closure many licensed home child care providers remained open, and their particular needs have been roundly ignored by the Province. Emma’s concerns with increased responsibility, unjust compensation and inadequate funding are highlights of the many inequities and gaps of our existing system. It’s time to rise up and demand more from the Province - this is not good enough. All educators, children, and families deserve better.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
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Rising Up Story #4, Sabrina- I'm a social worker, it's a job that's been a bit harder since I had my son, but I've known since I was a kid that it's what I wanted to do. I was temporarily laid off from my job for 3 months because of the pandemic. In May our municipality redeployed workers to long term care homes, and those who weren't able to take on that work were laid off. I had only been back from 18 months of maternity leave for a matter of weeks, and with medically fragile family members, I simply couldn't take the risk.
On one hand each day I spent home with my child felt like a blessing, on the other hand, each day spent at home brought more worry and concern. Would I have a job to go back to? Would my husband and I be able to afford child care if/when I went back to work? Would we even feel safe sending our son back to child care? I felt so much confusion and uncertainty.
Three months later I was called back to work, which by chance, happened on the same day we got a deadline from our child care to decide if we would be sending our son back.
After much deliberation, we had already said, "no, we won't be coming back" to our child care centre; but within the hour I got the call to return to work. Even though I’m working from home, my employer has a condition that I must have child care arrangements to return, and I knew that if I didn't return at that point, I would be ineligible for CERB. I had to make a decision incredibly quickly, while standing in a grocery store, and I really felt like I had no choice. An hour after telling our child care not to hold our spot, I had to call them back and say, "I need him to start next week".
However, as I was off work for so long, we could only afford to send him part time. We are really thankful to have a child care centre that is taking great precautions to ensure our child's health and development is prioritized, and it's reassuring to me that the ratio in his class is low, but I still worry.
Because we could only afford part time care, for two days a week my busy boy is home with me as I work from home full-time. Our days are filled with lots of independent play, coloring, singing songs, and a nice long nap for baby so mama can get work done. I feel real pressure trying to do two jobs at once, and worrying about doing both well. I also feel incredibly guilty if my son is watching tv so I can take a call. I'm doing the best I can in the face of some pretty impossible choices, and we are taking things one day at a time.
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We know that throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, families have had to make incredibly difficult, and often, unfair decisions. Like Sabrina, we often aren’t given a ‘real choice’. We know it doesn’t have to be this way. A universal, publicly-funded, accessible, affordable, inclusive child care system would create the conditions where families can make real choices about the care and education of their young children. It would create opportunities for all children to experience a quality early learning environment where educators are respected, valued, and well-paid. The time is now.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
Rising Up Story #6, Anonymous "I have been working as an RECE in the field for over 15 years. I chose this field because I truly enjoy working with children. I was happy to get up and come to work everyday. A few months before the pandemic rocked our child care world (and the rest of the world), I started questioning my place in this field. Over the last couple of years, we as RECEs have been given more and more responsibilities, but continue to make next to nothing and go unrecognized as essential professionals. During the pandemic, I truly missed my role in the classroom and was looking forward to getting back to work.
Sadly, since returning I have experienced nothing but stress and anxiety in my role as centre supervisor. I spend all of my days reporting Serious Occurrences for children who have fallen ill or updating them as test results return. I don't get to spend time in the classrooms enjoying the children anymore, instead I stress about how the centre is going to pay the bills each month - as the funding that the government is constantly bragging about STILL has NOT come through (and we have no idea when it will) and I worry about letting down my staff and families if we can't continue on financially. I'm exhausted and some days I feel like everything I loved about this job has been taken away.
While I understand that these times are different, I also wonder if things will ever return to what I spent so much time learning about in school. I'm seriously at the end of a tethered rope and I don't know how much longer I can hold on. RECEs deserve so much more recognition than we receive and I seriously hope that the government steps up and follows through on their promise of funding and assistance before it is too late for my centre and others out there like mine that are holding on by a thread."
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This is the urgent need we are hearing across Ontario. Our child care programs need support now, and we need long-term, sustainable solutions. This means a publicly-funded, universal, accessible, affordable, inclusive child care system. The Federal government has stated their commitment, now the Ford government must work together with the federal government on this vital priority. Our collective voices highlight the urgent need for change and the value of early childhood education in Ontario. All children deserve it, all families deserve it, all educators deserve it. The time is now.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
#RisingUp Story 7, Anonymous
I have been an ECE for the last 15 years and have yet to hold a full-time position. My career began in a supply Educator position, and for five years I struggled to obtain a full-time position as they were few and far between. Eventually I was forced to leave my job that I loved.
After my second child it became almost impossible to pay for childcare for 2 children with the uncertainty supply work brings. Still with full-time positions limited I spent the next 5 years in contracts for before and after school programs as a Supervisor, being a contract part time staff I didn't receive any benefits. The odd hours forced my husband to switch to night shifts because again we could not afford childcare with my part time hours, I was also denied subsidy because I didn't work enough.
Five years of night shifts began to have a negative impact on my husband's health and we made the decision to move away from the city. Now 15 years into my career I am working 2 part time jobs, 6 days a week as an RECE, I still receive no health benefits, vacation time or sick days.
When I became an Early Childhood Educator I never imagined that I couldn't afford childcare for my own children.
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We know that the storyteller is not alone. We know others in our sector are forced to make impossible decisions everyday. This is why Ontario needs to be part of a national child care plan that delivers decent work and compensation for educators and affordable child care for families.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
Rising Up for Child Care Story 8, Rachel: "With two months left of school in my Early Childhood Education Diploma, my future became very uncertain. The COVID pandemic completely uprooted everything I thought I knew about childcare. As I physically distanced at home and completed school online, I listened with fear to stories of outbreaks in emergency childcare and I wondered if I would ever feel safe enough to begin working in a career I love.
Now that childcare has reopened in Ontario, I am filled with fear and uncertainty. Between decreased funding, lack of jobs, and the fear of getting sick, it feels like the sector has been left behind by the provincial and federal government." - Rachel MacDougall Faussett
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Rachel is not alone in her worry for the future. We know that many are concerned about the future of the early childhood education sector. Yet, we have an opportunity - we need Ontario to be part of a national child care plan that delivers decent work and compensation for educators and affordable child care for families.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
Rising Up for Child Care Story #9, Patricia: "My childcare centre is committed to decent work practices in ways that I haven't seen often in our sector. We are paid well, have good health benefits, 12 sick days/year, vacation... all things that I personally consider to be the bare minimum to keep staff healthy and happy. The cherry on top is that we have daily paid planning time with our room partners and we are also "over staffed", at least by ministry standards... which should also be part of standard practices in childcare, but as most RECEs and childcare workers know, the reality is very different.
I've felt the consequences of these practices in many ways. I currently work in the preschool program and before covid, we had 16 children with 4 staff (3 RECES, 1 assistant). That meant no one needed to come cover our breaks (more consistency for the children) and we were able to divide and conquer the enormous amount of paperwork that comes with childcare. When we first re-opened after the pandemic closure, we kept our cohort at 10 for the summer, which meant it was me, one of my colleagues and 8 children. Those 2 months were hard on us. There were all the changes to what we could/could not do with children, the worries that come with providing childcare during a pandemic, and not having extra staff or planning time was hard.
When the new school year started, it was decided that we would still have 4 staff (now 2 RECEs and 2 assistants) but only 12 children. Our shifts and breaks were changed to ensure we had 3 staff in the room most of the time and that myself and my fellow RECE still had planning time everyday. Our covid summer was hard, yes. But it was also a learning experience. We learned how to adapt our practice to minimize cross-contamination, we shuffled our environment and our program to promote physical distancing in developmentally appropriate ways. We've had just over a month with the new children and I can say confidently we're doing amazing work.
The lower numbers have allowed us to get to know our children better, give them lots of 1-on-1 attention, make them feel welcome and make the transition into the new program easier and smoother. Planning time has allowed me and my partner to develop a closer relationship, work on our communication with each other, build on each other's strengths and actually divide the workload so we don't feel as burnt out. Childcare is a hard job on one's mental and emotional health, now more than ever, but I definitely feel like these measures have helped us cope better with the stress and pressure. The biggest tell is how happy our children are. Our transitions are mostly smooth (I mean, they are children... big feelings are expected) and we're focusing on uninterrupted free play, outdoor time and going with the flow. It's still weird and uncomfortable to wear PPE and it's hard to understand the children when their masks are on, but we're doing it.
Our experience shows that investing in decent work practices for educators and childcare staff have a direct impact on children's experiences. I love being an educator and I wish all educators in our province had the opportunity to work decent jobs and feel valued by their community. Children and families need high quality childcare and educators deserve to work decent jobs. The future is still uncertain - we don't know how viable our program is going to be when CEWS ends or if we will go through another closure. We don't know much, but we do know decent work and high quality childcare are possible with the appropriate funding and support.
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Patricia’s story is important - many ECEs experience decent work and professional pay, and feel valued and honoured in their communities. But, not all educators have access to these conditions. This is why our current system needs to change. Every educator deserves decent work. Every child and family deserves access to high quality programs.
Instead of addressing these issues with immediate action and investment towards building a publicly-funded child care system which ensures decent work for all educators, the regulatory changes Ontario proposed on Friday (to ratio/group sizes, staff qualifications, and others) undermine our sector and our profession. We all deserve better.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
Rising Up for Child Care Story #10, Jenna: "I drive a 2012 Volkswagen, nothing fancy. I live in a small house with my husband. I don't have name brand clothes or expensive furniture. I look at my paycheck every two weeks and want to cry.
The pay I receive as a full time RECE, barely covers my bills every month. Plus I have to spend my own money to provide materials for my classroom because I am told, "it's not in the budget".
I am pregnant with my first child. I have to go back to work after 6 months after having my baby because my husband and I can't afford for me to be off for 1 year. I cry about this a lot. I stress every day about how we will afford a child and child care on my salary.
I love my job so much but it is also the reason I stay up at night worrying about my future and the future of my baby.
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Jenna is not alone. So many ECEs, child care staff and providers, and parents are forced to make impossible decisions to balance their careers and family needs. It doesn’t have to be like this. There is a more fair and just way for us to live, and it involves a national child care program with decent work for educators and affordable fees for parents. Time is up - children, families, educators and communities deserve it now.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
Rising Up Story #11, Anonymous
My story is not a reflection on my workplace, simply on the financial conditions of this sector.
Since reopening in the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, staff at my work have been using our vacation days when we are ill. We only receive 4 paid sick days a year, which for someone working with young children does not seem like much. Now with COVID protocols and having to stay home, get a test, and wait for results at the first sign of symptoms, we have been using vacation days.
However, we no longer receive our full allotment of vacation days and instead receive them and can use them as we earn them. When we run out of vacation days we have to take unpaid days, even though this testing is required and we are putting ourselves at risk each day. If we were to come down with COVID and we have no vacation time available we will be put on EI.
This is my workplace doing their best. They want to ensure we can be paid. However, the funds just simply are not there.
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Having access to paid sick and emergency leave days was one of the biggest concerns ECEs and early years staff expressed in returning to work during COVID. We know this issue also affects families, who are staying home with children who are sick, often still paying child care fees. Everyone deserves the right to stay home when they are unwell and not worry about the financial implications. This is why we work with allies like
. This is why Ontario needs to be part of a national child care system, with decent work at the core.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
Rising Up Story # 12, Anonymous
"I have been a RECE for over 25 years and I totally and utterly love what I do. It breaks my heart when I hear of good ECEs leaving the field due to not having a decent living wage and the inability to provide for their own families.
I became a child care supervisor after 10 years of being a front line ECE, during that time, while I truly enjoyed working with the children and other staff, I had very little support. I often had to buy my own program supplies, even though I couldn’t afford to live on the wages I was getting.
I found that people didn’t value ECEs or our work.
After 10 years I took an administrative course to become a supervisor. I didn’t know how I was going to make a difference or where I was going to start, but I knew I wanted to try. After graduating, I got a job as a supervisor at a non profit childcare. I got paid very little and worked 10-12 hours, but I was invigorated and I wanted to make sure our centre provided quality programs for young kids. I realized that a few things were missing; in-program support for staff, training for staff to upgrade their skills and fair living wages.
While we don’t have support from a system that values these things, I have worked very hard to bring up staff salaries to above average, to provide as much training for the teachers as possible, and to support each and every employee to be the best that they can be. In our centre we work as a team, as all staff positions in all programs should be valued so together we can achieve a program that we are collectively proud of.
We must have a system that recognizes all RECEs and all childcare staff as an integral part of our education system, that is how we can make sure that our childcare staff stay in the field."
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This supervisor’s story is so important. We know the challenging working conditions and low wages in the sector are a direct result of our market system of child care. We know that there is a way to improve these conditions. The current regulatory changes the government is proposing do not address these long standing issues - they deflect from them. What Ontario needs, what children, families, and educators really need, is a publicly-funded child care system which ensures decent work for all.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
Rising Up Story #13, Jennifer: "The first phase of COVID was very scary. It was scary for the families and for all the children involved. I closed my home daycare in hopes that I’d see my little friends soon.
Months passed until I felt safe to open in July. It was then that I knew the work I do is valuable for the families and the children. I was expecting tears and resistance from the children being home with mom and dad so long on the first day back. Each one came in happy and ready to start new. In that time away the children’s language began to develop more and they were eager to learn and play. We created a new routine that allows me to spend more time with the children and everyday I notice the new concepts they are learning, revisiting materials that they hadn’t worked on in a while! And now they are mastering these materials!
It has definitely been amazing to watch and be a part of something so great that we created together."
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We know how valuable child care programs are for children, families, and communities and that they appreciate the work of early childhood educators and child care providers. It’s time for our government to show their appreciation by building a national child care system with decent work for all.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
Rising Up For Child Care Story #15, Desiree: "I have worked in the child care field for 9 years now and through those 9 years I have worked for a variety of child care centres throughout Ontario, as well as Alberta. I gained experience in all rooms from infants to school age. I then took the opportunity to become a Supervisor for a Junior Child Care Centre and two School Age programs.
Through my various experiences, I found myself. This was the best way for me to really discover what I valued most in child care, and what quality child care meant to me as an RECE. I always reflected back to the organization that really helped shape me into being the RECE I am today. The reality is though, no matter how amazing an organization is or program is, if they cannot provide RECEs with a respectable decent wage, they will forever have a high turn-over for staffing. Prior to COVID, we were already short staffed and struggling to hire qualified, professional RECEs. COVID didn’t cause these issues to develop in our field, it has just heightened them. The unfortunate part is that if the government doesn't step up and make changes now, it may be too late. Child care is struggling. We don’t have the staffing we need to operate quality child care programs.
And I understand why. I take a lot of pride in my role and I strive to keep my staff engaged and encourage them to remember why they became Early Childhood Educators; but when you’re just working and only going further into debt, then there comes a point when you are forced to step back and say, “is it time to walk away?”. I too want to have children. I want to be able to afford food on the table. I want to be able to provide extra-curricular activities for my children. I will NEED to be able to afford child care for my own children. I cannot afford any of those things making the income I make today. I go home and wonder which bill will I pay today? Will we be able to make our mortgage payment today? What will we do if I get laid off again? We can’t save money for emergency situations when we are living paycheque to paycheque.
I know I am not the only one who is feeling this struggle. It has taken a pandemic for the government to START acknowledging our value within the economy and the importance of our role in the development of children. But when quality RECEs decide to leave the field because they can’t financially live off of the wages they make, and programs can no longer operate quality programs, it will have a ripple effect that will affect us all. If the government doesn't make changes now they are in for a rude awakening when child care programs close and families no longer have somewhere to send their children so they can work.
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Desiree understands the change our sector needs - watering down regulations will not deliver decent work, professional pay, or quality early learning and care. Ontario’s children, families and educators deserve a national child care plan that has decent work at the core.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
Rising Up for Child Care Story #16, Vanessa: "I’ve been in the field of early childhood education for nearly 10 years. For the first eight I worked for a for-profit centre that felt it was appropriate to pay me minimum wage - and the worst thing about it is I accepted that and thought it was normal. Not only was the pay low, but the quality of care we were expected to provide was mediocre - sadly it took me having a child of my own to realize that this was not the kind of centre I wanted to be a part of if I wanted to be seen as a professional in our field.
During my search for a new job I came across a lot of low paying offers and I knew I was better than that and so I stayed where I was comfortable until I found something suitable. Sadly it’s the reality a lot of RECEs face in our field though as we are not paid a professional wage despite the fact that we have post secondary education, are part of a professional college, and work continuously to update our knowledge through professional development. I was fortunate enough to finally land a job at an excellent non-profit organization that pays well, treats their employees as professionals, and goes above and beyond to provide high quality care, and have been here for almost two years now.
Not everyone is as lucky as me though. We need to rise up, take a stand, and show the government and the public our worth. If there were more funding in place and money available to centres maybe more would be able to pay their educators a professional wage! Too many RECEs are choosing to leave the field at a time when we need to stand united! It’s time to take action."
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Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
Rising Up for Child Care Story #17, Erika "When I was in OAC (over twenty years ago!) I received offers for two university programs, one for the Fine Arts and one to the Early Childhood Education program at a community college.
When my English teacher asked where I was headed in the fall, she was aghast when I told her that I had accepted the ECE offer. “But you’re so much better than that! You have so much potential! Don’t let your talents go to waste!”. And it made me angry and made me want to do it more.
I was cognizant of the fact that this was a career that would not be a lucrative one. But my nineteen year old self rationalized it by saying I don’t need “things” and that spending my work days doing something I loved was the ultimate goal.
Oh, and love it, I do! Far more than I ever imagined really: spending every day with tiny, hilarious humans and seeing the world through their eyes. Sharing my love of the arts and music and books, and being inspired by their imagination and innovation. Co-workers have become some of my closest and dearest friends. I could go on and on.
Yet despite the fact that my chosen career is a perfect fit for me in (almost) every way, I am so broken-hearted that my English teacher was absolutely right. I AM better than this.
I work hard at my job. I go above and beyond - during my work day and also on my own unpaid time. I am among the best at arguably one of the best centres in the province.
But because I am a woman who chose a profession that has been historically branded as ‘women’s work’, I am forced to lose out in so many ways.
I am better than low pay. And poor benefits. And a miserably tiny pension match (compared to many in my field, I am doing so well, which saddens me more. And it is still not enough to support myself independently).
I am better than being left unprotected by not having a union and when I try to advocate for myself and my co-workers for fundamental things that people in other professions take for granted, I am constantly reminded of ‘how good I how good I have it here’ & am branded as problematic.
I am better than having our hiring contracts and policies rewritten with no negotiation process, increasing our responsibilities and duties with no compensation.
I am better than being placed on the frontlines during a pandemic and being seen as just a dollar amount by people who sit at desks and are many tax brackets above the employees who are rolling up their sleeves and doing the extra work (SO MUCH EXTRA WORK!) with a smile on our masked faces, while putting ourselves and families at risk.
I am better than being overlooked at budget time, where innovation, expansion and reputation is a higher priority than being a leader in staff compensation.
I am better than having my vacation reduced when the budget gets tight. And my small annual raise taken away (though it isn’t inline with inflation anyway, and the longer we stay, the further behind we fall). And our sick time stays the same during a time when we are most at risk in the line of duty and will be forced to stay home for so many things. Even under normal circumstances, there is a high instance of sickness due to the very nature of what we do. Our budgets are tight at home as well, with the difference being they always have been and are even more so now.
I am better than ‘PPE provided’ which means I wear a cloth mask to protect the children from me, but have no protection for myself and, therefore, my family (PPE provided?! The government provided for September as promised, but we still await October’s shipment, at the mid-point of the month).
I am better than a government who doesn’t fund child care centres as needed because child care isn’t a part of the publicly funded education system, where some employees are more appropriately compensated and protected.
Men are teachers, you see, so education is seen as worthy and important past the age of five
I am better than simply being a babysitter to reopen the economy at the risk of the health of myself, the children in my care, my coworkers and our families.
Although she still does not need ‘things’, that optimistic girl starting out in the world was wrong.
As my own late teens are beginning their path to adulthood, my advice has changed from ‘find a job that you love’, to ‘find something that you enjoy, but most importantly, be sure you are adequately compensated for your work’. I push benefits and pension packages; abstract concepts not fully understood by the teenage mind. Because although money can’t buy happiness, it CAN stave off a whole world of hurt and trouble.
I can find happiness just about anywhere, but when an emergency dental surgery or car/home repair unexpectedly appears, it can absolutely derail the whole train. And retirement? There are meagre savings, always getting eaten up by the aforementioned ‘unexpecteds’.
Having just reached middle age, I can feel the areas in my body that are beginning to ache from years at this incredibly demanding and physical job. But like my ECE mother before me, I will continue to do it well into my senior years and while fighting through chronic pain, because there is no other choice if I hope to have a roof over my head and food on the table.
Because I am a woman. And society tells me that this is what I am worth.
And so I will leave this place. This place that I love and have loved since I was small and sat in the laps of women who would eventually become my co-workers. This place of dreams and freedom and family and love and laughter. But not of opportunity.
And so, in time, (if I can make it through the pandemic unscathed and with my savings still intact, to weather supplying until I get full time), I will hopefully work for the school board, where my skills and talent may very well go neglected. But where I will be more adequately compensated and protected.
Because men work there.
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Erika’s story is not uncommon. We know that many in government and outside our sector do not recognize and appreciate the value of the work we do. Yet, we know that may do - and together, we are rising up for child care. The status-quo is not good enough. We will push back against current proposed regulation changes. We will raise our voices to call for a national child care system with decent work at the core. Children deserve it, families deserve it, educators deserve it.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
With support of our board of directors, we’ve worked hard to improve compensation and to provide decent working conditions for our team. Despite the many gains, there is still much to do and that’s why we are Rising Up for Child Care – to build on the recognition of child care as an essential service and to demand action from provincial and federal governments. It’s only when we have a publicly-funded system that we can truly make strides towards ensuring that child care is affordable for families AND provides professional pay and decent work for educators.
Rising Up for Child Care #20: Emily
**Content Warning - Pregnancy Loss**
** This powerful and emotional story shows us why it’s so important that we rise up. Together we can take action to support and protect the women in our sector who face loss and heartbreak.**
“2016 was a very hard year. It started off with being hospitalized for weeks due to an outbreak in the childcare centre I worked in, without pay due to a new policy of earning your sick days throughout the year. During this time, I had to continue to pay for my youngest child care costs. It was so stressful, I didn’t know how we would get through it, but we did.
I was so happy and grateful when we had some good news - I was pregnant with my second child! We were so excited to welcome a new member of our family into this world, something we wanted with our whole hearts. At my three month ultrasound, I found out that my child was not going to make the appearance we had already started planning for. I lost my baby. The floor fell out from under me. What could ever be worse than this moment.
I quickly found out, according to centre policy, this was not a medical issue and they told me (with sympathy) that I needed to buck up and continue to work as normal. I was encouraged to be back to work as soon as possible, meaning, the next day. Foggy minded I went about my work day only being able to think about what was happening inside me. The heavy bleeding a constant reminder.
There was a reason my administrator expected me to be at work, there was not enough staff or supply to be able to keep the centre open without me coming to work. To add to this, no policy acknowledged a miscarriage as a loss until 16 weeks gestational. In those moments, I was stuck between my feelings of responsibility to the children and the program, and my responsibility to myself. I know my administrator cared, I know she didn’t know better – but that doesn’t make this okay.
The following week I was booked for a post-miscarriage surgery. There was no one able to cover my shift so I was asked to come into work the morning of the surgery and leave on my lunch to make it in time, the assistant supervisor would cover the afternoon. I was so shocked I didn’t even push back – I had used all my strength to get through the past week, my tank was empty. I was back to work 48-hours post-surgery and life went on. That’s how I remember my lost child, with stress, unacknowledged sadness, and feeling like just another cog in the wheel.
In a sector that is so full of women, I know I’m not alone. I know other women are out there in silence, going to work through the tears, the bleeding, the sadness. It’s not easy to share this story, it still feels as if it was yesterday. But it’s past time we acknowledged women’s health in child care, ensured access to paid leave, and build a system so that this story doesn’t happen to another woman. Enough is enough, this needs to stop.”
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Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
To help us advocate for paid sick days for all, visit the Decent Work & Health Network: https://www.decentworkandhealth.org/paidsickdays
#RisingUpForChildCare Story #21, Sydney
We all know that childcare is a field that you go into because you love it, and not because you're looking to make a lot of money. I feel like that's an inside joke in the childcare field. To make the ends meet while I was working as a classroom assistant, I got a second job. I worked with a beer company to earn extra money and make ends meet, something that was fun and easy and took very little training to do. So I had two jobs, both wildly different.
But my work in the childcare centre definitely required much more of me. The really ridiculous thing was that I made $5 more per hour (before tips) to serve beer then I did when I was entrusted with 10 toddlers' wellbeing. There's something very wrong with that picture. If you look at our current government though, I guess it makes sense. This government is so busy spending millions on breaking contracts with The Beer Store so they can put beer into corner stores and making it "more accessible", they conveniently have no money left to fund our hospitals, our educators and especially no money to put into our childcare. It's more than just frustrating. It's insulting.
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What Sydney has experienced is far too common. We know the work of early childhood educators is valuable, and we know that our current market system does not always provide decent work and pay for educators. This is not good enough. We need to do better for children, families and educators. The Federal government announced plans to build a national child care system, and we need to raise our voices to ensure decent work is at the core. Ontario needs this. Children, families, and educators deserve this.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
#RisingUpForChildCare Story #23: Anonymous
"I was recently terminated from my position at a for-profit child care centre due to low enrolment. Along with four other educators we were told of our termination- via email. I understand the pandemic makes in-person meetings difficult, but a phone call would have been nice.
For a business that claims to thrive on the idea of being part of a “family” getting fired this way felt so cold. We have put so much time and even our own money into our classrooms. You develop emotional ties with the children. Yet educators are seen as disposable through email afterthoughts.
On top of that, my co-workers that still have their jobs are being stretched thin. People assigned earlier as cleaners/screeners are now periodically in the classrooms teaching and also periodically cooking in the kitchen. The centre has now increased enrolment and is over-working the current staff. One of my ECE co-workers is working nine-and-a-half-hour days. They have no supply teachers on hand so staff feel like they can’t get a day off.
Younger children are being put into rooms they are too young for, just to avoid having to open another room. Fitting in more families seems to be a priority, but treating staff properly is a bottom-tier issue. I worry for my co-workers well-being and mental health."
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Educators are not disposable. It is the early childhood workforce that is the key to quality in child care. And yet they are being underpaid, disrespected and stretched to the limit. We must change and build a child care system that puts decent work at its core.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
#RisingUpForChildCare Story #24, Anonymous: "I have been an agency-contracted, self-employed licensed home child care provider for twenty years. I am a big advocate for fairness and equality in the childcare field. I recently earned my ECE diploma. I have been asked many times what I would like to do now that I have a diploma? My response is: I am doing it. I am a RECE working from home. The reality is that nothing will change for me by having the diploma or not having it. I am proud of my accomplishments but having an ECE qualification does not increase my pay grade, I still don’t have EI or benefits. We too have a right to sick days, lunch breaks and vacation days! This is unfair.
At home, we are the ECE, the supervisor, the cook, the cleaner and more. There is no colleague to take over if I need a lunch break or a bathroom break. I have to be visually connected at all times during cooking, cleaning and when using the washroom. I do not receive paid sick days or vacation days. Any days I take off are unpaid, because I am considered self employed. This job instability is very concerning especially during COVID. I put myself and my family at risk everyday and I believe we should receive fair compensation and support. In my licensed home child care I offer families flexibility, lasting connections with children and families. Licensed home child care providers deserve recognition, equality, and decent work."
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We know that licensed home child care is a valuable part of our sector. We know they face many unique challenges due to the way our current system is structured. We know we can do better. The Federal government has promised a national child care plan, and we need the Ontario government to cooperate in delivering that here. It’s time for a publicly-funded child care system with decent work for all.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
#RisingUpForChildCare Story #25, Dustin: "Since becoming an RECE in Ontario, I have witnessed things that are illogical, immoral and dangerous. I’ve seen owners of for-profit childcare centres instruct their staff to bribe children with bags of candy and to ration toilet paper for children who are toilet training. I’ve faced situations that no-one should be expected to deal with alone, but often, there would be no additional staff person to help when I was alone with my group of children.
Until the pandemic hit, I was the only educator in a room with three children with ASD, one with ADHD and a speech delay, and four other children. I was expected to provide a safe and engaging environment. I couldn’t meet the needs of this group of children no matter how hard I tried. I implemented How Does Learning Happen and the centre expected a secondary curriculum that was based on themes. I was also required to log the children’s bathroom routines, meals, pictures, and developmental milestones into a tablet and send reports to children’s families. My superiors knew the struggle myself and the children were facing, and offered no real help.... just apologies (which is all ECEs get). I was very good at what I did, but honestly, I was always confused, behind, frustrated, and just completely overwhelmed when doing my job.
I was completely exhausted when I got home and had nothing left for my own family. I was an educator who was completely burnt out and rundown. When COVID 19 hit instead of being terrified I was relieved because I knew the everyday hell that was my life would stop maybe just for a little bit. I didn’t care about the pandemic, I was too exhausted.
I’ve been off since March 2020. In my time off I’ve realized l would never go back to this field because I’ve been taken advantage of, lied to, and treated as less than human. Worse than this. I don’t feel I was able to help a single child because our underfunded child care system has failed Ontario's children. We require more support staff, smaller ratios, higher wages for educators, and more paid sick time for the illnesses we are constantly exposed to. What we do is tremendously important and difficult. Asking for support, resources, and decent work should not be unreasonable. Demanding them should be commonplace!"
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All educators, children and families deserve a well-funded, public child care system that ensures their needs are a priority. We know the Federal government is committed to a nation child care plan, and we need the Ontario government to work cooperatively to ensure no Ontario child, family, or educator is left behind. We need a publicly funded, non profit, universal child care system with decent work for all.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
#RisingUpForChildCare Story #26, Lyndsay: "As a professor of ECE I’m concerned about the students’ future.
Semester after semester, I meet ECE students who want nothing more than to work with children. Their dedication and interest only increases as they learn about play, pedagogy, ethical care, inclusive responsive relationships and the ECE’s professional responsibilities.
I see the ECE students challenge themselves to think critically about their views of young children and families. We talk openly about the actions that the ECE profession must take to undo the tangles of racism and oppression in the early years.
They also learn that the ECE profession is historically undervalued and underpaid - pertinent information that they have a right to know. They learn that the low pay, challenging working conditions and lack of benefits create a serious recruitment and retention issue in the sector. As they learn this, they too wonder about their futures and next steps.
We talk about how, despite the lack of decent work, ECEs have continued to provide children with opportunities for play and learning, they continue to engage in ongoing professional development, to care for and to nurture every child. ECE students see the absurd injustice of the situation, so why can’t the Minister of Education also see it? I believe that he knows, but doesn’t care. How can he say he values our work on ECE Appreciation Day and at the same time, push through major changes to child care legislation that would undermine our work and our qualifications? A student said it perfectly during a live lecture “it seems like the goal of the proposed CCEYA changes is for the government to avoid their responsibility for providing quality, affordable child care and decent work for educators.”
I’m worried about my ECE students’ future. I’m worried that they will not be able to afford to be part of the profession that they chose, a profession that needs them.
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Recruitment and retention issues are long-standing in the early childhood sector. We know that without decent work and professional pay many ECEs leave the field within the first five years. No one's future should be so uncertain, no one should worry if they can provide for themselves and their families. We need Ontario to back down from their current proposed regulation changes and instead, work cooperatively with the Federal government on a national child care system with decent work for educators.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
#RisingUpForChildCare Story #27, Victoria
"I have been a RECE for over 5 years now working in licenced centre-based childcare. For four years I worked for an organization that advocated for our profession and I felt valued. I put my heart and soul into building a meaningful and open-ended learning environment for children in my care.
Before the pandemic I had plans to open my own home childcare, knowing we were moving to a new home with the space. I have always wanted to do this! This was a strange time for sure, but it was clear that September 2020 was the right time for me. This is probably the greatest risk I have taken in my career thus far! I love what I do, but I think even more so, I feel deeply that every child deserves a childcare program that offers real, authentic relationships and learning opportunities. I am so grateful for the opportunity to bring that to the children in my care. The problem is, I have no support. I cannot sustain a high-quality childcare program long-term unless the Federal and Provincial governments make change. Not just any change, but forward motion change recommended by childcare advocates and by listening to the stories of people like me.
I have worked diligently for years to show others the importance of my profession. One of the most frustrating parts of my career is knowing that society, even my own family, does not recognize what I do as such. I am not simply entertaining children while their parents are at work. I know, through my own experiences, that supported Early Childhood Educators can play a pivotal role in the lives of young children. ECEs know how to foster children’s intrinsic motivation to learn and we have knowledge of child development. We have a diverse tool-belt of strategies and skills to nurture and provoke early learning opportunities among children.
The topic of childcare has received more attention in the media lately as others discover its importance in getting workers back into the workforce. ECEs have known long before this pandemic just how crucially important child care is, not only for economic needs, but for the needs of children. What is belittling to me is how child care issues are reported. We are rarely recognized as what we are, Registered Early Childhood Educators and Professionals working in the field of Early Learning and Care. If we do not value the work of Early Childhood Educators, what does this say about how we value the youngest members of our communities?"
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We know that valued, appreciated, respected and well-compensated educators with decent work are better positioned to 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.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
#RisingUpForChildCare Story #28, Becca
"I’m an ECE returning to work from an 18 month mat leave. My son will be in the Toddler Room at the same centre where I’ve been working for 5 years. I will be in my preschool room, and my son will be just upstairs. I don’t really feel ready to go back though, partly because it’s so different from before, but also because even though I’m right downstairs, I won’t be able to go up and say hi, or hug him if he sees me in the hallways. I know how important cross contamination protocols are, but to be so close but not able to see him is hard on my mumma-heart. I’ll have to drop my son off at the front porch and someone else has to take him up to his classroom for the first time.
Another worry for me is that with Covid rules, if my son develops a runny nose or a fever when he’s in child care he’ll have to be sent home. Even though I am in the building, I will have to wait until a supply can be found to relieve me before I can take him home. The idea of him waiting alone in isolation for an hour or even 2 hours while I wait for cover is really hard for me. To add to that, I only have 8 paid sick/personal days and some vacation, but I know how quickly those will be used up. When my sick days are gone, I won’t be getting paid for every day I have to take off because I have a stuffy nose or my son has a cough. And, I’ll still have to pay child care fees even on days that I don’t earn anything, even with my employee discount it’s a huge expense.
I’m pregnant now and I don’t know how I'm going to do all of this when I'm growing a tiny human and taking care of another one. I also need to have sick days for appointments, my midwife doesn’t do evening appointments. There are so many moving pieces. If I had 14 paid sick days, I would be just a little less worried. Having those sick days would mean being able to take enough time to actually recover if i’m ill, or be able to care for my son without worrying about finances.
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Every educator deserves the right to paid time off work when they are ill or caring for their family, without having to worry about financial insecurity. We know this impacts the families in our communities and programs as well. Access to paid sick and leave days is a fundamental component of our understanding of decent work, and why we are allies with other organizations like the Decent Work and Health Network. This is why we need a national child care plan with decent work at the core, and we need Ontario to work with the Federal government to ensure we get it.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
#RisingUpForChildCare Story #29, Stephanie
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.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup#RisingUpForChildCare Story #30, Meike
"Working with children is my favourite thing. Tiny humans are boisterous and curious. When you’re paying attention, the micro changes kids go through as they grow is an extraordinary thing to witness.
I made a choice to do a diploma in early childhood education knowing that I didn’t want to work in childcare. I didn’t want to work in childcare because the pay sucked. Caring for children is in my heart, and early childhood education was where I could learn more about child development, but I didn’t know where I would go when I finished my diploma.
The students in my program were confused by my proclamations of not wanting to go into childcare. They'd ask me, “Why are you here if you don’t want to work in the field?” And I would tell them, “I don’t know, but I love what I’m learning.” My diploma program combined theory and practice and it’s where I discovered how one can learn from playing.
After my diploma, I still didn’t know what job I wanted, so I went on to do my Masters. When I graduated, my soul craved work and my bank account needed money. I was fortunate to land a job at a centre that paid decent wages and expected best practices. For my 26-year-old self that didn’t want to work in child care… well, here I am. I’ve now been at that same centre for 11 years. That’s 209 children I’ve cared for.
Knowing that the wages in our sector are typically very low, I’ve always looked at my well-paid position as luck. But it isn’t. Being paid well to do my job directly affects the work I do each day. I provide better care because I’m making a living wage. I am not distracted by the stress of not being able to pay my bills. I take pride in my work, in part, because I’m valued. And I see it in the amazing group of women I work with. We all work hard to deliver the best quality care we can.
Quality care is what children deserve. And every early childhood educator across Canada deserves a decent wage to deliver that quality care."
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We 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.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
#RisingUpForChildCare Story #31, Anonymous
"After so many years of building the child care profession, it seems like we have taken a giant step back to being the ‘forgotten’ profession. We remained open during a pandemic with little or no guidance. The guidance we received was confusing and honestly, seemed like it was slapped together with little thought. It would be prudent for the people making the policies to have experience in the child care field as a front line worker. We know there is a massive difference between learning from books and reality, and it is nearly impossible to make decisions based on what you think you know or what you may have been told.
Society is scared and anxious about keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe. It would go a long way to easing those feelings if we felt the government really cared about our health. We love children and form strong bonds with their families and we want to be with them. It is already tough when we know things will not be as they were, but then to feel unsupported from the government makes it that much harder.
The lack of respect for our profession will lead amazing Registered Early Childhood Educators to step away from the profession. When you add to that the minimal wages, why would these amazing people want to stay? Many would say they stay because they love the children but that doesn’t pay the bills.
Children have the right to be educated in a caring, loving and stimulating environment. They are our youngest citizens and they deserve to be with professionals who can encourage their exploration through observation, collaboration and planning. And what about the children who are observed to need extra support? We know how critical early intervention is. Educators need time and resources to ensure they can identify and support all children - and too often, those opportunities come second to all our other duties.
The government needs to step up and fund centres so they can compensate and respect their RECEs as they deserve. We are prepared to give the absolute best caring and learning environment possible. And children deserve no less!"
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We 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.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
#RisingUpForChildCare Story #32, Anita
I've been a RECE for 10 years now and had been working with children for several years before. I've pretty much done it all, been a nanny, supervised an extended day program, tried full day kindergarten, and yet still, here I am in my 50s, struggling with near-minimum wage pay.
Since the Covid 19 pandemic, I now spend about 75% of my days disinfecting and filling out documentation. Of the 25% of my time left, it's just crowd control and policing handwashing. If I ever try to suggest ways to improve the quality of what we do I'm either ignored or told why we can’t make it happen.
Ontario (as well the rest of the country) needs a properly run universal childcare system, so all children can be nurtured and taught respectfully, not just provided a safe place to be while their families are at work. Sadly, this is what will happen if this entire field continues to be disregarded. Like so many others have and I am almost ashamed of how our child care centres have been neglected by the government. I'm grateful to be working yes, but I'm constantly frustrated by the conditions that we are made to work in.
After years of loving this field and going through such struggles to get my diploma, I'm done. I am tired of hitting my head against a brick wall when I go to work, tired of government lies, tired of being disrespected and invisible within the education system. I cannot afford to retire (because that is the ECE reality!) but I will soon be resigning.
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We 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.
Share your story. Sign the petition. Rise up for child care. https://www.childcareontario.org/risingup
