How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #4
Old enough for nursery school they said, and I did not know then what I know now [...] the lacerations of group life in nurseries that are only parking places for children. Except that it would have made no difference if I had known. (13)
The narrator is put in the heartbreaking position of having to put her young daughter in the only daycare she can afford. Keep in mind that this story is set at a time when most women didn't work outside the home, and therefore it was common for women to be full-time stay-at-home moms.
Quote #5
"Not To Be Contaminated by Parental Germs or Physical Affection." (28)
This is how the mother interprets the strict rules at the convalescent home. Parental affection can "contaminate," as if it were some kind of disease. Given that all the children are from lower-income families, perhaps the disease is poverty.