By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Becca Wilkie has been a child care provider for 15 years.
Although she has always loved caring for children, she and her husband took a leap four years ago, which they said improved their family's life.
They bought a second home to house their child care.
"I love my job so much more now that it's not in my home," she said.
Wilkie said the move has made being a provider even more enjoyable.
She doesn't have to worry about someone accidentally leaving something out that the children shouldn't be into. The family remodeled their home and were able to make some changes that they would not have been able to do if the child care was still housed there.
Wilkie said working in a second location gets her out of the house, and the day care house is near Massey Park, which provides easy access to outdoor play.
Although the family now has two house payments and getting out on snowy or icy mornings is a pain, she said it was the best move her family could have made.
Mary Lewis nominated Wilkie for the January Child Care Champion award, saying, "Becca has been phenomenal with my two grandchildren."
Wilkie, 42, started in-home child care when her daughter was born. Her son, now 21, grew up too fast, and she felt she missed too much of his childhood.
Growing up, Wilkie wanted to be a teacher, and her sister also ran an in-home child care facility.
"I thought, 'kill two birds with one stone'— stay home with my daughter and have the teaching role that I always wanted to," she said.
Wilkie does not consider her child care a preschool; however, she does introduce the basics, such as colors, numbers, the alphabet and shapes.
"No. 1, I love those kids. No. 2, I'm caring. To me, that's more important than teaching," she said.
When it's cold and the kids can't go outside, they do YouTube kids' exercises and dance parties.
Wilkie is starting to see a second generation of children. One of the children she had when she first opened now has a baby of her own. The mom wanted to use Wilkie's child care, but she was full.
Wilkie has both of her nieces in her child care now.
She said she feels great rewards from seeing the children's happiness.
"I go out in public, and they see me, yell my name, run up to me, and give me a hug," she said. "That fills my heart to the fullest."
Wilkie said one of the most significant challenges of being a provider has been keeping up with the ever-changing regulations.
"I know they are for the safety of the kids, but some of them are kind of crazy to me," she said.
Wilkie said being a child care provider takes a lot of patience and a lot of love.
"If you're going to do it for the money, don't do it," she said. ... "But if you want a rewarding job, it's the job to do. I feel it's the most rewarding job except an EMT or a firefighter."
"The kids make it rewarding for me—their happiness, their smiles, when they say, 'I love you, Miss Becca,' when they write me notes. They love to write me letters and notes, and I save every one of them."