Dear editor,

As I woke this morning, the familiar sounds of Canadian geese preparing to fly south reminded me that fall is fast approaching. Typically, these late August days are a bit melancholic, as we say goodbye to summer, and a bit exciting, especially for children, as they anticipate a new school year.

For our family an important transition is upon us. My granddaughter is entering kindergarten. While we are all eager to see her launch to the next step in the journey, we are a little sad to leave behind what has been an essential part of her early development 鈥� her child care centre.

My granddaughter has been one of the lucky ones. She was able to access a full-time space shortly after her first birthday and has remained in the same centre for four years, progressing to different rooms as she matured and bloomed.

I too have been lucky 鈥� having taken on enough of the drop-off and pick-up responsibilities to come to know the wonderful early childhood educators at Teddies and Toddlers.

I have so valued those drop-off mornings.

Regardless of the state or time in which we arrive, we have been welcomed with open arms.

While my granddaughter scampers to join teachers and friends, there has always been a kind word and hello to me, the granny.

For us, it has been an oasis of stability as we have all grown and dealt with the ups and downs of daily life. Without doubt, the experience has profoundly enhanced my granddaughter鈥檚 well-being and development, and strengthened those of us around her.

Along with my gratitude though, I need to express some outrage. Firstly, I am outraged that not every family is able to access the kind of quality childcare experience that our family did. Far too many families sit on wait lists or settle for too expensive or sub-standard care. While our governments wave at building a universal childcare system, they have not yet come to the table with the resources needed to truly make this happen. We need to move to a fully publicly funded system before yet another generation grows up without equitable access to quality care.

Secondly, I am outraged that early childhood educators are so poorly paid for the work they do. The average salary in BC is about $22 an hour, much closer to the wage of a fast-food worker than that of a public school teacher. The work of an ECE is complex and difficult, both intellectually and emotionally. We will never attract enough people to the field until we address this disconnect between responsibility and compensation. As a grandmother, I now feel even stronger about advocating for these changes. I hope many more will also raise their voices in support.

With that, I wanted to take the time to publicly appreciate the amazing, mostly women, of Teddies and Toddlers, who have nurtured, supported, taught, comforted, and loved not only my granddaughter but our entire family for the last four years.

To Natalie, Rebecca, Chelsea, Amber, Jolie, Jillian, Karissa, Cheyenne and all the others who have contributed to this wonderful experience along the way. Thank you! You are my heroes. Each day you show up as consummate professionals, combining your deep knowledge of child development, family support and caring hearts, to create an environment for children to flourish. 鈥淚f I had a million dollars鈥濃�� I would give it all to you.

Joanne Schroeder

Courtenay