I’m glad to see that the reader comments on this WZZM story have taken a turn for the better. The article describes how Lisa Snyder of Middleville (MI) has been threatened with fines for watching her neighbors’ kids.

[The] neighborhood school bus stop is right in front of her home. It arrives after her neighbors need to be at work, so she watches three of their children for 15-40 minutes until the bus comes.

The Department of Human Services received a complaint that Snyder was operating an illegal child care home. DHS contacted Snyder and told her to get licensed, stop watching her neighbors’ kids, or face the consequences.

When I first read the story yesterday, I was taken aback by a few of the comments — although I should not have been so surprised by the outright rent-seeking. It’s also a modern-day witch hunt. Snyder will have to defend herself against whatever frivolous charges the State and the DHS dream up, all because some jackass accused her of running an unlicensed day care facility, despite all the evidence and common sense to the contrary.

Commenter msbean74 threw down the gauntlet:

I am a daycare provider and a mother of 2. I would only want the best for my children. I believe if you want to watch other peoples children you should be licensed. There is so much more done now to make sure that provider is safe. I mean we have to do finger printing, CPR, first aid, blood bourne pathogens.. This is all to make sure that we know what to do in an emergency and to know how to properly care for your children. We have to go through training every year. …

All I read is: We spent a lot of time and money to get this license which allows me to do a “job” (which any competent 14 year old girl is capable of doing), and to extract monopoly rents from my customers since, and also prohibits my customers from taking care of one another. Therefore, we the day-care industry believe that we are entitled to be compensated for this time, study, effort, and certification.

i don’t know this lady but i’m sure it was someone with a daycare license that reported her. this is our income and when unlicensed people are doing it, it takes from those who are licensed. everyone has their opinion on the topic but i still believe that [she] should should be fined

This is the pinnacle of “They’re stealing our jobs” selfishness, except in this case “our jobs” were practically never necessary to begin with; after all, people have been taking care of their own for only all of recorded history without the need for state-licensed day-care practictioners. Is it any wonder why people aren’t lining up to hire “licensed” day care providers to sit at the school bus stop?

The key here is how you define the term “watching children” because in reality, whenever children are around, someone is “watching them.” Should a “licensed” day care provider be present at all times and at all places where there are children?

For the sake of argument, I will accept that some level of security, certification, bond, etc., might be required for summer camps, full-time professional day-care services, after-school programs, etc., but it is absolutely preposterous, as a matter of practicality, to presume (as msbean74 must presume) that you could hire someone to come to your house for 15 minutes each morning. Insofar as a genuine need exists for licensing and/or certification of professional (i.e., for profit, primary-source-of-income) day-care providers (a point I am not willing to concede, but which I will entertain for the sake of argument), msbean74 would have a valid point.

But this isn’t about a bona fide day care facility; it’s no different than picking up your neighbors’ children from school or football practice, or allowing them to come over to your house and play in your backyard with your own children. It is no different.

I wouldn’t be terribly surprised to learn that people like msbean74 think these are also stealing their jobs and income. No, I would not be surprised in the least, if people like msbean74 supported laws that required only “licensed” child-taxi-drivers to pick children up from school or extra-curriculars. Or, laws that required “licensed” counselors be in attendance any time you have children in your house who are not your own.

If this is your idea of community, neighborliness, or responsibility, go ahead and include me out.