I was a staff member at an after-school day service where the owner was only in it for the money. (3)

There was a drinking party hosted by 'Skull Uncle' that was billed as a networking event with other facilities. It was held to introduce newly launched facilities and serve as a meet-and-greet with staff from existing ones. There were about 30 people in total, including staff and owners from other facilities. Of course, other facilities that were also opening were participating as well.

I took the opportunity to ask about various things I had been curious about in a non-confrontational way.

What kind of parent companies are they?

They were all from other industries, such as transportation, bars, design firms, and construction companies...

What kind of developmental support do you usually provide?

Most of them said they just have the children do their homework and then have free time. They mentioned that they show movies on DVD, let the children take out toys to play with on their own, or do cardboard craft activities, and that the staff just watches over them without actively participating.

The facilities that are open on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays said they take the children on field trips to places like museums, which can take up to an hour one way by car.

Do you hold any events?

When I asked, 'Does going to a museum count as an event?' they replied, 'I guess so?' When I immediately asked if they didn't have an event plan written down, they replied quite casually, 'We don't have one.' I didn't even bother asking about group activities.

There was also a facility that said they hold a Christmas party with the parents. They said they invite all the children, both those currently using the service and those who aren't... I simply wondered if that was even allowed, so I asked, and they replied, 'We only bill for the number of children up to the capacity limit anyway,' which left me speechless...

Why did you change jobs to developmental support?

Personally, this was the thing I wanted to ask the most (including about my own facility).

The owners started talking among themselves, so I couldn't ask them. Many of the staff came from nursing care facilities, with a ratio of about 3:7 for qualified versus unqualified staff. The reasons given were things like 'the pay at the nursing facility was low,' 'the owner of the nursing facility was a yakuza,' 'I couldn't keep any job anywhere,' or 'I had trouble with interpersonal relationships at my previous job.' Not a single person said they were interested in child development or children with disabilities.

Feeling sad that this was the reality, I felt like I had been confronted with the fact that I was naive for dreaming of helping children and parents in need, and I felt depressed for a while.

Of course, I know it's natural to work for money. I understand that, but... I had seen people like that at daycare centers too, but this was on another level, and I started to feel anxious about whether I would be able to work in the same direction as them.

However, I had no choice but to change my mindset. I thought about what I could do now.

・Carefully scrutinize and incorporate what this consultant says.

・Differentiate ourselves from other facilities and provide proper developmental support, not just childcare.

・Instead of just watching over them, properly stay by the children's side

I told the owner of my facility that this is what we should be doing. To my surprise, they accepted it and even empathized with me, which was a relief.

However, I never expected that I would end up wondering what that empathy was really about.

To be continued soon...

Even now, there are companies that seek large profits from welfare services. I want people to know the current reality, where staff members are either fighting back or have given up, and are in various states of mind. I hope the comment section here can be used by those working with children, provided that it does not involve identifying individuals or slander.