But the report also found many young staff were working in second andeven third jobs to try to make ends meet.
One 19-year-old spoke of the stress of juggling college, childcare workand her second job in a pub. She said, 'I get ill but I can't afford tohave time off work because it's crap pay, so I end up going in andmaking myself worse.'
Focus groups were held with 53 early years workers in the east ofEngland from PVI and maintained settings.
The best aspect of working in childcare was watching children grow anddevelop, respondents said. Downsides were having to dealing withchildren's tantrums and the stress of working in a poorly paid job withlow social status.
Practitioners also complained about excessive paperwork, which detractedfrom the amount of time spent directly with children.
Researchers found mixed attitudes towards relationships with parents. Adeputy manager said, 'They'll call on you to teach potty training, whichis a job that parents should have to do.'
