For as long as she can remember, Chris H. has loved babies, even when she was barely out of babyhood herself. She was the kid who played with her Barbies and pampered her blond-haired Baby Tender Love doll that she got one year for Christmas — now a keepsake she has safely tucked away in a box all these years later.
As the oldest of three sisters close in age, Chris didn’t get to be the “mother’s helper” in her immediate family. But as a niece with nine aunts and uncles on her mother’s side, all that changed when the already big extended family started to get even bigger.
“New cousins would come into the family all the time, and I always wanted to hold the babies,” says Chris, the third-oldest cousin. “One time, one of the babies threw up on me — but that still didn’t stop me from wanting to hold the baby.”
Chris was just 11 years old or so when she started babysitting for neighbors and at various church nurseries. Naturally, Chris always dreamed of getting married and having a family of her own. But biological children were not meant to be: “You don’t have to give birth to be a mom,” says the ever optimistic Chris, 56, who now lives in Springfield, Missouri with her husband, Mike, and their daughter (technically her step-daughter), Emily, currently a sophomore in college.
Chris has had her fair share of service-related jobs: A dietary aide in a nursing home, a bus monitor for a public school district, and even a customer care representative at Wells Fargo. But she has always gravitated back to the profession she considers more of a vocation than a job.
“Child care is so much more rewarding. You don’t go into it to make big bucks,” says Chris, who works part-time at a day care center and babysits on weekends. “I have the best of both worlds at my current day care because I cover for teachers on their 20-minute lunch breaks and get to see all the different kids. When they see me, they smile and reach out their little hands as they want me to pick them up. If they see me in the hallway, they come over to give me hugs and say, ‘I love you, Miss Chris.’ That is so awesome. That makes it so worth it — that you know you’re making a difference in a small way in children’s lives.”
Check out some of Chris’s tried-and-true wisdom from four decades of child care work (and more diaper changes than most of us could even imagine) below:
1. Funniest thing a kid has ever said to you?
“You look old!” All I could think to say was “thanks” — I didn’t know where that was coming from!
2. How do you calm a fussy baby?
My first go-to is to check the diaper, as nobody wants a dirty bottom. If that doesn’t work, I will give them a bottle and sometimes that does the trick. But if they are still fussing, I will put them down for a nap. It may take them a bit to calm down as some kids fight sleep big time. If they have a pacifier or “bink,” as I like to call them, I will give it to them. The combination of these things generally will do the trick.
3. Is it OK to ever wake a sleeping baby?
I don’t think you should. If they are sleeping, that means they are good, comfortable, tummy’s full and diaper is dry. When they wake up, that generally means they need a diaper change or something to eat. Just let sleeping babies sleep.
4. What’s your magical superpower that always seems to do the trick?
In my experience working with a child under one year old who is fussy, I go to them and get on eye level with them and just talk to them in a gentle and soothing tone. They in turn just become happier and their little faces light up with a smile. It is a proven fact that children want to be paid attention to. Just like any of us adults, as we like when someone shows interest in us, as well.
5. Go-to kids toy?
The kids love playing with my jewelry! Kids are fascinated and love to look at my dangly pieces. It’s a cheap form of entertainment that keeps them occupied.
6. When all else fails…
… do a little chant: “I love kids. I love kids. I love kids.” All kids have a bad day. You want to help them but you can only do so much. Sometimes they just don’t want to be helped. Just take a breath and re-verify that you really do love your job.
7. Guiltiest pleasure?
I like to shop, and now that I have this smartphone, the first one I ever had, I like to sit and do window shopping while I watch TV. My husband teases me that I’m just like a teenager on my phone. I’m also a thrift store shopper, as I love the thrill of the bargain.
8. Best advice for self-care?
Get a good night’s sleep so you don’t wake up grumpy. I have a set bedtime no later than 1 a.m. (since I start work at 10 a.m.) to make sure I get seven or eight hours of sleep and go in fresh. I’m always excited to get up and go in and see kids and my co-workers. Kids keep you busy and you are constantly moving. You have to be on your “A” game to take care of kids.
9. What’s one thing about kids you wish every adult knew?
How precious each child is and to never take that child for granted. I would have given my right arm to have a baby, so appreciate these gifts from God.
10. What’s a surprising aspect of your work that you love?
Each day you go to work, you never know what may happen. That is what keeps it fresh and interesting. There is this one little boy that has some diagnosed emotional issues. Within the last month, give or take, he has come up to me and has given me hugs. This was very special to me, as he knows that I care about him and he feels safe with me, as well.
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