"Originally, I wanted to be a veterinarian."
Jeff Robbins, teaching director of the Dartmouth College Child Care Center, sits on the floor beside a wriggling snowsuit, expertly stuffing small feet into small boots. "Hi!" cries the snowsuit. "My birthday starts in January!" Robbins stands up and turns the child over to her teacher. Untying his apron and hitching up his trousers, he offers coffee and leads the way to the kitchen, where he closes the snacktime Rice Chex and puts the leftover chocolate milk in the refrigerator.
"Originally/' he says, pouring coffee, "I wanted to be a veterinarian. But when it came time to choose a major at the University of Maine, I looked around and realized I really liked the child-development people. So I took a B.A. in Child Development."
It is a demanding job, says Robbins, who describes the pressures of juggling administrative duties and meeting the needs of 15 children all at the same time. "An office worker, can, say, go to the bathroom whenever he or she wants to. In a child-care center, you have to make arrangements to go to the bathroom." Nor is he like a teacher in a formal school. "We are not trying to teach them things they will learn in kindergarten," he explains. "Not pencil skills, pre-numbers, or pre-reading, pre-math. We do all those things, but teaching them is not our goal."
A four-year-old named Allison tugs at Robbins' trouser leg and holds up a large orange. Robbins takes out his pocket knife and sections the skin for her. "This is called scoring," he tells Allison, holding the orange so she can see.
Turning to a reporter, he continues: "We use a developmental ap- proach, called the 'whole child' approach. All the staff have as a primary hope (after health and safety) that the children will enjoy being here, have a good time, feel good about themselves, and develop some independence."
A little boy slithers around the corner and leans against the wall, watching Robbins. "Hi, Pete," says the director. "You going to hang out here for a while?" Pete nods.
Robbins' own children, one and three, are not currently in daycare; the three-year-old goes to nursery school. But if the need arose, the Dartmouth Center would be his first choice. "The staff are excellent. I really like them. They are tuned in, calm, patient, fun, warm, creative, and they know what kids like. They have realistic expectations, and they know when to be firm and when to make exceptions. I've never felt better about a center."
He pauses and adds, "But you know, it all depends on the individual family's ability to dovetail responsibilities and child care with a good home life. We don't replace the family. We take care of kids for families."
