ANALYSIS OF AN ETHICAL DILEMMA Gitchuway 1

Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma

Brianna S. Gitchuway

University of UMASS Global

ECED 300: Professionalism and Ethics in Early Childhood Education

Jamie Hunter

26th, February 2022

Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma

Part I: Identify an ethical dilemma to analyze

I’m actually going through an ethical dilemma right now from a parent who has asked the

center to not let her children sleep at night. The mom drops her children off at 7am and picks

them up at 12am because she works double shifts at a nursing home. Recently, the mom has been

complaining that her kids aren’t able to sleep when they get home at 12am, resulting in them

bouncing off the walls and keeping her up the whole night. She asked us to not allow them to

sleep, but it is very difficult when they are at the center all day with only one nap in the middle

of the day. Because there are schedules set in place, the director explained to the mom how we

have to put them to sleep since they are here most of the day and night. The mom began to

become irritable because she explained to me how she needs to be able to sleep at night and

when we put them to sleep too early, they aren’t able to sleep when they get home. I believe this

situation is an ethical dilemma because there are multiple ways to resolve this situation in order

for the mother to get enough sleep and for the children as well.

Part II: Analyze the Dilemma

My responsibility is to the children because they stay at the center all day and when it

gets to about 10pm, the children are extremely tired from playing all day. I also believe that I

have responsibility to the mother as well because parents are important and I have to respect
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what the mother wants for her children. I owe it to the children to be able to nap when they are

tired, but I also owe the parents the respect to listen to what she wants for her children. They are

conflicting because it’s hard to dictate what I should do in order for everyone to be happy in this

situation.

In order to resolve this dilemma, I am going to try and put them to sleep at 11pm because

they will get less sleep, resulting in them continuing to be tired when they get home at 12am. I

have talked to the mom about allowing her children to sleep less than an hour in order for them

to continue to be tired, instead of having them sleep at 8pm leaving them 4 hours to sleep. The

mom explained that she was willing to try it because she also didn’t want her children not to

sleep, but she knew something needed to be changed. The pros of having the children sleep at a

later time will allow them to sleep when they are tired, plus it gives the mom more time to sleep

at night as well. The con could be the children becoming more irritable because they are only

getting less than an hour to sleep and we have to wake them up when their mom comes.

Another resolution could be for the mom to give her children hot baths before they go to

bed. I would suggest that the mom try and take them a warm bubble bath in order to help them

relax their body. After the warm bath, the mom could read them a bedtime story and this can help

them continue to be tired. The pros of this dilemma is allowing the children to become tired and

ready for bed after their bath. The con would be the mom having to stay up longer in order to

give them a bath and read them a bedtime story.

I would try and resolve this situation by having the children do arts and crafts when they

have nothing else to do. This stimulates the brain for them to think and move their body. After

arts and crafts, I could have them dance to their favorite songs, give them a small late night snack

in order for them to waste more time. Around 10:30 when the children get sleepy, I could have
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them lay down for about 45 minutes and wake them up right before their mom gets there.

Because the mom gave me permission to allow her children to sleep less than an hour, I am

going to try and see if that works for them. If the situation doesn’t get resolved and the children

are still not sleeping when they get home at 12am, I would have to speak with my director

because there is nothing else I can do because it’s not my procedure that is put in place. Though I

have tried everything in order for the mom to be happy with the daycare, it is difficult to have to

discuss with the parent how this center might not be the best option for her children.

P-1.1—Above all, we shall not harm children. We shall not participate in practices that are

emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading, dangerous,

exploitative, or intimidating to children.This principle has precedence over all others in this

Code.

I chose this code because I believe that if children are tired, they should be able to sleep. Keeping

a child awake when they want to go to sleep is emotionally damaging because we have to

continue to say, “mommy doesn't want you to sleep.” I’ve noticed that the children are

continuing to be irritable throughout the day because they aren’t getting enough sleep throughout

the day. For them being tired, it causes them to not want to learn or focus throughout the day and

this leads to children having developmental delays in the future.

P-1.4—We shall use two-way communications to involve all those with relevant knowledge

(including families and staff) in decisions concerning a child, as appropriate, ensuring

confidentiality of sensitive information.

I chose this code because it explains how there should continue to be communication between

the mother, the teacher, and the director. Communication helps us to better know what is safer for

the children and what are the next steps to take for the children as well. Without communication,

the mother can become angry and start to yell. I believe that when we are better able to

understand the mother and where she is coming from, we could try and resolve the situation

before it gets out of hand. My job as a teacher is to make sure the children in my care are well

taken care of.

I believe the best resolution is for the mother to find a different place to take her children

because while talking to her, it shows that she wants us to force her children to stay awake when

they are tired. Because of this, it creates an unsafe environment for the children because they

aren’t getting the needs they deserve. Children need to sleep when they are tired and when we

force them to stay awake, their brain becomes tired from having to stay awake.

Part III: Write a reflection

I chose this resolution because after discussing it with my boss, I realized that the mom

didn’t want her children to go to sleep too early, but she will allow them to sleep later in the

night. This therefore causes the children to continue to be sleepy when they make it home for the

night. I had to address this resolution to the parents because I wanted to see if we could find a

reasonable compromise together. When I explained the resolution, the mom informed me that

she was willing to try it because I explained to her that children at such a young age need more

sleep. Because the children were coming in at 6 in the morning and leaving at 12 midnight, they

weren’t getting enough sleep throughout the night. From my experience, children who don’t get

enough sleep, will become more irritable throughout the day they are at school. The NAEYC

Code was very helpful because it helped me find a reasonable resolution to the mom’s concerns
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about her children sleeping too much at the daycare and not being able to sleep when they get

home. I used one of the NAEYC Codes that states there should be two way communication for

the children’s sake because if the parent didn’t communicate with me about her concerns, I

wouldn’t have known and her children wouldn’t be getting enough sleep at night. I believe

ethical decisions are important because it installs trust and communication with educators and

parents if there is a problem that needs to be solved. It is the teachers and parents ethical

responsibility to put the child first in every decision and resolution that we come up with. Ethical

decision making requires a review of different options, eliminating those with an unethical

standpoint, and then choosing the best ethical alternative.

I believe that I have grown in the area of Supporting Early Learning and Development

because with the parent advocating for her child’s sleep, it made me advocate for their sleep as

well. I had to gather information of what I can and can do at the center according to licensing and

with my boss as well to get a little more insight. When I found all the information I needed, I

immediately acted on it and started my resolution phase on how I could effectively help the

parent and her children with their sleeping schedules. I first had to understand how many hours

children need a day in order to function properly without having a lack of sleep. I then gathered

that information and talked with the mom about the children’s normal sleep patterns at home,

therefore I could implement them in the classroom. After I spoke with the mom, I made sure I

kept them up by coloring, doing flashcards, and arts and crafts as well, until 11pm and that is

when I let them lay down and sleep until their mom got to the center at 12am. We tried this

approach for a week and realized the kids were waking up happier and more energetic and the

mom was able to get enough sleep as well. Another area that I have grown in is, Creating and

Maintaining Program Policies and Practices and I believe I have grown in this area because with
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this parent, I had to make sure I knew exactly what I needed to tell her about the napping

procedures we have set in place at the center. I also had to make sure I wasn’t breaking any rules

with licensing as well. Once I was able to do my research, I was able to inform the mom about

what policies and procedures were and that is when we started thinking of resolutions for the

children.
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References

California Early Childhood Educator Competencies.

https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/documents/ececompetencies2011.pdf.

Feeney, Stephanie, and Nancy K. Freeman. Ethics and the Early Childhood Educator:

Using the Naeyc Code. National Association for the Education of Young

Children, 2018.