Ethan is an early childhood educator, and when he and his wife, Leslie, who is a lawyer, decided
to have kids, Ethan started an in-home childcare center, so he would be able to care for their
children and continue working within his profession. They have three children now: eight-year-
old twins, Kalia and Karson, and six-year-old Kennedy. All three enjoy their time with the
handful of children who attend their dad’s center.
Recently, the Moradoro family moved to town from Argentina, and a neighbor told them about
Ethan and his in-home childcare center. Their two sons, Nicolas and Mateo, started attending
Ethan’s center last week. Nicolas, who will be four years old in a few months, has been very
tired in the mornings. He is uninterested when it comes to engaging in play with the other
children or even when asked to engage in a solo activity. However, Mateo is a little over two
years old but is very happy and playful in the mornings. Ethan immediately noticed the
difference between the boys’ morning moods and called Mrs. Moradoro to see if she could give
him any helpful information.
It turns out the Moradoro’s culture values time spent together as a family. Mrs. Moradoro works
as a cashier until 5:00 pm, five days a week. Mr. Moradoro works at a bank and does not get
home until 6:00 pm. Because of this, the family does not eat dinner until 7:00 pm. After dinner,
they all hang out in their family room and visit about their day while they watch TV or a movie.
Nicolas and Mateo do not go to bed until about 11:00 pm. It often takes Nicolas about 30
minutes to fall asleep, but Mateo falls asleep almost immediately. Mrs. Moradoro explained to
Ethan that it is important to their family that they eat a homemade meal together each night and
spend daily quality time together.
Ethan thinks this is odd. He and his siblings would have been in so much trouble if they did not
go to bed and fall asleep quickly, before 8:30 each night. The more he thinks about it, the more
irritated he gets. Noticing his feelings at the moment, he remembers that it is important to respect
families and their cultures and beliefs.
Ethan thinks of a way he can adjust his schedule to allow Nicolas a short nap each morning. He
realizes that it would not really impact anything with regard to the other kids and any schedule
they might have during the mornings, and it would give Nicolas some extra time to at least rest,
if not sleep.