the thing that doesnt often get talked about in working with kids is its not really a 9 to 5. every minute youre on the job it takes all the however many decades of life you have. maybe this is true in all jobs but the fact is that if a kid has a piss emergency or temper tantrum or a grandma die or an abusive relationship and they need help, like, Youre It. you are the adult in the room.
and in working with kids and talking to people who used to be kids, its like, sure kids soak up everything from around them. but its not equal either. everything you say sort offhandedly has sort of a dice roll on becoming a formative memory and pillar of their identity for years or a lifetime. so with my fucking luck any moment that i am petty or spiteful or shallow or cruel will be the moment that ends up sticking. so instead you have to just be reasonable and thoughtful and kind as best as you can, nonstop. its like that post abt how being a hero isnt like lifting cars overhead its like holding a small weight at arms length continuously 24/7
theres kind of just no substitute or alternative . you have to treat them with such extraordinary respect. well ok there is the alternative is to just be fine with occasionally destroying a kid, because you can. and parenting has its own set of challenges but in working in childcare, i basically have a handful of hours a week to be the absolute best person i can, and this is the only way to make a kid grow up healthy happy and not a nazi
