You Just Sit There and Play?!

Nursery care is a form of work that requires both physical and emotional effort. It is a highly complex profession in which caregivers face challenges every day while caring for children between the ages of five months and three years.

We asked nursery caregivers to speak about their working conditions and everyday experiences: about the relationship between themselves and the children in their care, and about the possibilities for organizing and advocating for their interests within their profession. Many of the speakers are members of the Democratic Trade Union of Nursery Workers, one of the most active trade unions in Hungary.

The profession requires strong inner motivation, while caregivers often have to confront the prejudice that their work is “easy”: “You just sit there and play.”

The work was on view in May 2024 at ISBN Gallery in the exhibition Creche: On the Past and Present of Nursery Care