[speaker001:] okay what kind of do you have children
[speaker002:] okay yeah we have one that's seventeen one that's fifteen and one that's just now six
[speaker001:] oh okay
[speaker002:] and we had kind of a hard time finding someplace that would we could put Michael's because his birthday is the first of September and he was going to school at five
[speaker001:] um-hum oh
[speaker002:] so he started the first grade when he was five or started
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] yeah first grade when he was five years old
[speaker001:] and you had trouble finding somewhere for him to be before he was five
[speaker002:] yeah so we could you know we tried to find him someplace where he could learn something
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] and it was uh
[speaker001:] that
[speaker002:] mediocore mediocre expensive it wasn't really that expensive but it's really hard to find someplace where you can send your child and expect him to learn something
[speaker001:] uh-huh to learn something and that's I mean that's even not only toddlers but you know even your older children
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] it's hard to find anywhere there really going to learn something and then yeah you do have to pay you know if you the better the place the more you're going to pay
[speaker002:] yeah well yeah but parents pay when they stay home with them anyway
[speaker001:] true very true if
[speaker002:] you know my my wife works so
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] it costs us more for her to stay home more than it does for him to go to the babysitter so
[speaker001:] um-hum if I had any children I would uh I hope that I'll be in a position to stay home with my child because
[speaker002:] okay
[speaker001:] I'm not real uh uh trusting of a lot of people
[speaker002:] yeah see I don't know
[speaker001:] uh especially today people I work in the news business and I just see different things all the time
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] and people are just crazy these days they're crazy
[speaker002:] and
[speaker001:] and and I don't you know it takes me a takes me a long time to just trust someone as a friend much less to you know trust someone with my with my child
[speaker002:] yeah well see we took our time and we checked it out and we found a preschool for him
[speaker001:] uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker002:] and it you know through other folks where I where I work I work at TI
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] so through other folks where we worked we found a nice preschool it was actually at a licensed preschool you know we
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] had those requirements
[speaker001:] hum
[speaker002:] so
[speaker001:] I guess that's the best way you know to get recommendations from your friends or family members
[speaker002:] yeah you know I well that and you know I don't think I would have left him anywhere that would I would have stayed home with him first
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] before I left him somewhere that you know they still have unlicensed babysitters running around up here and
[speaker001:] hum
[speaker002:] you know I just I I don't think I'd take that chance
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] you know I think it's out of sight or out of mind for less than
[speaker001:] yeah yeah I mean you have to be you have to be sure that these people
[speaker002:] for more than a minute or so
[speaker001:] I mean not that they're going to abuse your child or anything but you just have to be sure that they're going to be watching them you know that they wouldn't let them drink something or
[speaker002:] but you never know yeah
[speaker001:] you know eat something off the floor you know just simple things that can be harmful
[speaker002:] yeah but you you know as far as brittle as child abuse is these days you never know
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] you don't know who you can trust and who you can't
[speaker001:] um-hum and you hear so much you know on the news about
[speaker002:] you know
[speaker001:] uh child care places and also um senior care facilities you know and you hear abuse yeah
[speaker002:] yeah senior care is getting real bad
[speaker001:] and so you just you just don't know and you almost want to you know spend a couple of weeks with in class with your child just to see how it is or something
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] but
[speaker002:] so you have no children at all huh
[speaker001:] no I don't huh-uh
[speaker002:] gee
[speaker001:] no I'm
[speaker002:] do you miss that part in your life or
[speaker001:] uh no I'm only I'm twenty three
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] so I still have a little bit of time um it's just not in the cards for me right now I'm trying to get my career going
[speaker002:] yeah yeah I imagine yeah working in the news production anyway back to the subject
[speaker001:] and uh yeah yeah
[speaker002:] we should have discussed this earlier but anyway it's tough it really is it's hard to find
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] good child care and it's hard to find someplace where you can leave your child and trust that he's going to be fine all day long
[speaker001:] uh-huh um-hum and you brought up a good point you know about learning you just don't want a babysitter you you would hope that maybe they'd come home and know some of their ABC's or something you know get them
[speaker002:] and yeah you know and he's he's doing real well it it it has paid off for him he's in first grade now and he's you know got a second grade reading level and a fourth grade math level
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum huh
[speaker002:] so you know those early ages when he would you know when his mom and dad are at work and he's actually in child care in a preschool not
[speaker001:] yes um-hum
[speaker002:] just child care you know we could have sent him to anybody you know there's a lot people at work that would have babysat him but
[speaker001:] right um-hum
[speaker002:] sending him to a preschool where he actually learns something has paid off not only for us his his attitude is I think a little bit
[speaker001:] right um-hum
[speaker002:] tall for a six year old and you know but his
[speaker001:] did you take this same uh route with your other two children
[speaker002:] um they they were outside my marriage so
[speaker001:] okay
[speaker002:] I don't know
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] I would say no but
[speaker001:] I was wondering how
[speaker002:] you know all my children excel they're they're really good and I guess no he learns from the older boys too but
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum right and it helps that he has older brothers you know um just to have role models and things like that
[speaker002:] yeah yeah yeah seeing like uh in one way we're kind of lucky because they're all boys but in another way we're not so lucky because we don't have another woman in the house for my wife to share but
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] so we faced that too but
[speaker001:] hum
[speaker002:] he learns quite a bit he learned quite a bit from not only from nursery school but he learned quite a bit from the older boys and
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] you know he's excelled and it's paying off for him it really is he's
[speaker001:] that's excellent
[speaker002:] he is pretty smart sometimes he's a little bit smart mouthed but he is smart you know yeah
[speaker001:] um-hum well what kid isn't these days so
[speaker002:] but I think it's important I think it's really nice to know that you can find someplace I don't know you know how it is down there in Waco but in Lubbock we have a few that you can
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] send your children to and they can actually learn something instead of just being babysat
[speaker001:] um-hum do they have any kind of program like at TI or wherever your wife works
[speaker002:] and
[speaker001:] um some any kind of day care
[speaker002:] no not any huh-uh we just
[speaker001:] hum because I know they're they're putting that into a lot of uh corporations now
[speaker002:] yeah they're trying to the federal government is trying to insist on that too so
[speaker001:] right so maybe that'll be an option for
[speaker002:] no we don't yet well it would be nice you know there
[speaker001:] but then I I foresee that being just a babysitting thing not much learning but you know
[speaker002:] yeah there's not well
[speaker001:] kind of somebody to just watch your kid while your at work
[speaker002:] you know where where we sent Michael the first few years was there was different teachers all the time you know some girls were there in the morning and then some substitute teachers in the afternoon and they actually taught him something instead of just watching him all day
[speaker001:] hum um-hum right
[speaker002:] you know and then he they had a group of kids and they put on skits and they put on plays and they did the Halloween thing and the Valentine's Day things
[speaker001:] um um-hum
[speaker002:] and it's you know it was important to us so we you know we took a good look at it and made sure it was going to go that way
[speaker001:] hum do you think it would have been better for him to have um maybe one continuous teacher somebody to that he could
[speaker002:] um
[speaker001:] uh get attached to or is it better the other way with a lot of different
[speaker002:] no because I think you know as a child growing up I think is a task that belongs to his parents
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] I don't think he needed to be attached to too even though he did
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] you know he attached himself to a couple of those but
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] I think his attachments at home and you know he gets the idea of what school is for and uh you know I have different teachers here and this person can teach me one thing and this person teach teach me another and
[speaker001:] hum
[speaker002:] no so I I I really can't say that it would be it's important for him to attach himself to anybody
[speaker001:] right um um-hum
[speaker002:] he did well you it it with another child I can't say that
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] because I don't have that experience
[speaker001:] yeah each child is individual as for as learning and things
[speaker002:] yeah see but I don't have that experience so I can't say that you know he did well so
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] I don't think we made too many mistakes
[speaker001:] right well it sounds good sounds like he's doing real well
[speaker002:] we tried hard yeah he's doing real well
[speaker001:] um-hum well good
[speaker002:] and he learned from it so and that was the most important thing that we wanted was for him to learn not just to sit there and be babysat all day you know babysat sounds to me like well you're here I guess I'll watch you when I get time you know maybe I'll clean my house maybe I'll cook you lunch maybe I won't
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] you know and
[speaker001:] and they'll probably sit him in front of the television
[speaker002:] yeah yeah
[speaker001:] you know while they do other things yeah
[speaker002:] yeah and I don't you know I don't allow that when he's at home so
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] but we had a good experience and we really did well
[speaker001:] yeah well that's good that's good
[speaker002:] so and he didn't he served better than we did you know he gained he actually gained from it you know sure we gained from it because we were allowed to continue our employment and
[speaker001:] uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker002:] continue our family but I think in the long run he gained from it just being somewhere where we learned something instead of just sitting around watching TV and playing all day
[speaker001:] that's great right right
[speaker002:] and its important
[speaker001:] that's probably what I'll try and look for whenever I do have my children I don't know when that will be but um
[speaker002:] yeah yeah
[speaker001:] you know just really look into it will it will take me a long time to find somewhere I'm sure
[speaker002:] yeah well
[speaker001:] just because I I just want to be I want to be so positive that you know my children are okay
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] as well as the other children in the center you know
[speaker002:] well you know his his mom didn't go back to work till you know he was six months old
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and we just didn't want to dump him somewhere and make him feel like he wasn't wanted
[speaker001:] um-hum exactly
[speaker002:] and we wanted his center of attention at home but
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] we did what we could and it it worked out real well I'm glad we were so careful
[speaker001:] it's difficulties but it's it's a lot more difficulties these days because you have both parents working a lot of times and so you have to find day care whereas you know here
[speaker002:] oh yeah you know well it most of the time now it's a necessity you can't afford
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] so you know I'm not making seventy or thirty eighty thousand dollars a year so
[speaker001:] um-hum that's right
[speaker002:] it's pretty tough
[speaker001:] so child care's a necessity whereas years ago you know the husband basically worked and the wife basically stayed home
[speaker002:] yeah and mom mom was allowed to stay home and there was
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] a few families outside of that where dad stayed home and mom worked but not very many that I know of when I was growing up
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and you know I'm forty now but
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] I know when I was a kid mom was always at home
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] so we didn't
[speaker001:] I think that has a lot to do with just just all children how they learn and things just because the basic family is is breaking you know the basic family is not there anymore
[speaker002:] yeah it is yeah it is I'll agree with that it is it's it's not there
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] you know
[speaker001:] I think that plays a big part in in a child's learning and you know what they can and cannot do in child care
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] I would think