By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Melinda Fross, 65, has been a child care provider for 45 years but said she does not intend to retire anytime soon.
"I love it that much. I need my purpose to get up in the morning," she said. "I have absolutely no intentions of retiring yet. If God keeps my health good, that is where I'm staying."
"Just having a house full of kids is the best," she said.
Tricia Rupp nominated Fross for the April Child Care Champion award, describing her as "awesome."
Fross, a Hays native, came from a family of nine children. She said her home growing up was always filled with children.
When her first child was born, she wanted to stay home with him, so she opened an in-home child care.
"I thought I would be home for a few years with him, and here it is 45 years later," she said. "I definitely enjoy it."
Fross said her favorite aspect of being a child care provider is the joy she sees in the children.
"When the kids come running to the door every day, and they are excited to stay here," she said. "That's what I like."
Fross said she focuses on teaching the children manners, sharing, life lessons and being kind to each other.
The children love to play with blocks and bubbles, color and create crafts. The children made May baskets this week. They play baseball and soccer in the backyard.
She said she has been thankful to have good parents to work with.
"I want the parents to be able to go to work and not wonder if their kids are being taken care of," she said. "When they walk out of this door, I want them to know their kids are going to be taken care of until they return."
Fross' own four children grew up in the home around her child care children. They had to share their toys, which was difficult at first.
Now her children are adults, they love to come back and visit the child care children, sometimes joining the group for lunch to the delight of the children and Fross.
Fross has had generations of children in her care. After so many years as a child care provider, Fross has cared for children of the children she has had in child care.
Several years back, seven teenagers, who were all in her care at the same time when they were little, came back to her home for prom pictures on her couch.
Although Fross stays in contact with many of her child care families, she said it's tough to say goodbye when the kids start kindergarten.
"Most of them are here 45 hours a week. They spend a lot of time here, so you get very attached," she said.
She said her biggest challenge is meeting the changing rules and regulations for child care providers.
"Years ago, you didn't have to be licensed or registered, which I 100 percent understand why you have to be—just to make everything safe. Yes, the rules have changed so much over the years, and some definitely for the better."
To young people interested in beginning a career in child care, she suggested loving the kids for who they are.
"Don't give up after just a short time because it does get better," she said. "I struggled at first, but it does get better. I wouldn't trade it for anything now."
She said working with young children takes a lot of patience.
"You have to put yourself in their position. You have to be a young kid yourself. You're having to share a home that is not your own. They have to share toys. They have to make new friends."
She said she tries to remind herself, "Adults have bad days. Kids can have bad days, too. You need to be there to love them. ...
"You have to be patient with kids. They are learning and trying to figure out life just like we still are."