In San Diego, We Choose Care
Behind a white picket fence on Chula Vista’s Third Avenue, Mary Ann Canales is playing a game of high-stakes diplomacy.
One of the children in her care wants to ride a tricycle, but they’re all taken.
Canales holds the child close and speaks softly.
“Which bike do you want? Ok so what you’re going to do is go to her and say ‘Hi, can I have a turn.’ And then she’s going to tell you if she’s ready to give you a turn now, or in five minutes. Ok? Go ask her.”
“Let’s see what happens,” Canales whispers to another young girl who has been playing with her earrings this whole time. The little boy returns with two thumbs up, and takes a deep breath. “Ok, so in five minutes, you’re going to get a turn,” Canales tells him.
Situation diffused.
Canales had given three children grace, taught them all a lesson about sharing and patience, and had done it with a calm, quiet voice. How lucky would we be to have more people like Canales caring for our kids?
Getting there requires a child care sector that’s affordable for families and gives providers and childcare workers what they need to stay afloat financially. That, unfortunately, is a far cry from the system we have in place today.
On Wednesday night, a passionate group of people gathered in downtown San Diego, with the belief that working together with a unified voice, we can change that reality. The San Diego’s Children First Collective’s “We Choose Care event,” hosted at UCSD’s Park and Market, welcomed childcare providers, advocates, parents and elected leaders from across the region who are collaborating to build a childcare system that works for everyone — a system in which workers earn a fair wage, providers can afford to pay that wage and parents can afford the care.
Uptown 11 was proud to produce the short film at the top of this post that told the stories of these tireless advocates. If you had any doubts about the momentum behind the #wechoosecare movement, just take a look at the photos from the event, where we had a packed house of passionate supporters on a Wednesday night in San Diego.
