[speaker002:] do you know something about how to take care of kids
[speaker001:] yeah I was just wondering how did this get on my list how how did this subject get on my list oh well I'm not sure um
[speaker002:] it's what I I don't know I've got mine
[speaker001:] well uh my children are grown now but I used care child care services uh for a number of years and I I don't know if I had it to do it over again maybe I would be a little more selective and really you know find out more about them I think the main thing was that I needed someone to take care of my children and I and I generally used some place that was either you know uh close to where I lived or close to where I worked and I really never had any had any real problems and I always felt like that they did a good job and um but I don't have small children now so uh I don't know if it would be different now you know I hear I hear I know a lot of uh mothers or uh people that I work with and they are you know putting their children in different places
[speaker002:] well yeah I I don't have kids yet um I won't for a couple uh for at least two or three years and my wife is planning on probably taking care of them at that point um
[speaker001:] um  so you yeah uh I suppose uh depends it depends on what kind of program they have especially for summer summer programs um whether or not you know a lot of it is uh when they're in school and you know their after school thing you'd hope that they would have time for studying but most of the time they don't they just play
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] but uh I think Summer time I'll I I know I was talking to one lady she's just changing her daughter to a different uh child care center for the Summer because they have so much more structured time and they offer different classes like her daughter's going to be taking gymnastics and she said if she had left her where that she was uh previously that a lot of time would you know just be free time for them to do whatever they wanted do and a lot of times they get bored so
[speaker002:] that's actually yeah what I've been I'm thinking of the child care center because they have like licensing procedures and and stuff like that that seems to me you know good and I mean it is a state license to seemingly more often than not that means that they're good and they have lots of activities and people who know how to take care of the kids
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and some
[speaker001:] and I guess the ratio of of workers to children you know would be something to consider uh especially if they're little bitty children that would be a I would I I would hate to leave an uh a real small baby you know
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] uh before say before three or four years old anything anyone younger younger than that I'd just kind of feel kind of uncomfortable about leaving the child but
[speaker002:] with somebody else yeah oh I agree
[speaker001:] yeah but I did it so I mean but but I look back on some of the things that I did with my kids and I shudder
[speaker002:] and I wonder actually I wonder about costs because most people I know who who have kids you know uh one parent doesn't work a part of the time you know only works part time and takes care of the kid part time and then it turns out that that person's salary just winds up going to paying
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] the people who who who take care of the kids
[speaker001:] that's true that's true
[speaker002:] you know that which which amazes me um I I you know it never occurred to me how expensive that sort of thing can be
[speaker001:] so basically I think that that when they do that that person really feels a need to get out of the house and you know even if their the money is going mostly to child care they're not really having much to take home
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] it's something a filling fulfilling another another need I suppose than staying home with with children all the time but that's a tough deal to do too too you know but uh it'd be nice to to work you know I don't know I don't know a good solution to that but but it's it's tough to be I started I started to say stuck at home with children all the time and never getting out that that's just probably not a real good way to put it
[speaker002:] yeah that
[speaker001:] but some people you know they their their life and children can be a full time job and you don't have time for anything else so you so I would say maybe you know a day or two a week to get out to go do something else not necessarily go back to work or something but I don't know
[speaker002:] yeah I don't I don't you know I just yeah it it just strange because people do I mean in that sense it probably is pretty good to go out and just who cares if it if if all your salary goes to pay somebody you sort of get away for a while too we have I don't I don't um it's strange it's funny that I should get this particular we should be on this topic now because uh because we have even though we have no kids we have people staying with us
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] um for the for the for the for the the weekend and they have a six a six year old son and a three month old son
[speaker001:] oh
[speaker002:] so I'm just sort of seeing what all the hassles are you know of you know like last night we we we the six year old decided he wanted to go camping in the back yard so we pitched a tent in the dark yard actually and his father and and the little boy and I all went out and had you know a a boy's a boys' night out
[speaker001:] oh really
[speaker002:] in the back yard and about quarter of one he woke up half crying and he couldn't sleep and this and that I mean we we wanted to bring him inside so when about a one o'clock in the morning we all got up and sort of wandered inside so I'm think all the benefits of taking care of kids or all the fun part of taking care of kids I guess
[speaker001:] uh-huh yeah I tell you it's uh yeah maybe it's something before you start having children you know maybe there's a lot of stuff but but if if you'll never have them if you start doing all that get too logical about it but it's great it's great having kids and then uh yeah I think everybody ought to ought to try it
[speaker002:] yeah we plan on a couple of years and I just like it's just like child care will become very important to my life then
[speaker001:] yeah yeah she'll probably she'll probably spend a lot more time finding the right place uh
[speaker002:] you know
[speaker001:] I don't know I I tend to think if they're licensed then they're you know I don't know I you know you you can feel you can get a feel from it too if your child is too small you can't but if you if they're old enough to to know you know they'll they'll let you know if they're unhappy or if or if someone isn't treating them well or
[speaker002:] yeah that that that that's probably true although I I don't like you say I don't know if I'd put a kid there who's less than you know uh four years old or something
[speaker001:] I'll tell you one thing is that my of course I'm I'm a single parent and so I guess and um my my son was five and my daughter was two and I had uh they had to go in child care but uh but I think they were more uh well I uh my sister who had two boys and she did not work and she and she had a real difficult time when the when time for them to go to school they did not uh want to leave her and my children who were so used to being out and uh learning how to get along with other children and taking directions and stuff like that they just went very smoothly off into school you know without a problem so I think even if you don't leave them full time but have them you know preschool or mother's day out or couple things a couple of days a week or something like that I think it's always good
[speaker002:] yeah probably just to make friends and and stuff like that
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] yeah I if it's just like I say this is a very foreign topic for me so
[speaker001:] so
[speaker002:] one of those things I have to learn about I do I work with kids a lot
[speaker001:] you do
[speaker002:] I I I do work with kids a lot I uh I I do uh um I teach a karate class twice a week with with with kids
[speaker001:] oh oh what age
[speaker002:] um they're four to seven actually there's one at I work mostly with four to seven and then eight to twelve I I'm I'm the class so I I help out in this class and uh and it's really um weird because I'm not you know the first when I first started doing it I I can put it this way it it it's helped me gain lots of respect for people who can work with lots large numbers of kids
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] because when I first started like I had no idea how to how to handle a five five year old kid with especially when there are ten of the m floating around and you're supposed to be running around teaching them things and
[speaker001:] um do they pay have uh their attention span is it do do you have a hard time holding their attention
[speaker002:] of course uh I I do but I'm finding there's there's uh another person there who has good he has got absolutely no training from what I know but he's just wonderful with kids and he seems to know how to hold their attention you know he keeps them he does lots of you know he's he's he's fast moving with them they'll do this exercise they'll do that they'll do this they'll do that he keeps them moving quick enough that you know when they stop losing attention they start you know they're the all of a sudden they're switched
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and you know there're a couple in there who actually have um who I think have attention deficit disorders or they have very very low attention and those are harder to work with but I you know but I I I I uh the regular ones you know the normal kids you can just let them go a little bit and and and he sort of he's real good at keeping them in line I'm learning from him how to do these sort of things just just by watching him
[speaker001:] did you say uh your karate class is all boys or mixed
[speaker002:] no it's it's boys and girls it it it it's mixed there are uh there are um more boys than girls but there are a number of number of girls in there who actually uh do some good stuff and beat up a lot of the little girls I mean I mean a lot of the little boys too
[speaker001:] is that right  why why would a parent want their child to take karate or is it the child wants to take it uh
[speaker002:] um in some case actually a lot of parents send their kids or just bring their kids because because of the sort of discipline you know and it it's not we don't you know say get down and do a hundred push ups for me now you little guy but um it teaches we we we focus very highly on you know on on on issues of respect and self-discipline and self-confidence we have a lot of students kids who come in very shy you know and unsure of themselves and and you can see them come you know week by week that they come more and more out of their shells and start to become you know more sociable and more sure of themselves instead of more sure footed
[speaker001:] hm
[speaker002:] you know um and the parents love it actually they find you know we we we there are rules like the kids aren't allowed kids have to bring their report card in every after every quarter or whenever or whenever they get their report cards they have to bring them in to make sure that they're keeping up with their grades