Colorado May Require Daycare Centers To Offer Dolls Of Different Races

The state of Colorado has proposed a long list of new regulations for day care centers, including a requirement that they provide dolls of at least three different races. Childcare providers aren't pleased.

According to Strollerderby, the new rules would regulate not just dolls but also the type and frequency of food centers serve (no more than 6 ounces of juice, snacks no more frequently than every three hours). Providers' clothing would also be regulated — it would have to cover laps and shoulders. Daycare owner Roberta Nicolosi tells KKCO she's concerned about the proposal: "They are infringing on a lot of our rights. [...] We're not giving parents a choice. We're not giving children a choice. We're not giving caregivers a choice." And Strollerderby's Meredith Carroll points out that some of the regulations seem impractical:

I get making daycare providers wear clothes that cover their laps, but their shoulders? Plenty of places in Colorado aren't air conditioned because it's usually unnecessary, but there are several weeks in the summer that it can be seriously hot. So a teacher can't wear a tank top in an un-air conditioned classroom when it's 90 degrees F outside?

So what about the dolls? Carroll is skeptical: "requiring dolls of at least three different races seems a bit silly (why not transgender or handicapped dolls, too, while they're at it?)." Actually, mandating a diversity of dolls seems like the least silly of the regulations, much more beneficial than making daycare providers cover their filthy, filthy shoulders. Doll politics are a fraught issue, and kids of all races could benefit from an environment where white dolls aren't the default. Legally mandating such an environment may be extreme — it could penalize daycare centers that teach kids about racial diversity in other ways, or that simply have no dolls at all. It might be wiser for the state to draft a set of guidelines for teaching young children about race, within which centers could craft their own programs. But in any case, offering kids non-white dolls makes a lot more sense than micromanaging their juice intake.

Proposed Day Care Rules In Colo. Would Require Dolls Of Different Races [Strollerderby]
New Rules For Nannies [KKCO]

Image via Anton Prado PHOTO/