I can understand day care provider Melissa Geaumont’s frustration (“Maine’s lax follow-up policy penalizes some day care sites, critics say,” Jan. 30).

She got caught breaking the law and is now paying for it with a conditional license. If she didn’t get written up for allowing more children than she was licensed for, would she still be serving 14 children instead of 12?

I am not sure what license policies she is looking at, but when you are out of compliance with the child-to-teacher staff ratio, it is a form of neglect. When you have more children in your care than you should, guess what: The child loses out.

The No. 1 factor is safety, and the list goes on from there.

There is less time for individual child-teacher interactions, which are crucial for social and emotional development.

How do you get all of those children dressed and ready to go outside without having them wait in long lines? How do you instill family-style meals with natural conversations if you have too many children to serve?

How do you respond with open-ended questions, which encourage children to explore and expand on their learning experiences?

With all this talk about quality, the state cannot help unless the people providing the care are upfront and honest, and have a passion to work with children.

I don’t care if Ms. Geaumont has a 4,000-square-foot home – she is doing a disservice to the children and parents she serves when not abiding by staff ratio policies.

Susan Carroll

director, Child Development Associate Training York County

Sanford