Site for the seven principles (note that god is not mentioned or needed):
http://www.uua.org/visitors/6798.shtml

Here is a way to find a congregation in your area;
http://www.uua.org/aboutus/findcongregation/index.php

UU is an uncommon denomination that could be a good community for atheists families.

It was a very traumatic experience for me, so much so that during my teenage years I used to drive to that neighborhood and park next to the church, and cry. I thought about killing myself in the playground, I guess to send a message to my parents.

The staff at the daycare were very cruel. At naptime, they would come and check to see if the children lying on the cots were actually asleep, and if we weren’t, we would be spanked. I was a bed-wetter, so I didn’t dare sleep, because if I wet myself I would have to wear the same clothes the rest of the day. I learned to control my breathing and make the right sounds to make them think I was asleep. I was constantly listening for the sound of the mean lady coming. If I was caught crying, I would be punished, so I learned to cry so quietly that no one could hear.

If I said anything that they considered “bad words”, I would be taken to the bathroom and have my mouth washed out with soap. I can still remember what that liquid soap tasted like. Sometimes I will encounter that same smell at a restroom while travelling and have a little flashback.

We had scheduled bathroom times. We would have to stand in line outside the bathroom, and be sent in one at a time. I wasn’t supposed to flush, so they could check to see if I had really gone to the bathroom. If the water didn’t look yellow enough, they would yell at me, and I would try to make them believe that it came out clear. Often, they wouldn’t believe me, and would make me drop my pants to the floor, and try to pee again.

In class, we would color pictures of Jesus and Bible stories. If I used the wrong colors, like giving Jesus green hair, I would be punished. There were times when the teacher would leave, and we would start having fun and talking and laughing too loud. When she came back, she would make us be quiet for the rest of the day, and if anyone was caught talking, she would put masking tape on their mouth.

Humiliation and shame were the methods of control. We were never allowed to forget how bad we were. We were encouraged to tell on each other. The older kids would take advantage, and lie about the younger kids to get them in trouble.

I think I could have endured all of this much easier if my parents at least would have cared, but they never listened to any of my complaints, even when I begged them not to make me go back there. It was the only daycare that was on my mother’s bus route to work, so I just had to put up with it. And my father was too busy being a wife-beater, and my mother too busy trying to avoid being beaten, to pay much attention to my needs.

This was 35 years ago, I hope that in the meantime things have changed for children in daycare, but I see news headlines from time to time that make me doubt it. At least I was never raped.