Sometimes we don't even have time to go to the bathroom

Pia Clasen Lundblad, educator.

Why are you an educator?

- I never imagined I would become an educator, but during my Majoriaq training I did an internship in Ilulissat, and that's where I got interested. I liked working with children and really enjoyed it.

How do you experience everyday life?

- I look forward to going to work. I like our job and I enjoy the children. Of course we have busy days. The children need to be fed, changed, comforted, activated and much more. If there are children who have two naps a day, it can be very time-consuming. Sometimes we don't even have time to go to the toilet.

- As educators, we are active from morning until evening. I really appreciate having a good working day where we work well together and have fun. I like to end the day that way.

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

- Every day there are sick employees or someone who has sick children. It is very rare that everyone is at work, and that is a challenge. Of course, we become less effective when we lack people. Recently, I experienced that we were missing so many that I thought: “Today I don’t have time to spend time with the children.” That made me uncomfortable, because in everyday life we ​​want to have time for the children, and it is very important to be able to give them joy and care.

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

- The salary. More courses. Educators, staff and social workers always need to develop. It is also desirable to have more stable staff. Sometimes it feels like there are not enough people, even when there are three staff in a room. If I could change anything, I would make sure that there were four staff in each room. Because if we are to take good care of both the children and each other, it is very important to be enough.