Childcare vs. Fast Food

Have you ever been to Taco Bell? Do you remember the last time they got your order correct? The incompentecy of the people working in the fast food industry is unbelievable. How much worth does society place on the job they perform? Would it shock you to know that the people in the fast food industry generally get paid about the same as the people who educate our young children? Child care is so much more important than the food service industry, but yet, even with a college education, it is a very low paying job. In order to fully analyze this subject it is necessary to examine the earnings, duties, education and personality requirements, work environment, and results of poor performance of both the fast food and child care employee.

"Full-time counter attendants and fast-food workers had median weekly earnings (including any tips) of about $220 in 1996. The middle 50 percent earned between $190 and $270, while the highest 10 percent earned over $360 a week." (Occupation Outlook Handbook, 1999) According to this report the average hourly wage of full-time counter attendants and fast-food workers was between $4.75 and $6.75 in 1996. "In 1996, median weekly earnings of full-time, salaried child-care workers were $250. The middle 50 percent of child-care workers earned between $190 and $310. The top 10 percent earned at least $390; the bottom 10 percent earned less than $140." (Occupation Outlook Handbook, 1999) According to this report the average hourly wage of child care employees was between $4.75 and $7.75 in 1996. The difference between the median weekly wage between a fast food worker and child care employee was only thirty dollars.

Recently an article was featured in the Detroit News about the need for employees. "Curry has placed what seems like her hundredth help wanted ad. Mother Goose needs trained child care workers with experience and a love of kids. For this, Curry can offer $6.50 an hour." "Day care operators say attracting and keeping good child care workers with rock bottom wages is next to impossible in a booming economy. Child care workers are leaving for jobs in public schools, offices and burger joints, fueling sky-high turnover rates that can undermine a child's development." (Truby, 1999) This is a serious injustice. Shouldn't everyone who has children want the most loving and qualified people looking after their children while they cannot. But yet, the first question asked about the child care is, "How much do you charge?" So why do child care employees receive such low wages? Well, the cost of running a child care is pretty high, including food, art supplies, maintenance and more. Then parents don't want, or cannot afford to pay a lot for child care services. So how can child care afford to pay high wages.

Job duties for counter attendants and fast-food workers included taking orders from customers at counters or drive-through windows, getting the items, serving them to customers, and accepting payment, as well as, cooking and packaging food, preparing beverages and cleaning. They are also responsible for money within their drawer, having adequate change and charging the proper amount for items purchased. Communication with the customers is necessary and critical, as well as knowledge of how the machines work and knowledge of the items being sold. In the fast food industry, the customers expect the orders to be taken and food to be prepared quickly and efficiently, with accuracy. During off peak hours, fast-food workers are also expected to maintain a clean and sanitary atmosphere. They usually do light cleaning and stocking, such as sweeping, mopping, cleaning tables, counters, bathrooms, and stocking food items, cups, napkins and silverware.

Child care employees nuture and teach young children, typically under the age of five. These people play a very important role in the life of a child by taking care of the child while the parent(s) are at work, school or away for other reasons. Besides taking care of the basic needs of each child, a teacher is also responsible for promoting the social, emotional, intellectual, and physical growth and well being of each child. This can be done by developing an age appropriate creative curriculum in which children are interested in and will have fun while learning. A child care teacher is also responsible for teaching children how to behave. This includes teaching respect for self, adults and friends, being polite, sharing with friends, non-violent problem solving, think creatively, proper table manners, proper hygiene practices and much more. Child care employees are expected to treat each child with dignity and respect, and recognize the differences of each child. They are also responsible for effective communication with parents and children, and noticing a child's unusual behavior and signs of illness. Usually daily communication is necessary for younger children, (ages 2 and under) regarding fulfillment of basic needs and the child's behavior. For older children, conferences are usually held to discuss progress or how to handle an opportunity with a child's behavior. They also keep records of each child's development, and any significant individual or group behavior which might affect the children. Child care employees greet parents and children upon arrival and help to get the child settled in. This sometimes is stressful for the child and parent and requires some creativity to make the transition smooth, especially for new children. Child care employees who work with infants are responsible for feeding, changing, playing with, and ensuring the well-being of the children in their care. The infant care giver strives to create an environment that is the home away from home, with a loving and warm atmosphere. It is essential to have consistent staff working with infants, since they usually form strong bonds with their primary care giver (the person who changes and feeds them.) It is also essential for the care giver to know the infants schedule and temperament. Toddler and preschool teachers are responsible for feeding, working on table manners, changing, working on toilet training, playing with, creating a curriculum for, and ensuring the well-being and hygiene practices of the children in their care. Most teachers create lesson plans to help achieve long and short term goals regarding the social, emotional, intellectual and physical growth. In addition to the above, child care employees are responsible for the cleanliness and sanitation of the center, as well as the decor and arrangement of the classroom. This may include sweeping, vacuuming, washing and sanitizing tables, toys, decorating the room with the children's art work, and bathrooms, as well as mopping and engaging in proper hygiene practices. A child care employee is also responsible for preventing injuries and handling emergencies, accidents, and injuries appropriately when they occur.

There are no specific educational requirements for fast food employees. It is not even necessary to complete high school to become employed as a fast-food worker. Usually they are in their late teens or early twenties and have little or no work experience. The job is usually a temporary job and not considered a career. Other qualities required are the ability to communicate, work efficiently, and have a neat, clean appearance, be on time, and have the ability to learn information about the items being served and the computer system being used.

The training and qualifications required of preschool teachers and child-care workers vary widely depending state licensing and business requirements. Each State requires different levels of training required for caregivers, ranging from a high school diploma, to community college courses, to a college degree in child childhood development. Some employers may require a CDA credential or secondary or post-secondary courses in early childhood education, and possibly work experience in a child care setting. To attain a CDA the applicant must have 480 hours of experience working with young children and must have completed 120 clock hours of formal child care education (both within the past 5 years). Some pre-schools require specialized education, such as Montessori, which is a specific program for learning. Public schools typically require a bachelor's degree and State teacher certification, or a CDA credential. Preschool teachers should posses many personal and physical characteristics. They should be enthusiastic and constantly alert, anticipate and prevent problems, deal with disruptive children, and provide fair but firm discipline. The child care employee should be able to stoop and bend to interact with the children. They need to be able to lift and carry the children in their care. They should be able to communicate effectively with the children and their parents, as well as other teachers and child-care workers. Teachers should be patient, understanding, have energy and physical stamina.

The working conditions for fast food employees is relatively safe. They are expected to be on their feet most of the day, and may have to carry boxes of food, or do some cleaning. During busy periods, they are under pressure to serve customers quickly and efficiently. The wide range of available hours creates work opportunities attractive to many individuals who seek additional income. The majority of hours worked are evenings, weekends, and holidays, catering to employees who work a day job or go to school. Usually, the work is routine, and varies little from day to day.

Working with children would be stressful for most people. The environment is very dynamic and requires very flexible employees who are creative. The hours may vary widely depending on the business. Generally most hours worked are daytime, afternoon, and early evening hours. Many preschool teachers may work extra unpaid hours each week on curriculum planning, parent meetings, and occasional fundraising activities. In addition, because of staffing, usually most teachers work long hours with no break. Many preschool teachers and child-care workers suffer burnout due to long hours and stressful conditions.

So what would happen if a fast food employee is incompetent? The food orders are messed up. The customers don't get what they asked for. They are charged too much or not enough. The employee is rude. The customer gets frustrated. There is no shortage of incompetent fast food employees. In reference to Taco Bell and the awful service, Ward stated, "Be sure you quadruple check your order, because sometimes the Bell Demigods (You know, Garth, the senior that was in your 9th grade English class?) don't count so well." An avid Taco Bell lover also states "I have encountered plenty of fast food employees, all of whom were complete and total idiots." (The Taco Bell Love Page, 1999) Another instance of incompetency was expressed on a personal homepage written by Peter Leppik. He shared a humorous story of a Taco Bell employee and manager and the ignorance of the existence of two dollar bills. A security guard was called to the scene because the manager felt that Peter was trying to give him fake money, because "There is no such thing as a two dollar bill, right?" And finally on T. Scott Gross's web page, he states that "When you make jobs so idiot-proof that only idiots can stand to do them you have no right to complain about the quality of the help!" He writes about a girl who cannot make change, the bill is $19.10 and she is given $20.10. He suggest that the standards of employment be raised so that we can get better service.

What if a child care employee is incompetent? The results could be drastic. An infant may not be fed or changed on time, children may fight with each other, or a child may become involved in an accident. These are all cases of neglect. There are also cases of abuse, which may include corporal punishment, verbal abuse, and embarrassing or humiliating a child. These result from an uneducated or frustrated child care employee. The results of neglect and abuse of children is very negative for the child and their parents. It is a very sensitive subject creating emotional outrage and publicity. Such as the case in Florida, in October 1998, where an in-home child care provider had broken the arms of three children. (Word, 1999) Then there was the Nanny who was charged with the death of the young infant that was in her care. She was found "not guilty" by a jury, but it was on the news nationally, and attracted a lot of attention. It seems that every year a local news station will do a piece where they send in an undercover agent to see if they can get a child out of the center, while the parent waits outside. There are minor cases where bottles are missed, not recorded properly, or a child goes home a little dirty from an art project, and parents are outraged.

In conclusion, although the job of working with children is much more important than working at a fast food restaurant, the pay rates are very close. This suggests that society places the same monetary value on child care employees as they do fast food employees, while expecting child care employees to complete their job with a much higher degree of quality and care. However, if you ask people with children to list in order of importance their children's care, the care of their car, and the quality of fast food service, they would say child care first every time. The child care employee is expected to nuture, teach and care for the children placed within their care, while fast food employee take money, make and serve food. The child care employee is expected to have experience, be a caring and creative individual who can relate well with children, and maybe even have a formal education, such as a college degree, or a CDA credential, while any rude ignorant high school drop-out can work at Taco Bell and fulfill our expectations of the typical fast food employee. Fast food employees are stereotyped as slow, ignorant, incompetant, and rude, while usually child care employees are stereotyped as women who really care about the children, loving, creative and fun to be around. Both jobs require a person to be on their feet, and contain some levels of stress, but the most significant difference relates to poor performance. It seems to be more common to hear someone complaining about a bad experience they had recently in a fast food restaurant, just ask someone and they could tell you. But, how often do you hear about someone who works in the child care field really messing up. An incorrect food order can never compare to the abuse or neglect of a young child, NEVER.

Works Cited

No Author. "California Occupational Guides." Retrieved April 17, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://www.calmis.cahwnet.gov/htmlfile/subject/guide.htm

No Author. "Michigan Occupational Information System." Retrieved April 17, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://mois.org/

Barkume, Megan. "Occupational Outlook Handbook Home Page." Retrieved April 17, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://stats.bls.gov/ocohome.htm

Childtime Job Description. (1995). Childtime Children's Center.

Gross, Scott. "It's the Work, Stupid!" Retrieved April 17, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://pertinent.com/pertinfo/business/scottgross10.html

Leppik, Peter. "Taco Hell." Retrieved April 17, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~fields/fun/taco.html

Ramsdell, Ward. "Taco Bell Members List." Retrieved April 17, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://www.csh.rit.edu/~ward/ward.html

Tina."The Taco Bell Love Page." Retrieved April 17, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://members.aol.com/zeoranger7/tacobell.html

Truby, Mark. "Day care centers desperate for help." The Detroit News 31 Mar. 1998: Online. Available: http://detnews.com/1999/metro/9903/31/03310183.htm
17 Apr. 1999

Work, Ron. "Mystery of broken arms leads to Florida day-care center being closed." Detroit Free Press 2 Oct. 1998: Online. Available:
http://www.freep.com/news/nw/qabuse2.htm.
17 Apr. 1999

written by Amber Leigh
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