A lullaby, a familiar face and 17 years of trust: Miss Kadek’s story 

When a Japanese-speaking child was struggling to settle into an unfamiliar English-speaking environment at Benowa Children’s Centre, educator Kadek Arumini looked for a way to make the child feel safe. 

She learnt several Japanese phrases. Then she learnt a Japanese lullaby. 

It was a small gesture, but one that gave Kadek another way to connect, comfort and build trust with a child finding their feet in a new environment. 

For Kadek, those small moments of connection sit at the heart of early childhood education. 

They have also been a constant throughout her 17 years at Benowa Children’s Centre on the Gold Coast, most of them spent working with babies and children under two. 

Over that time, she has become such a familiar part of the service that families have returned years later with younger siblings and specifically asked for Miss Kadek to care for them again. 

For Kadek, that continuity matters. 

“Consistency is about relationships, not just routines,” she said. 

A familiar face in a baby’s world 

Kadek believes having a familiar and consistent educator is particularly important during the earliest years of a child’s life. 

“Having a familiar and consistent educator is incredibly important for children and their parents because it creates a strong sense of security, trust and belonging,” she said. 

“For babies, it means having a familiar face who understands their individual cues, routines, personality and needs.” 

Over time, she says, that familiarity creates something much deeper. 

“The baby learns, ‘This person knows me, responds to me and keeps me safe.’”

It is also significant for parents, particularly during what can be an emotional transition into early learning. 

“Parents know who is caring for their baby, who understands their routines and who they can communicate with about their child’s day,” Kadek said. “It helps build a genuine partnership between the family and educator.” For some Benowa families, that partnership has extended across siblings and several years. 

Parents who first knew Kadek as the educator caring for one baby have later returned with another child and asked for her again. 

For Kadek, it is one of the greatest privileges of staying in one service for so long. Seventeen years and countless milestones 

Kadek has spent much of her career with children under two, an age group she continues to love working with. 

“Seeing them grow from babies to toddlers, step by step, and achieve their milestones makes me proud to be a part of their lives,” she said. 

Working with babies demands an intimate understanding of each individual child. Educators learn to recognise subtle cues, understand different ways of communicating and respond to individual sleep, feeding, settling and emotional needs. 

Sometimes that means learning a new lullaby. Other times, it is simply knowing the particular way a child likes to be comforted, recognising when something feels different or being the familiar face waiting when they arrive in the morning. 

Why stay for 17 years? 

In a profession where conversations about workforce retention are often dominated by the reasons educators leave, Kadek’s career offers another question: what makes someone stay? 

Her answer is remarkably straightforward. 

“Because I am valued, I have a sense of belonging and a sense of familiarity,” she said.

That sense of belonging has allowed Kadek to build something that cannot be created quickly: relationships with children, families and colleagues that stretch across years. 

Her story also offers a different way of thinking about career success in early childhood education. 

Progression does not always have to mean moving away from the children or moving on to somewhere new. Expertise can also be built by staying. After 17 years, Kadek has witnessed countless first steps, first words, difficult drop-offs and proud milestones. 

But perhaps the best measure of the impact she has made comes when a family walks back through the doors of Benowa Children’s Centre years later, this time carrying another baby. 

And asks for Miss Kadek.