Parenting

Jake watches as his playmates continue to add to the tower. The blocks sway as Janine stomps toward the group, her arms extended wide. Giggling and falling over each other, the towers are knocked down, showering blocks over the children. "Did you see?" Janine asks, "Did you see how I knocked the towers, like on TV?" While the children twitter, Jake clings to his teacher, eyes wide, as he asks "Why did they do that to the towers Why did they want to kill all those people?" How would you want your child to be answered

"First of all, I'd have to establish with Jake what he knew about the event, and what his understanding was," says Christine. "If the child was worried about a terrorist attack occurring in Sydney, I would explain that it's unlikely it would happen here however, it is possible, as many people have different views and ideas about the value of life."Christine believes that by promoting children as investigators, you allow the child understanding in an equal environment. "Each child, person " everyone - understands the world in their own way, and as a child it is normal to have many questions about life and their place in the world. In order to liberate and educate the children, it is necessary to honestly answer these questions."

Christine has worked in childcare for over thirty years, both in Argentina and Australia, and is currently employed as the Director of a preschool caring for over fifty children. She entered the childcare industry after spending time studying psychology and philosophy. Her motivation is the desire to extract the potential that all children harness, and to guide them by imparting her own wisdom and knowledge. She has completed her Bachelor in Teaching and Masters of Education in Early Childhood, and believes that following a discipline which encourages respect and social equity between teachers and their students, is the best way to ready young children for the world they will soon be exposed to. Her nurturing instinct, she believes, is caused by her desire to provide for children what she lacked as a child " an environment conducive to learning and growth. "Like... a saviour of humanity. I know it sounds ridiculous, but these children are going to be the future leaders of our planet. We need to realise their full potential!"

"Don't worry about that. It won't happen here, I promise you'll be safe. Come on, let's go play in the yard." Ellen believes that when asked difficult questions, the children don't have the capacity to hear the truth. "Sometimes it's necessary to talk down to the kids. They don't need to know everything " it will only scare them." Ellen knows that in the future they will be able to find answers to their questions. "They have their whole life ahead of them. I don't want them to be worried about dying just yet."

Employed as a nanny for two years now, Ellen has also been babysitting for three years previous. It was a job she fell into, before discovering she had a passion for aiding the development of children. "I think it's their capacity to fascinate, amaze, intrigue me. They're so innocent, so cute, the way they go about life. It's just incredible to watch them develop. I feel so proud of their achievements." She completed her Certificate III in childcare at TAFE and fulfilled the required work experience at a long day care centre in Sydney. She was soon offered a fulltime nanny position with a family she baby-sat regularly for. She has been with the children, Archie and Gus, who are four and two respectively, for the past six months. While feeling that it is to her disadvantage, career-wise, not to have finished her diploma or taken on a University degree, Ellen doesn't think she'd ever go back to TAFE. "The Certificate III is adequate training to work with children."

The Government agrees. To work with children in NSW, a Certificate III in Childcare is required, as well as a current First Aid Certificate, and a Working with Children Check. "Its not like TAFE certified childcare workers have more or less to offer " it's just that there are different things to provide for the child," Ellen says. "It's really not necessary to learn about discipline and philosophy in relation to children - a lot of it is just experience."