Early learning mostly falls to interested parents

By Sara Fuller

I am writing in response to your Sept. 26 article "Breaking the cycle" discussing the need for accredited child-care providers in our area. I strongly disagree.

Nancy Jernigan of the United Way of Southeast Missouri stated, "The city needs more accredited child-care providers. Research shows that kids are more successful if they go through an accredited program."

I have two children who currently attend Cape Girardeau public schools. My son is a junior at Central High School, and my daughter is in kindergarten at Clippard Elementary School.

My son attended a church-affiliated day care, and my daughter attended a home day care, neither of which was accredited. My son has been successful in his academics, and his Missouri Assessment Program tests and other testing done at school have always been well above average. My daughter scored 98 percent overall on her kindergarten screening and has been asked to be further screened for the gifted program. I attribute their academic success to my and their father's parenting skills and the day cares they attended.

As for the home day care my daughter attended, I could never have found a better place for my daughter to spend the first five years of her life. My daughter is not the only success this wonderful woman can be proud of. Two other girls my daughter's age also attended her home day care since infancy, and they too have had academic success thus far in kindergarten. Both girls scored above 95 percent on their kindergarten screening, and one of the girls has been further screened for the gifted program at Blanchard Elementary School.

This gifted, loving and greatly appreciated woman not only provided my daughter with a safe, secure, clean place to grow every day, but also taught her morals, manners, colors, numbers, letters and everything else needed to be a successful kindergartener. I am forever indebted to this woman for loving and teaching my daughter and giving her a head start on her academics and life in general.

"Accredited" does not necessarily mean quality, and "quality" does not necessarily come from training and a one- to five-star rating. A child's academic success is a combination of parent participation and a day-care provider who not only provides care, but also the necessary tools needed for learning.

If both parties are providing a young child with a stimulating environment, there should be no statistics stating that 25 percent of children are not ready for kindergarten and that 20 percent of freshmen will fail to graduate.

The young woman mentioned in the article who recently enrolled her daughter in the prekindergarten program stated, "She's already learned her numbers and letters, and her class worked on the color red last week." This child is 4 years old, and these are basic skills that are already known by most 2-year-olds.

Place the blame where it truly needs to be placed: on parents who don't participate and teach their children at home and then expect the day-care provider to do it all and are shocked that little Johnny can't read and write when he's 16 years old.

"Breaking the cycle" needs to start at home and be enhanced by the child's day-care provider. Accredited child-care providers are not a solution to an ever-growing problem with parents who don't care. It's only another excuse for nonparticipating parents to use for their children's failures.

Sara Fuller is a Cape Girardeau resident.