This article from "Children and Young People Now" clearly shows the issues that us men have to overcome when it comes to childcare.(Click here to view the article). Even though the article in question may be over a year old it is still correct. Men are turning away from working with children because society labels them as a Paedophile.
But where has this issue come from? It seems to have appeared out of no where since the Jimmy Saville Scandal. There have been more and more people standing up and saying "He touched me here, this long ago, I want him put behind bars" etc etc. We all know that half of that stuff that is said is wrong and is just untrue. You see it everyday, all parents seem to be scared if there is a man in the room when they are dropping their children off for the day. So the purpose of this post is to set a few rumours straight.
Rumour 1 - "A man in a childcare setting will touch young girls inappropriately"
This is completely not true at all. Does society really think that a man who is caring for your child is going to sit and touch them inappropriately? Most men in childcare settings aren't even left alone with children for very long for this very reason. However when it comes down to it, why would you do such a thing in the first place? Also what makes a female nursery nurse more trustworthy than a male? This is what anger's me the most when female nursery nurses are considered better than males when trusted with children. This of course depends on your setting too, however if you asked parents most would rather have a female nursery nurse change their child's nappy than a male nursery nurse with the exact same training.
Rumour 2 - "A man in a nursery might take pictures of children for himself"
Well this one is complete crap. Yes children have their pictures taken so that nursery nurses can do observations and make wall displays. However not one photo of any child is taken out of the setting. The fact that anyone would think this just because of the gender of someone is outragous. If memory serves me right the reason why mobile phones are now banned in all childcare settings was because a female nursery nurse took photo's of young children during changing them and distrubuted them on the internet? I have never heard of a male nursery nurse doing this, and I myself personally would never even think of doing something like this.
Rumour 3 - "Men are a bad influence on children because they are too heavy handed"
Too heavy handed? Yes some men are naturally stronger than some women however how is this a bad thing? I will admit that I have turned around before and accidently knocked a child over, however this was just a simple mistake. Most female nursery nurses don't seem to be able to keep up with energetic young boys who need someone who can catch them, play a little rough and tumble with and still be safe. Children nowadays are wrapped up in cotton wool and is a bit of safe rough and tumble catch is a bad thing then what does that say about how much we protect children?
Rumour 4 - "Men should not cuddle children as they children are scared of them"
Are you kidding me? Children are not scared of men. I've been the only man in all of my College and University placements so far and the children seem to flock to me. Seriously I can't get them away from me sometimes. The problem is that when a child is upset they would rather turn to a female because they are used to them then a male. However when it comes to boys, they tend to go to the male practitioners more. I can comfort a child just as easily and effectively as a woman can. Children are not scared of men and if they are it is because they have not had a decent male role model in their life, this of course is more common in deprives areas where domestic abuse is more common.
Rumour 5 - "Men are more strict than Women and will often shout more"
Yes this could be true. However we are not always strict. This isn't the 1950's where men would shout at children. I have come across female practitioners that are way stricter than me. I don't shout at a child because they have coloured outside the lines on their picture. I hate shouting at children, infact I try not to. I have always found that calmly explaining to a child in much more effective than yelling their names so that everyone in Sydney can hear you. You get both strict and caring male practitioners, there has been times when I have to be strict to protect the child (For example on trips when crossing a road), but that doesn't mean I'm a strict shouting man all the time.
These are only five of the rumours that I've seen circling around about men in Childcare. Personally a lot of them are just by people who are scared to leave their children with a man. Why are we so scared that your child is going to be sexually abused or taken advantage of by men? For those who don't know there are several laws and legislations to stop that from happening and trained practitioners will be able to spot the signs. However it makes my job a hell of a lot harder when you have parents and people who automatically think you are a Paedophile just because you work with children and your reproductive organs are on the outside.
So the next time you see a man in a childcare setting. Don't jump to conclusions, remember it can be hard for us to face society's view on us and children. But then just remember we are here to do our jobs, we all have a passion and a drive or we wouldn't be working with your children and we can help them. Don't jump to the conclusion that they are a paedophile, because the last person who said that to me ended up with a broken nose. (You've been warned.... :P). Being labeless as a paedophile when you work with children is the worst thing ever and it has driven people to suicide before, so please before accusing think and just remember that a man in your child's nursery isn't a big deal. We have the same training and values as the women in the setting and discrimination shouldn't be what our society is based upon.
“The
biggest reasons why staff thought men don’t go into childcare was
because of society’s attitude and the concern of being perceived as a
paedophile, - See more at:
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/1075377/paedophilia-fears-deter-childcare#sthash.zoMIfNmB.dpuf
“The
biggest reasons why staff thought men don’t go into childcare was
because of society’s attitude and the concern of being perceived as a
paedophile, - See more at:
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/1075377/paedophilia-fears-deter-childcare#sthash.zoMIfNmB.dpuf
“The
biggest reasons why staff thought men don’t go into childcare was
because of society’s attitude and the concern of being perceived as a
paedophile, - See more at:
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/1075377/paedophilia-fears-deter-childcare#sthash.zoMIfNmB.dpuf
“The
biggest reasons why staff thought men don’t go into childcare was
because of society’s attitude and the concern of being perceived as a
paedophile, - See more at:
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/1075377/paedophilia-fears-deter-childcare#sthash.zoMIfNmB.dpuf
“The
biggest reasons why staff thought men don’t go into childcare was
because of society’s attitude and the concern of being perceived as a
paedophile, - See more at:
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/1075377/paedophilia-fears-deter-childcare#sthash.zoMIfNmB.dpuf
“The
biggest reasons why staff thought men don’t go into childcare was
because of society’s attitude and the concern of being perceived as a
paedophile, - See more at:
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/1075377/paedophilia-fears-deter-childcare#sthash.zoMIfNmB.dpuf
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