Greg Harvey - Who is This Bloke?

G’day everyone! For those who don't know me let me share a bit about myself. My name is Greg & I am from the Hunter Valley near Newcastle, NSW, Australia. I am truly honoured & humbled to be a part of this collective blog amongst such highly distinguished & renowned professionals. Now onto the actual post.

I realise I am an anomaly being a man working in a very female-dominated industry, yet I believe that also gives me opportunities that may not present themselves to my female colleagues. I am often approached by parents & fellow professionals & told that they are pleased to see a guy working in childcare. Along with this recognition come some expectations; some realistic while others are less so.

Some of the more unrealistic expectations or generalisations are the following: I am the go to guy for any hard to handle child – “If you don’t start listening I’m going to send you to Greg;” I’m the solution to all boys as I can relate to them better so they’ll listen to me; You’re a man so you can do the heavy lifting.

By being a male early childhood professional I am already regarded by many as an oddity. This is closer to the truth than some may first realise. I am an unusual individual with a warped sense of humour & break gender stereotypes in many ways including preferring shopping to manual labour, chatting you ear off & remembering significant dates such as birthdays & anniversaries.

I feel I am a positive influence in children’s lives because of whom I am as a professional regardless of my gender & that anyone can impact young children’s lives in a similar fashion. I relish the one on one time nappy (diaper) change time provides, enabling strong relationships to be formed between myself & the children. I’m also humbled by the many positive words of encouragement & support I regularly receive from families  & colleagues.

Finally, if you would like to check out my Males in early Childhood blog then click here. The site was originally set up for a local Males in EC support group, but as everyone sort of went their separate ways I took it upon myself to use the blog for two purposes. To share my own experiences & hence I hope to provide positive examples of a guy working with young children. Also to highlight various issues concerning men in early childhood & the profession in general.

Hope to see you there. :)