I was shocked by the huge staff shortage.

Nielsine Lange, educator.

Why are you an educator?

– Because I want to help develop children, and because I like working with them. I have chosen to become an educator because there are great challenges in our country, and because I have seen that many children need help. There is a great need for action among the children.

– As a trained educator, reality hits you hard. I had heard about the challenges in advance, but I was still shocked by the great shortage of workers.

How do you experience everyday life?

– I have been hit by stress. I have felt that I have to run all the time to get everything done. It is very challenging. At one point I felt that I had to find another job, even though I love the children I work with very much. I have experienced not being able to take care of myself, while we lost managers and sous-chefs, were short of a chef and generally had too few employees in the living rooms. Everything is happening at a very fast pace. I realized that I was stressed when I started to get stomach pains and became dizzy.

– I have also experienced working with constant restlessness in my body – as if my heart was pounding because of the busyness. Sometimes we are fully staffed, but when we are short of staff and get desperate, we call in 17-year-olds. However, they are not allowed to be alone in the living rooms, so when we need to take a break, we first have to find a replacement. Fortunately, we are good at helping each other, but we often work more than we really have to.

– At the same time, we have to take care of the children. There are more children with special needs, for example children with autism, ADHD or children who need support due to neglect. We cannot just get extra support people without first making a big effort. Sometimes it works out – sometimes it doesn’t. We often have temporary workers who are not permanent employees, and there is a lot of absence. That’s why there are usually only two of us in the room. In addition, there are also requirements such as annual plans and parent meetings.

– There is often illness, and it affects those who are back at work. Sometimes, when I wake up and I’m not completely well, I take a painkiller and go to work anyway. Because if I don’t show up, who will? I’ve done it many times, even though it’s not healthy. When I was trained as a teacher, I had many ambitions and lots of willpower. But in reality, there’s no time to put them into practice.

Can you tell me about a day at work that shows how the lack of hands affects you and the children?

– I have experienced heart palpitations and stomach aches during periods of severe staff shortages. Unfortunately, we have also experienced children falling off chairs or hurting themselves when we cannot pay attention to everyone. Of course, this is very difficult, because it is never something we want. Sometimes we are so busy that I feel like I cannot think clearly. When this happens, there is a greater risk of accidents – because you have to be attentive all the time.

If you could change one thing about your job tomorrow, what would it be?

– The salary. As it is now, working in daycare institutions is becoming less attractive. Many educators are applying for better-paid positions because of the constant busyness – several of my acquaintances have done so. It is clear that daycare institutions are losing their appeal. I think more people would apply for the profession if the salary increased, because it is expensive to live today. I understand why many are leaving.

– The problems in daycare centers are often taboo because according to the law we can’t just complain. That’s why I feel a little cautious in this interview. But we work really hard.

– It’s hard to know who to turn to. Does it really have to be like that? Thoughts of leaving the profession sometimes come up, even though I actually like it. But if I stop, there will be even fewer pedagogues, and then it will be even harder. How are we going to cope? It can feel lonely. Even though there are many pedagogues in the country, the problems are not being properly talked about.