Stage 8: Childcare Surveillance

Childcare Regulations tend to stay off of most of our radars unless you are a parent or have an interest in the child development field. After reading Olive's blog about Texas enforcing a surveillance camera in the preschool room, I realized it should be a topic more people discuss in order to get different views and thoughts.

Olive is both a mother of a three year old and a teacher, so it's pretty safe to say that her understanding of child safety is relatively high. She brings up excellent points to defend the concept of recording the child's classroom such as: a positive step to confirm any accusations and a way to give parents a peace of mind about their child's safety. These are comforting and reassuring measures that a childcare facility can take in order to reassure the parent(s) that it is a secure and exceptional environment with honorable staff members.

Having experience with teaching a classroom of preschoolers, its understandable why a parent would want to have the option to see what goes on in the room. Preschoolers are extremely active and unfortunately do not have full coordination development or understanding of what can hurt them, so it is easier for them to fall down, bump their head, bite/hit each other, or even have an accident. It is inevitable that any classroom will have at least one child that falls into this category, and that is something a parent has to understand from the very beginning. It is both the facility supervisor's (or director) and the teacher's job to maintain an accommodating environment to minimize any harmful activities or behavior. Camera surveillance will not stop an abusive act, it will simply reveal it, and that can be helpful for suspicious situations.

It is important to explore the disadvantages of surveillance, as well as all the advantages. A comment made on Olive's blog gives a different approach to the camera recording idea. If the facility were to create a webpage for parents to access in order to watch in on their child, the facility is putting a lot on the line. If a sexual predator were to hack onto the site, it can compromise the safety of each child in the classroom, as well as the teacher. Nothing on the internet is private these days, so the phrase "password protected," does not mean a thing.

The cost of camera will be expensive initially or later down the line. Unless the facility has the means to fund this type of security, it will create a financial burden that could ultimately run it out of business. Childcare facilities in lower income neighborhoods cannot afford to be shut down because the parents depend on them for help when they are working countless hours or multiple jobs.

The parent(s) need to understand that by putting their child into someone else's hands, there will always be a risk. At some point the child will attend school or outside function that the parent will not be present and neither will a camera. It is vital that the parent do thorough research on the facility before enrolling or dropping their child off. Yes, anything can happen, but it is less likely when the facility has an outstanding reputable background/reviews.

As helpful as the surveillance would be in certain circumstances, making it mandatory does not seem like the best choice. It should be further explored and most definitely optional. The risks will always be there, and to enforce camera recording, the government is literally opening the door for all the avoidable risks to walk right through.