Child Care Issues

Strategic Planning for Child Care

2012-01-24T00:29:00.000-08:00

Do you have a Strategic Plan for your child careprogram? The vast majority of peoplewill respond "no" and most don't even know why they should have one(or perhaps even what it is).

A Strategic Plan can be considered the roadmap that can helpyou see how to achieve your vision for your program. A properly developed Strategic Plan willarticulate your vision, mission, core values, goals, objectives and strategies.

A Strategic Plan can help you to become more proactive inyour management, rather than just reacting to whatever happens. It will help you assess where your program isgoing over the next 3 to 5 years, how you will get there, and how you will knowif you arrived.

A carefully developed Strategic Plan can help you:

Clearly define the purpose of your program
Solve programmatic problems
Make decisions about your program
Properly assess needs and allocate resources
Provide a common vision for all of your stakeholders—board, management, staff, volunteers, parents, community members, etc.
Assist with fundraising and marketing
Establish a baseline from which progress can be measured

If you don't have a Strategic Plan yet, we offer a templateand a "how-to" guideline to make your planning simple. Check it out at: http://daycaretools.com/DaycareProducts.aspx#Policies

Most of us believe that we are so busy that we don't havetime to worry about a Strategic Plan. Thereality is that taking the time to develop a thoughtful Strategic Plan willsave time in the long run as you will have a more defined vision for yourprogram. I think Lewis Carroll stated itbest when he said “If you don't knowwhere you are going, any road will take you there.”

Misty

Natural, Functional Literacy Development

2012-01-17T00:03:00.000-08:00

What is the first letter of the alphabet that most youngchildren learn? The first letter oftheir name. Why? Because they care; it means something to them. This concept kind of defines natural,functional literacy. It's naturalbecause it's part of the child's everyday life and it's functional because itserves a purpose. The child can say"This is MY name."

Our question as early educators is how to maximize theopportunities for natural, functional literacy development in ourprograms. We have to provide aprint-rich environment. We should set upan attractive class library that is in a quiet part of the room and offers awide variety of books that cover the range of the reading abilities of thechildren in our care. Ideally, some ofthese books will stay the same to provide continuity and repetition, but someof the books will rotate, perhaps according to the season or according toconcepts being taught.

Your dramatic play / housekeeping center probably alreadyhas food boxes with printed labels. Howabout simple recipe cards and blank cards for children to write their ownrecipes? Long strips of paper forchildren to create shopping lists? A telephone book? If you change this center out occasionally,how about a menu and an order pad for the customer and server in yourrestaurant?

Your writing center is a great place for a simpledictionary. It may include stationery, envelopes,cards and postcards so that children can write letters to parents, grandparentsor friends.

Your block center can include books about architecture orparticular interesting buildings. Orpaper and pens so that children can label their buildings. How about graph paper so that they can draw"blueprints" of their creations? Did they build a McDonald's or Home Depot? Let them make a sign for the building. Adding cars to your block center? How about including maps, auto repairmanuals, or receipt books for those auto repairs?

Look around your program and think of other ways in whichyou can make language more meaningful for the children in your care.

Misty

Ways to Get Smarter in 2012

2012-01-10T07:13:00.000-08:00

To go along with last week's theme of new year's resolutions,I found Newsweek's (January 9, 2012) list of 31 interesting ways to getsmarter this year. You can find thewhole list at: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/12/30/31-ways-to-get-smarter-in-2012.all.html, but here are a few of their suggestions.

Do word puzzles--can help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's anddementia.
Learn a new language--to improve your prefontal cortex,which affects decision-making and emotions. As an added benefit for child care providers, being bilingual can helpyou attract new customers, or better serve existing customers.
Eat dark chocolate--(YES!! oh, sorry, I got carried away...)--darkchocolate (and red wine) contain flavonoids which can help improve memory.
Hydrate--a dehydrated brain has to work harder; and the restof your body will appreciate the water as well.
Visit an art museum--viewing art can reduce stress. Field trip, maybe??
Learn to play a musical instrument--boosts IQ and canincrease memory and coordination.
Eat yogurt--(I love these eating ones!)--can improve yourability to handle anxiety and increases activity in the parts of the brain thathandle emotions and memory. Your stomachmay appreciate the probiotics too.
Get out of town...and back to nature--time on a crowdedstreet can impair your memory and self-control, but spending some time innature can help your brain recover.

Have fun taking care of yourself this year!

Misty

Preventing Illness in Child Care

2012-01-01T20:51:00.000-08:00

This time of year, more than any other, child care providersbattle to keep the children in their care (and their staff) healthy. The most effective way of doing this, otherthan simple handwashing, is having a strong illness exclusion policy and followingit at all times. I once worked in aprogram that had good policy, but implemented it on a case-by-case basis. We had a lot of illness spread through that program.

Your illness exclusion policy must meet the minimumrequirements set forth by your local licensing agency. If these requirements are pretty minimal, youhave the right to make your own policy stronger. The National Resource Center for Health andSafety in Child Care and Early Education's publication Caring for OurChildren is an excellent resource and can be found at: http://nrckids.org/CFOC3/index.html

Communication is also key in implementing a solid illnessexclusion policy. Staff must understandthe requirements of the policy, including when and how to exclude children fromcare. Parents must be informed of thepolicy before enrolling their children, reminded periodically, and be informedexactly of why their child is being sent home at a particular time and whentheir child can return to care.

One of the best things we ever did, after many unpleasantdiscussions with parents who didn't think their children were sick, was todevelop a form to go home with each child being excluded for illness. The form is carefully coordinated with our illnessexclusion policy. It provides a simpleexplanation of our policy, why, precisely, their child is being excluded andwhat criteria must be met before the child can return to our care. This one simple form, when used consistently,has saved us a lot of heartburn. If youwant to use ours, instead of spending hours developing your own, you can findthe form, and our illness exclusion policy, at: http://daycaretools.com/DaycareProducts.aspx#Health

Here's hoping for a relatively painless cold and flu season!

Misty

New Year's Resolutions for Child Care Providers

2011-12-25T22:49:00.000-08:00

New Year's Resolutions; to do it or not?? That is the question that many of us askourselves each year. In my humbleopinion, they are fine...as long as we don't set ourselves up to fail and don'tget too legalistic over them.

I like to look at resolutions as kind of like a visit fromthe licensing agency or the process of an accreditation self-study. It's an opportunity to try to step outside ofyourself and look at your program (and yourself) with an objective set of eyes.

If you choose to set some resolutions, I do have a fewsuggestions to consider:

Your Environment--is everything clean and organized? Do you have daily and weekly cleaning andsanitizing schedules? Check your toysand materials and see if any of them need to be repaired or replaced.

Your Paperwork--are your tax files complete (and have youclaimed all possible expenses!)? Areyour child and staff files complete and well-organized? Review your contract, policies, forms,etc. Pay particular attention to anyareas that were problems during the previous year and tighten it up for thefuture.

Your Program--is your program meeting the needs of thechildren? Pull a few randomdevelopmental checklists, or whatever you use to track children's progress, andmake sure you are seeing appropriate growth. Review some lesson plans from each program to ensure that they arecomplete, well-thought-out, and developmentally appropriate.

Your Finances--how is your program's financial health? Is your budget balanced and are youfinancially prepared for changes in the market, unexpected events, oranticipated changes? Is it time toincrease your fees? Is your staff paidin such a manner to allow you to maintain high-quality employees?

Your Marketing Program--are you regularly attracting newclients? Do you have a plan in place tomarket your program and, if so, how well is it working? If it is costing you money, are you getting afair return on your investment?

Your Health and Safety Basics--take time to check your fireextinguishers, replenish your first aid kits, and put new batteries in yoursmoke detectors.

Your Relationships--how is your relationship with theparents and your staff? Are there areasthat could use improvement?

Yourself--is there anything about yourself that needs to bechanged to allow you to function better? How's your diet, your weight, your exercise, your stress level? Challenge yourself to improve professionally;enroll in a class or plan to attend a conference.

Remember, the goal of any New Year's resolution isimprovement. Make sure that your goalsare reasonable and not so overly ambitious that you don't stand a chance ofachieving them. Good luck and Happy NewYear!

Misty

Staffing for Holiday Child Care

2011-12-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

"I hope your holidays are wonderful......but I need youto work until 6:00 on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve." Ouch. Unfortunately, since we have parents who sometimes have to work thosehours, we sometimes need to as well. Thequestion becomes how to balance out the needs of the parents with the needs (or desires) of staff.

Hopefully, your contract with your parents already indicatesthe days and/or times that you will be closed, such as Christmas Day, ChristmasEve after 3:00, etc. You may havecontracted with parents to remain open until 6:00 on Christmas Eve, but if only3 children will be in care from noon to 6:00, you certainly won't want to staffas if it were a regular day. Determiningwhich children will be in care at that time will enable you to staffappropriately.

The simplest way tofigure out which parents will actually want to use your services during thetypically slow times is to provide them with a survey. Just ask which children will be in careduring what times. (Of course, if youdon't already have that survey created, we have one for you!) You then know how many employees you willneed to have on-site during those times. For the record, I have never had aparent complain about the survey, as long as they understand that I am planningto provide care for my entire contracted time, as needed.

Ideally, your staff will have already turned in their timeoff requests, or somehow communicated with you if they would prefer to have thehours during the holidays or if they would prefer to have the time off work. With a little luck, you can match up theneeds with the parents with the needs and desires of staff and make as manypeople happy over the holidays as possible.

Of course, as during any time when a lot of parents are offfor vacations, you will probably need to have that discussion about child carefees during vacations, but that is a discussion for another time for me.

Merry Christmas!

Misty

The Five Finger Rule: Choosing a "Just Right" Book

2011-12-13T02:30:00.000-08:00

How do you choose an appropriate book for a child toread? Unfortunately many children, especiallyyoung or struggling readers, want to read books beyond their ability. A Harry Potter book may be very intriguing,but most young or struggling readers couldn't read it successfully and wouldjust become frustrated if they tried.

The first step in selecting an appropriate book is to havethe child look at it, read the title and see if it looks appealing. A book that is simply not appealing is goingto be a tough sell, regardless of how well a child can read it.

The next step is to turn to a page in the middle of the bookand have the child read 2 or 3 pages. The child will hold up one finger for every word he struggles with orsimply can't decode. If the child holdsup 5 fingers, the book is too difficult and an easier book should beselected.

The final step is to talk with the child about thebook. Does the child understand what hejust read? Can he read it fluently or ishis reading slow and choppy? Is it interesting? If a book has met all of these criteria,congratulations; you have found a "just right" book!

Misty

P.S. If a childinsists on a book that is too difficult, read it with him. You can read it to him or share reading witheach of you reading a page or a paragraph and you helping the child with anydifficult words. Our goal is forchildren to learn to love reading. Thiscan only happen if they are taught how to avoid frustrating books and find onesthat they will enjoy.

The Death of Preschool?

2011-12-06T02:30:00.000-08:00

A provocatively titled article in November's ScientificAmerican, "The Death of Preschool?", raises the question ofwhether child care, as we know it, is dying. Congress's No Child Left Behind Act has done exactly what many earlychildhood educators have feared for years. By providing financial penalties for schools that don't meet certainachievement standards for 3rd grade children, the Act has pushed schools toimplement stricter academic standards for younger children.

Many of us who have been early childhood educators for many years havewatched 1st grade standards become Kindergarten standards. Now, as we have feared, it seems that thoseKindergarten standards are becoming the new preschool standards. Where does it end?

The problem is filled with irony. First, both long-standing and current researchindicate that a developmentally appropriate education is by far the mostimportant early start that we can provide for children. A developmentally appropriate program providesa solid educational background while encouraging exploration, creativity, andsocial interactions. Second, the parentswho seem to be pushing hardest for the academic transformation of preschoolsare often the more educated, wealthier parents. Those who have the most options for the careof their children are often choosing the least appropriate programs.

As child care professionals, it is up to us to maintain ourstandards. We must be knowledgeable ofcurrent research and best practices for the education of young children. We must continue to provide learningexperiences that are developmentally appropriate. And, we must be able to explain to parentswhy our developmentally appropriate programs are much better for their childrenthan heavily academic programs. We mustcontinue to do what is right for children, regardless of outside pressures.

Misty

Cultivating Communication

2011-11-29T03:00:00.000-08:00

"Daycare. What do you want?" I'll never forget the day I heard those words coming from a staff member at the center where I was a brand-new Assistant Director. Really?? That's the way our staff answer the phones here? I was stunned.....I suppose I just figured that simple phone etiquette must be common knowledge. All I could think was "Who is on the other end of that phone and what must they be thinking right now?"

Obviously, in retrospect, not everyone knows how to answer a phone properly. Which also means that not everyone is going to respond to a parent's (or potential client's) inquiries in the same way either. So, how do you protect your program by making sure that the messages you would like to have shared with people are the same messages your staff will be sharing? You have to establish the standard and then train your staff so that they understand your expectations.

You will need to establish a policy that addresses situations that you feel are important to your program and how you expect your staff to respond.

How would you like the phone answered?
What happens if you are helping a parent when the phone rings?
How do you handle a conflict with a parent?
What verbal and nonverbal techniques should be used?
How do you take a message for another staff member....and be sure that person receives the message in a timely manner?

After you establish your policy, you need to ensure that EVERY staff member is trained on it during their New Employee Orientation.

You work hard to ensure the success of your program. Don't let a mistaken assumption of common knowledge undermine all of your efforts.

Misty

Thank Your Staff (or Parents)

2011-11-22T03:00:00.000-08:00

At this time of year when we stop to reflect on all of the things we are thankful for, I would like to suggest a quick and inexpensive way to thank your staff or parents.

Assemble a "Thank You" kit and present it to each person during the holiday season. Choose 5 or 6 of these items to include (along with a note with the text so that they know what you are thinking):

A Couple of Marbles: To replace the ones you have lost.
A Hershey's Hug & Kiss: To remind you that someone cares.
A Jingle Bell: To ring for help when you need it. We're here to help one another.
A Puzzle Piece: To remind you that, without you, we wouldn't be complete.
A Tea Bag: To remind you to take time to relax daily.
A Starburst: To let you know that you are a shining star.
A Shape: To thank you for helping to "shape" the future.
A Packet of Seeds: To remind you that plant the seeds of knowledge.
A Clothespin: To remind you to "Hang in There"; you're doing a great job.
An Eraser: To remind you that the good start you provide for children can never be erased.
A Penny: To remind you that you are priceless.

You can put these items in a gift bag, a simple ziploc bag, or even in a mug with an addition to the note to include: A Cup: My hope that your "cup always runneth over".

Thank you for all that you do for children. I hope your Thanksgiving is truly blessed!

Misty

Reducing Child Care Staff Turnover

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

National estimates put child care staff turnover between 25%and 40% annually. We all understand whythis is bad; lack of continuity for children, the cost of hiring and trainingnew staff (estimated to be at least $3,000 per employee), a decrease in staffmorale, and negative parent perceptions leading to decreased enrollment. The million dollar question is: What do I do to retain my quality staff?

The obvious answer is higher pay, but we all know that isoften not possible. However, carefulattention must be paid to the program budget to ensure that staff arecompensated fairly and as well as possible.

There are additional, low-cost steps that can be taken toreduce staff turnover.

The first step is to hire well. Make sure that potential employees thoroughlyunderstand your program philosophy and your expectations for theirperformance. Develop interview questionsthat will help you understand how this individual would respond to varioussituations, how he or she will work with other staff members, and how theapplicant will fit with the overall culture of your program. You may want to consider scheduling a"working interview" to give you the chance to observe the applicantin a classroom with children as well.

The next step is to provide a thorough new employeeorientation. Again, your new employee hasthe opportunity to really understand your program and your specificexpectations for his or her position. New employees see your commitment to a thorough orientation as aninvestment in them, feel more comfortable in their positions and developgreater job satisfaction.

The next step is to ensure that your program has aprofessional environment and that all employees are encouraged to continuetheir own professional development. Highly-educated individuals tend to stay in the child care field longerthan those who achieve only the minimum required training. Educate yourself about programs that providetuition reimbursement or other financial incentives that your staff memberscould access and share that information with your employees. Encourage your staff members to attendprofessional conferences (where they can learn a lot while bonding with theirfellow employees) and pay their conference registration fee if possible.

The final, often-neglected, step is to simply make sure thatyour program truly has an atmosphere in which each staff member feels valuedand respected. We often spend time inour programs teaching children how to problem-solve and make decisions, butthen don't include our own staff in our own decision-making process. Providing each staff member an opportunity tohave some sort of "ownership" in the program is invaluable; inaddition to being free to you and providing you with potentially untappedresources. Perhaps your staff memberscould write articles for your newsletter, suggest agenda items for staffmeetings, chair a project, or even come up with their own project they wouldlike to implement. Let them becreative...improve your program....and become loyal, long-term employees in theprocess.

Misty

"Back to Sleep"....and More

2011-11-08T17:19:00.000-08:00

In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended that all infants be placed on their backs to sleep. Since that time, death from SIDS have decreased dramatically, but other sleep-related deaths have increased.

Last month, the AAP released expanded Guidelines for Infant Sleep Safety and SIDS Risk Reduction. Three additions to the guidelines are:

Breastfeeding is recommended and is associated with a reduced risk of SIDS.
Infants should be immunized. Evidence suggests that immunization reduces the risk of SIDS by 50 percent.
Bumper pads should not be used in cribs. There is no evidence that bumper pads prevent injuries, and there is a potential risk of suffocation, strangulation or entrapment.

The additional recommendations are:

Place the infant on his or her back for every sleep time.
Use a firm sleep surface. Car seats and other sitting devices are not recommended for routine sleep.
Keep soft objects or loose bedding out of the crib. This includes pillows, blankets, and bumper pads.
Do not use wedges or positioners.
The infant should sleep in the same room as the parents, but not in the same bed.
Supervised, awake tummy time is recommended daily to facilitate development and minimize the occurrence of positional plagiocephaly (flat heads).
Avoid covering the infant’s head or overheating.
Do not use home monitors or commercial devices marketed to reduce the risk of SIDS.
Offer a pacifier at nap time and bedtime.
Pregnant woman should receive regular prenatal care.
Women should not smoke during pregnancy or after birth.

All child care providers must follow these guidelines and help educate the parents of the children in their care on these guidelines.

Misty

Reporting Accidents and Incidents

2011-10-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

What kinds of accidents and incidents need to be reported to parents? The simple answer is "everything". Anything that might cause a parent to have a question about what happened needs to be documented. A very simple injury or incident can suddenly become a big deal if a parent thinks we are not being honest with them about what actually happened.

Obviously, if a child is injured in our care, our first job is to care for the injured child while still providing proper supervision to the other children. But, once the child is cared for, the next priority is making sure that the child's parent knows exactly what happened and how our staff cared for their child.

As soon as the situation is settled, an Accident/Incident Report must be completed. Delaying a report can cause staff to forget important details.

An Accident/Incident Report must be:

Filled out completely as soon as possible; delays can cause staff to forget details.
Objective, not subjective. Include only what was directly observed.
Signed by the staff member who observed the accident or incident or observed the injury on the child.
Reviewed and signed by the Center Director or designee.
Properly shared with parents. (Does the parent need to be called or can you notify them of the injury or incident when they pick up their child?)
Filed in the child's file for future reference.

Handling accidents and incidents properly can help keep small occurrences from turning into major situations.

Misty

Tracking Product Recalls

2011-10-21T00:49:00.000-07:00

I had a very humbling experience earlier this year when I realized that some of the cribs in my program were recalled last year and I didn't know about it until months later. Since that time, I have instituted a couple of measures to make sure that we stay more on top of product recalls. Some of the measures that we now take are:

Ensuring that the staff member with purchasing responsibility completes (and mails) all product registration cards.

Signing up for emailed recall notifications from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

But...I know that I still don't have a good system in place yet. I've been brainstorming this for some time now, but just don't have a good solution.

I have thought of a "hard-copy" system, such as keeping receipts, purchase logs, etc. in a binder. But how do you organize that binder; alphabetical by product, alphabetical by company, according to the product's category, etc.? Then, I suppose you would have a staff member assigned to check that binder on a monthly basis or so and compare your products to the online list. Of course, one of the questions then is, how much detail do you go into on your purchases? Do I really need to track purchases of markers and crayons? But, if I don't, Murphy's Law dictates that one of the sets of markers I purchase will be recalled.

It seems like the only manageable system would be some sort of automated system. Wouldn't it be awesome if we could, maybe, scan UPC codes on the products we purchase and have them automatically entered into our program database with product name, purchase date, etc.? Then, we could link that database to the CPSC database so that when one of our products is recalled, we are automatically notified. I suppose that's my ideal world. But, since something as simple as this newsletter tests my "tech skills", I don't think I will be the one developing that system.

So, this week, I'm asking for your input. How do you track product recalls? Thanks in advance for sharing your ideas.

Misty

"Take It Outside" Week

2011-10-16T11:25:00.001-07:00

The Head Start Body Start National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play has designated October 16 - 22 as Take It Outside Week to "encourage educators, families and caregivers to make time outdoors an important part of young children's daily lives."

They state:

Today's children spend less time outdoors than any generation in history.
American preschoolers watch 32 hours of television a week.
Current research indicates that children who regularly play outdoors are healthier, smarter and happier than children who do not.

Suggestions for a Take It Outside Event include:

Host a Play Day filled with lots of outdoor games and activities
Host a Gardening Day and plant fall flowers and shrubs and grasses to enhance your outdoor space
Host a Nature Play Day – go for a nature hike, build forts and dens and dig for worms

One activity I enjoy doing with is a "Sock Walk" Each child needs a big, fuzzy sock. (Old wool socks work well.) Have each child put the fuzzy sock over one of their shoes. Go for a walk. Try to walk through interesting areas with a lot of different types of weeds, etc. When you get back to the Center, look at the seeds, etc. that have gathered on the socks. Plant each sock in a pot. It's fun to watch the pots over the next couple of months to see what grows from the seeds, etc. that were collected on the socks.

Enjoy your Sock Walk and the "fruits" of your walk!

Misty

Rainy Days and Mondays

2011-10-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

Actually, I want to talk about rainy and windy days, but "rainy days and Mondays" just sounds so much better.

I was talking with a co-worker last Monday and she was very concerned that her students were very distracted that morning. She was worried that she was doing something wrong that morning and was doing a self-check to see if she seemed crabby or something. I kind of chuckled, pointed to the window, and asked her if she hadn't looked outside yet. It was pouring down rain.

I live in Northern California. For those who don't know about the weather around here, we pretty much haven't seen rain since about March. We get quite a bit of rain from about November through March, but VERY little throughout the rest of the year. (A warm rain is a foreign concept to most of my students.)

So....this was our first rain of the season. People who have worked with children for a while know how weather changes impact children. For us on Monday, not only was it a rainy day, but it was the first one for a long time. No wonder our kids were a little "off".

Since my co-worker had never heard about a connection between children and weather, I decided to do a little research. Researchers have found a correlation between changes in temperature and humidity and children's behavior. Although this just confirmed what I already believed to be true, it was nice to know that it wasn't just my imagination.

So what do we do with this? I suppose the biggest take-away I have is that, while I understand that I need to have solid lesson plans so that I know what I am trying to accomplish with my students on any given day, I also need to have the flexibility that, when the weather changes, my plans can change as needed. I need to be aware of how children are impacted by weather changes and manage the day with that in mind.

Keep your umbrellas handy and watch out for puddles!

Misty

You Can't Repossess Child Care

2011-10-02T22:13:00.000-07:00

We all know that if you don't make your car payments, your lender will send someone to repossess your car. Unfortunately, if a parent doesn't pay their child care fees, we can't repossess their child care.

I've always been amazed at parents who prioritize their bills with child care at the bottom of that list. It's kind of tough to hear that, in order of payment priority, your program falls below the parent's cable television service.

We have been struggling for years to be treated like the professionals that we are. Allowing ourselves to be the parent's lowest financial priority is three steps backward in that struggle. The only way that parent can make me their lowest priority is because I allow it to happen.

So....what to do?? We have to have firm financial policies in place. We have to have a Rate Sheet in place that explains very clearly what we charge for what services. We have to have a solid contract in place that spells out what services we are providing for what fees, when those fees are due, and what will happen if those fees are not paid on time. And, of course, we have to enforce those policies, every single time.

I know....we love the child and care about the family. We want to help them out. But we simply cannot allow concerns for one family to endanger the child care arrangements of all of the families in our program. If we can't pay our bills, our program will close and all of our families will have to find other child care.

Because we cannot repossess child care services, we have to insist that all fees that are rightly due to us be paid in advance. If the fee is not paid by the due date, the child cannot attend. It's as simple as that. It's not mean; it's showing financial responsibility for your program.

Misty

Are You Prepared for an Employee Emergency?

2011-09-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

Picture this.....a brand new child care program with, of course, a brand new staff that met each other 2 days earlier at orientation. Twenty minutes after the program opens on a Monday morning, one of the staff members has a massive seizure. Of course, you call 911, but then what? The EMT's show up and want to know your employee's medical history, including allergies. Perhaps you can find this on the person's Health Assessment, assuming that you took the time to properly assemble your personnel files and you're not just flipping crazily through paperwork.

Then the EMT's ask where to transport your employee. Do you know your employee's hospital preference?

Once your employee is on their way to a hospital, it's time to contact a friend or family member and let them know what has happened. Who do you contact? Hopefully some of your orientation paperwork has an emergency contact number in it. If you have it, how quickly can you put your hands on it in a stressful situation?

If you haven't figured it out by now, yes, this scenario did happen to me. And, no, I was not prepared. I was the one running around like a crazy person. I had no idea of my employee's choice of hospitals. Fortunately, I had the name of an emergency contact person, but had to search around for it.

We quickly developed a Staff Emergency Information Form for immediate implementation in each of our programs. Of course, because this form contains confidential information, it is kept in a secure location and accessible by authorized personnel only. But, heaven forbid, if we have an emergency with one (or more) of our employees in the future, the information we need will be at our fingertips.

Are YOU prepared???

Misty

Handwashing; Simple, But Oh, So Effective

2011-09-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

It's only mid-September and, already, the crud is working its way through our program. Coughing, sneezing, and fevers--kids staying home sick and staff doing the same. I know we can't avoid it; it comes with the territory. However, there are steps we can take to minimize the spread of illness and keep our folks healthy.

Simply stated, proper hand hygiene (handwashing) is one of the most effective ways of preventing the spread of illness. (If you don't believe it, apparently you haven't seen the movie "Contagion"--whew; scary stuff.) Empower your staff and children to keep themselves (and others) healthy by knowing when and how to wash their hands properly.

The Centers for Disease Control has established "Standard Precautions" for reducing the spread of infections. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, and the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education have joined forces to apply those guidelines to child care programs. "Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards; Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs" can be found online at http://nrckids.org/CFOC3/HTMLVersion/TOC.html

The "Standard Precautions" include hand hygiene, cough etiquette, and safe handling of potentially contaminated surfaces. "Caring for Our Children" includes pretty much anything else you need to know about running a healthy program. Check it out.

I have spent the past week revising DayCareTools.com's Policies and Procedures for Handwashing, Diaper Changing, and Standard Precautions to reflect the newest recommendations. Those 3 products are this week's discounted offerings in the hope that we can help you keep your staff and children healthier this Fall and Winter.

Remember those famous words for your children (and stafff): "Wash your hands.......with soap".

Misty

Jail Cells Planned for 2nd Graders?? No!

2011-09-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

Many years ago, at the start of my career, I was at an event where the guest speaker was the man in charge of prison planning for the state in which I was living. At the end of his presentation, someone said "But I still don't understand HOW you plan prison cells." His answer was very matter-of-fact (and bureaucratic); "It's simple. We take the number of at-risk 2nd graders and age them out 10 years." I was stunned to realize that, by the age of 8, we already had jail cells planned for children. There had to be a better way.

The good news is that there is a better way. High-quality child care can thwart that plan. The High/Scope Perry Preschool Project reported that, at the age of 27, participants who had been at-risk children and who had participated in a high-quality preschool were 5 times less likely to be "frequent offenders" than children who did not attend a high-quality preschool. Additionally, those who participated in the high-quality program achieved a 44% higher high school graduation rate and were 26% less likely to have received government financial assistance (welfare, food stamps, etc.).

The number crunchers went to work and figured out that the financial return-on-investment was about $16 for every dollar spent on the child care program. Michigan's "Fight Crime: Invest in Kids" program just announced their support of the decision of the Governor and state lawmakers "for the $6 million funding increase over last year to support high-quality early education as a critical strategy to reduce crime, lower prison costs, and save taxpayers money". Hopefully other states will "get it" too.

Of course, those of us who provide care, realize that the money is nothing compared to the positive impact on the lives of these children. So...to all of you who provide high-quality child care....well done, thank you, and keep up the good work! It truly does make a difference.

Misty

"Back-to-School" and Routines

2011-09-06T00:22:00.000-07:00

It's "back-to-school" time. Children who have been away for the summer, and new friends who are joining us for the first time, are making their ways into our child care program. Although this is an exciting time for many children, I do notice the crying as some of our young friends have difficulty adjusting to being with us instead of home.

It's not that we don't run a high-quality program or that the children don't enjoy themselves once they settle in for the day. It’s simply a reminder for us of why routines are so important in our program. Our routines show the children that there is order in this place. They know what to expect at what time and can feel much more secure about the day. Instead of constantly being “on alert”, the children are able to relax and move freely throughout their day because it has a framework that makes sense.

I have no doubt that, within a couple of weeks, these children will have no difficulty transitioning into our program each morning...because we have provided a predictable routine that they will have adjusted to and even thrive on.

Misty

Child Care Strategic Plan

2011-05-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

KidCentric has developed a Child Care Strategic Plan to help child care providers develop a Strategic Plan for their child care program. A Strategic Plan can help you to become more proactive in your management.It will help you assess where your program is going over the next 3 to 5 years, how you will get there, and how you will know if you arrived.

This 2-document packet contains a Strategic Plan template (9 pages) that you can fill out with your own program's information. It also contains "Developing Your Strategic Plan"; an 8-page guide to help you understand what a Strategic Plan is, why you need one, and what it will take to do it. It takes you step-by-step through our template to ensure you understand exactly how to write your own Strategic Plan. You will be able to write your vision statement, mission statement, and core values. You will learn to conduct a SWOT Analysis and use your findings to develop your program goals, with objectives and strategies to meet those goals. Additionally, this document will fulfill the Pennsylvania Keystone Stars (Star 4) requirement for a Strategic Plan.

The KidCentric Child Care Strategic Plan is available for purchase and immediate download at www.DayCareTools.com for $35.00.

Child Care Risk Management Plan

2011-03-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

KidCentric has developed a Child Care Risk Management Plan to help child care providers manage the risks that are inherent in any program that involves caring for children. This 77-page document will help you to identify the risks your program may encounter, describe how you will minimize these risks, and detail what steps you will take in the event of an accident or emergency.

Areas covered are:

Staffing;
Enrolling and Discharging Children;
Food Service;
Indoor and Outdoor Premises
Indoor and Outdoor Equipment;
Programs, Activities and Services; Transportation;
Health and Medical;
Emergency/Disaster Planning;
Administration;
Parent Communication;
Pets.

This document can be easily tailored to your program’s specifications, by simply deleting parts that are not applicable to your program. For example, if you do not provide care for infants, simply delete the sections related to infant care. Additionally, this document meets the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) requirement for a risk management plan.

For providers who are new to the field and looking for detailed information on how to start a child care program, this document is a valuable resource.

The KidCentric Child Care Risk Management Plan is available for purchase and immediate download at www.DayCareTools.com for $35.00.

Child Care and Economic Development

2010-05-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

KidCentric has long touted the benefits of employer-sponsored child care--employee recruiting and retention, reduced absenteeism and turnover, employee loyalty, etc. Bill Millett, founder of Scope View Strategic Advantage, is now making the case for the necessity of child care for businesses and the economy in general to thrive. It is a case that KidCentric has made as an aside for years, but new research makes it an issue that needs to be examined again if employers want to have a future employee base. With 72 percent of 17 to 24-year-olds not currently able to meet the basic minimum standards required for military service, it seems that the benefits, and absolute necessity, of high-quality early care and education can no longer be overlooked.

Wise Investment
Speaker says early childhood education essential for business, economy to thrive
By Dionna Harris
POSTED: May 15, 2010

ESCANABA - If America has any chance of regaining its advantage as a global leader, changes in education perceptions must be made.
That was the message delivered Friday by Bill Millett during a presentation held at the House of Ludington. Millett is the founder of the Charlotte, N.C.-based Scope View Strategic Advantage. Millett's firm deals primarily with business and economic development. However, Millett has an intense personal interest in children's issues dealing with quality early education.
Millett's presentation, "Early Childhood Education; A Competitive Necessity in a Global Economy" was sponsored by the Delta-Schoolcraft Great Start Collaborative.
"Currently one third of all college students are taking remedial classes," said Millett. "Among high school students, the dropout rate is 30 percent."
Millett said, during the past 25 years, Americans have become complacent about early childhood education. This complacency has led to other countries surpassing the U.S. in the global market.
"Children today are facing a much more competitive world than it was 25 years ago. There is a finite number of jobs and more and more people are chasing those job opportunities," said Millett.
He said children today are living in a global and cognitive age.
One problem, he explained, is too much of education today is dedicated to memorization. There is a lack of practical application and collaboration for problem solving.
The solution, said Millett, is to invest time and resources to improve kindergarten through 12th grade education in the United States.
Millett added the economic and social costs not only to individuals, but communities, are too great to ignore.
Research revealed the capacity for developmental skills begins within the first five years of life, said Millett. Creativity, communication, team working, problem solving and critical thinking skills are beginning.
"These studies reflect the need for children to enter kindergarten prepared to learn. Unfortunately, too few young children today are prepared with these tools when they enter kindergarten," said Millett.
"A study was conducted between 1962 and 1967, where preschool teachers worked extensively with children from low-income families," said Millett.
The results reflected that after 40-years, almost one-half of the preschool children performed at grade level by age 14, with 60-percent earning nearly $20,000 per year.
"When the higher number of school grades completed was factored in, along with lower rates of criminal activity, reduced time spent in prison and other factors, the benefit to cost ratio was approximately $17 for every $1 invested," said Millett.
He said early childhood education offers greater potential returns with less risk. Unfortunately, early childhood development programs are rarely portrayed as economic development initiatives, which is a mistake, according to Millett.
Millett said for companies to become more competitive, an educated workforce is necessary. Aggressive preschool training for children, especially those from troubled homes, can yield extraordinary results for families and society.
"If early childhood education programs appear at all, they are at the bottom of the economic development lists for state and local governments. They should be at the top," said Millett. "America's continuing efforts to improve education and develop a world-class workforce will be hampered without federal and state commitments to early childhood education."
The plight of education regarding early childhood education is not only being seen in the global market, but also in America's military strength.
Research indicates 72 percent of 17 to 24-year-olds do not meet the basic minimum standards required for military service.
"We must invest now in the next generation to preserve our nation's security, freedom and opportunity. This includes fully funding early childhood education programs," said Millett.

Employee Management……GROAN!

2010-03-03T16:44:00.000-08:00

I read an article recently with a quote by Joe Pelayo, a recruiter with Joseph Michaels InternationalGlobal Recruiting Solutions: “Average managers spend most of their time with their below average performers. Great managers spend most of their time with their best people.”

This got me to thinking. In child care, like in all other industries, our best performing staff and managers get little of our attention. We come to rely on their consistency and performance. The difficult employees, those who gossip with parents, have less than ideal work ethics, have shaky attendance records, and who don’t seem to grasp or care about lesson planning – these individuals get most of our attention as supervisors/managers. We begin to feel like all we do is bang our heads against the wall!

I think Mr. Pelayo is onto something here. What would your program look like if you spent 80% of your energy and time with your highest performers? What if you only spent 20% of your time on those who aren’t performing up to your standards?

I think your program would begin to make significant changes in the level of expectation you have for your employees, but almost more importantly the expectations employees have for themselves. It really does not take that much time to address the negative, if it is done succinctly and factually. We all spend too much time trying to get employees to “just follow the policies”. I would venture to guess that all of our policies are pretty straightforward and easy to understand. If an employee isn’t following them, it is because they are unwilling, NOT unable. If the issue really is an issue of training, then spend time with them for training – but don’t spend time over and over again – on performance issues.

If/when the performance does not improve, weed out the negative influence from your program and replace them with someone else. Then you are free to spend time building up the skills and abilities or your top performers. Pretty soon you have a loyal group of employees who know they will be noticed for great performance. Pride in self will soon follow.

I know it sounds a little Pollyanna, but I challenge you to try it. Let us know how it goes. By the way, our KidCentric programs are all shifting to this paradigm, so we’ll keep you posted!

Unexpected Benefits of Daycare

2009-10-07T19:38:00.000-07:00

"Ask Mr. Dad" recently wrote an article on the unexpected benefits of daycare.

Dear Mr. Dad: My wife and I are expecting our first and we’re on the fence about whether to hire a nanny or find a childcare center for our son. It would be great to have someone at home to take care of household chores, but our friends say that there are some great advantages—for us as parents—to having our child in daycare too. Is there any truth to this?

A: In a word, yes. While it’s every parent’s dream to come home to a sparkling clean house where the laundry and the toys have been put away and as healthy dinner’s on the table, having a child in daycare offers some definite benefits to parents as well as to kids. In fact, the same day as I got your email, I received a copy of a new book by Mario Small, a Professor in Sociology at the University of Chicago, who has extensively studied a number of these benefits.

For example, in a daycare setting, you’ll get to interact with more parents than if you had a nanny caring for your child. Daycare parents often become each other’s support, helping each other navigate child rearing issues, sharing their concerns for their children’s development and health issues, helping out with emergency babysitting, and providing different perspectives on schools and extra-curricular activities. In short, it’s a way to expand the proverbial village.
Parents who send their children to daycare also have access to professionals (usually the staff and administration) who have at their disposal resources and a wealth of experience that they can share with parents. They’ll also be better able than a nanny (who probably hasn’t taken courses in child development) to identify any developmental or behavioral red flags.

But there’s more to day care than community building. In his book, Unanticipated Gains: Origins of Network Inequality in Everyday Life, Mario Small writes that mothers who put their children in daycare tend to have more friends than mothers who don’t. They also have a lower incidence of depression. And, interestingly, low-income families with children who are in daycare are less likely to become homeless than families who keep their children at home. More proof that the benefits of daycare extend far beyond the childcare room.

As for the children, yes, there are some wonderful advantages to leaving children at home with a nanny. It’s their home. They feel safe and comfortable there and can maintain the same routines that they have always enjoyed. Children who stay at home get plenty of one-on-one attention and don’t pick up as many viruses as daycare kids.

At the same time, there’s no question that in a good daycare setting, your child can thrive and learn all sorts of important social skills. He’ll be exposed to other children who will eventually start to seem like siblings. He’ll learn to eat around other people and will discover the all important skill of sharing. And while he’ll bring home a germ or two (or two dozen), studies have shown that children exposed to germs early in life actually have stronger immune systems and are more resilient when they start school.

As you hunt around for the best childcare option for your son, keep in mind that not all daycare centers are created equal. According to Mario Small, only centers that have strict pick-up/drop-off hours are beneficial to parents. Centers that are flexible in their scheduling don’t give parents enough opportunity to interact and to form that helpful network of connections.

see original article at: http://www.mrdad.com/ask/2009/09/29/unexpected-benefits-of-daycare/

The Problem with Babysitting (also known as "Employee Moonlighting")

2009-10-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

As an employer within the child development field, you probably have employees who arrange to babysit for families outside of their working hours. This of course seems logical and appropriate at first glance.

Here is the kicker – if the family met their “babysitter” while the sitter was/is working in your program, it has been determined (by courts) that you are legally liable for their conduct while babysitting--EVEN outside of their employment hours with you.

What this simply means is, if your employee meets a family while working in your program (they are not related or have a prior relationship with each other), the family asks that person to babysit (while your employee isn’t working for you, i.e. Friday night, after hours, while the parents are away, etc.) YOU can be held liable for anything that happens to that child(ren) while in your employee’s care.

There are court findings where the child care program was held legally liable because there is an “implied recommendation” to the parent that your employee is capable/appropriate to care for children – hence they hire them on the side. This seems ridiculous – and I have to agree that it is – but that is how the courts have viewed this situation.

To protect yourself and your program from this legal liability you may want to look into having a “no babysitting” policy in place in your program. All of our KidCentric programs have a very strict policy to address this issue. If our policy is broken, the employee will be terminated and the parent will lose their child care immediately. This is a very serious issue. We have also been legally advised that there are no waivers that will protect you from this liability.

Parents and your employees will hate this policy, but you might want to consider putting one in place if you want to protect yourself from yet another layer of legal liability. Food for thought…..and action!

Oh yes, and, of course, our babysitting policy is for sale at http://www.daycaretools.com/!

KidCentric Opens "Children's Waiting Room"

2009-04-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

On Monday, April 6, 2009, KidCentric opened a "Children's Waiting Room" (CWR) at the new Civil and Family Law Courthouse in Santa Rosa, California. The CWR provides a safe, healthy place for children to wait while their parent is involved in court business. The CWR can accommodate up to 13 children at a time, ages 6 weeks to 12 years.
Read the story in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090407/NEWS/904071072/1350?Title=-All-under-one-roof-

Helping New Mothers Manage Work

2009-04-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

Check out the article about KidCentric co-founder, Mindy Stewart. Mindy discusses the challenges new mothers face in returning to work and how KidCentric's employer-sponsored child care programs can help reduce some of those challenges. (And how the employer benefits from child care programs as well.)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/apr/06/work-kids/

How to Start a Daycare E-book

2009-01-16T00:54:00.000-08:00

Calling all daycare providers, current and future! I'm working on an e-book to help potential providers start a daycare. If you have any questions that you have not seen addressed (or at least answered to your satisfaction) in other books, websites, or forums, please let me know and I will try to include it in our publication. I want this to be written "by providers", "for providers". Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Employer-Sponsored Child Care Makes About.com's List of Top Trends in Child Care

2009-01-15T18:21:00.000-08:00

About.com recently released their list of the Top 12 Trends in Child Care for 2009. Number 4 on that list is:

"Corporate Child Care is Raising Quality Bar

Corporate child care is raising the bar in terms of quality child care. An increasing number of companies are either offering (or considering) in-house child care centers as a perk for attracting and retaining top employees. In addition, more companies are partnering with child care centers to offer discounted rates or even special hours for employees. Some developers are even focusing on including a child care facility as part of master planning of new areas, knowing that having a quality child care center nearby will make the area more desirable for both employers and employees alike."

Employer-Sponsored Daycare: Benefit or Necessity?

2008-12-26T16:14:00.000-08:00

Employer-sponsored daycare is generally considered by employers to be a benefit for their employees. Often, in determining the feasibility of beginning a program, employers examine their projected return on investment. Factors to take into account are reduced absenteeism and tardiness, increased productivity, and increased recruitment and retention. These days, however, with the downturn in the economy, employers may have to change their view of child care.

Daily news is peppered with reports of child care programs closing. Most programs run on very tight margins, so when their programs are not full, they are simply unable to make ends meet. The closure of daycare centers and family daycare programs means less choices for parents who still must have care for their children while they work. While some parents have the advantage of having reliable family members nearby that can help with child care in the area, many do not. Some parents may have to rely upon unlicensed child care programs which are generally less expensive than licensed programs, but are also generally less stable. Worse yet are parents who feel that they have no choice but to leave their children home alone while they work. It won't take too many licensed programs closing for employers to be faced with having to provide child care programs for their employees to even be able to work at all.

See the story below for information on how the lack of availability and affordability of child care is aleady impacting parents and children. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/20/AR2008122002113.html

Additional Cost Saving Tips for Daycares

2008-12-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

Along with ensuring that your daycare is properly staffed, not overstaffed and certainly not understaffed, there are other ways of cutting costs without compromising quality.

Food: If you are providing the food for the children in your care, be sure that you are being efficient. Make sure your cook knows how many children will be in care for each meal or snack. Based on average serving sizes, your cook can make sure that they prepare enough food for every child without having many leftovers. If there are leftovers, they must be stored properly and reused in a timely manner to ensure safety.

Utilities: Remind your staff to turn off unnecessary lights. When the class is outside on the playground, there is no need for the lights inside the classroom to be on. If there are offices with a lot of natural light, they may not need electric lights turned on all day every day. Make sure that lights in common areas (bathrooms, staff break rooms, etc.) are also turned off when not needed.

Water: Children are notorious for not turning off water faucets, at least not completely. Help remind them to turn the faucet off completely when they are finished, but follow-up to make sure that they did it. Hopefully it won't take long for that habit to form.

Materials: Hopefully the children in your care have already been taught to use materials appropriately, but if they haven't, this is a teaching opportunity that can save you money. Unused paint can be returned to the paint container rather than rinsed away. If hands can be dried with one paper towel, don't use three. If the child only needs half a sheet of purple paper for an art project, save the other half for another child's project. Toilet paper-ahh, what to say? Half a roll is not necessary for a wipe. Your budget and your plumbing will appreciate this lesson, as well as will those who have to man the mops on overflows.

Not only will these efforts help you cut your costs, but they will also help teach the children in your care how to conserve resources.

Top 10 Ways to Encourage a Wage and Hour Audit at Your Daycare

2008-12-05T18:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, we're being sarcastic here in our "suggestions", but daycare facilities are notorious for not complying with wage and hour laws--hence the reason more and more facilities are being scrutinized by the wage and hour folks. Make sure your program is not one of them by avoiding these common pitfalls.

10. Always "round down" your employees' hours. Since Wage and Hour laws require you to pay in 15 minute increments, any work for 14 minutes or under is unpaid.

9. Require your teachers to attend a meeting or training and don't pay them for that time.

8. Encourage your teachers to put in unpaid time before or after their regular shifts; you know, "help the team".

7. Ask one of your teachers to go to the store after work to pick up something for the program-and, of course, don't pay them for their time or mileage (and, if you're really bold, don't pay them for what they purchased).

6. Ask one of your teachers to work overtime to cover another teacher's absence, then, instead of paying her overtime, just give her comp time instead.

5. Don't worry about having your employees sign in or out on a daily basis-after all, you know when they are scheduled to work. (By the way, child care licensing agencies love this one as well!)

4. Designate all of your staff members as "exempt" employees so that you can pay them a salary and not have to worry about overtime, etc.

3. Instead of allowing preparation/planning time for your teachers, have them do their planning and material preparation at home.

2. Schedule your teacher's lunch break during the children's nap time so that she can eat her lunch in the classroom while monitoring sleeping children.

1. Hire as few teachers as possible and schedule them to work from open to close.

Hopefully these "suggestions" sound awful to you, but unfortunately they do happen in our industry. Strive to be an "employer of choice" by treating your employees in a fair manner (oh yeah, and in compliance with the law).

Benefits of Employer-Sponsored Child Care

2008-12-01T01:04:00.000-08:00

In November 2008, the Consulting Practice at Bright Horizons released a report entitled "The Lasting Impact of Employer-Sponsored Child Care". Any employer, large or small, reading this report would be hard-pressed to argue against employer-sponsored child care. The data, collected from over 4,000 parents currently using employer-sponsored child care, as well as historical information from 100,000 respondents over the past 10 years, provides compelling evidence of the benefits of employer-sponsored child care. That data was broken into several categories, which allows employers to see the benefits of the type of child care program they are considering.

Full-service child care centers (typically on-site):

68% of the respondents stated that the child care program was important in their decision to accept a position with the company.

94% of the respondents stated the child care program would be important in a decision to change jobs.

Back-up child care programs (at or near the work-site):

74% of the respondents stated that they are more likely to continue with the company due to the presence of a back-up child care program.

72% of the respondents stated that they were able to work at least one day in the past 6 months that they would not have been able to work if it had not been for the back-up child care program.

Employee Retention:

80% of respondents stated that they are more likely to stay with their employer because of the child care program.

Employees utilizing the child care program experienced 45% less voluntary turnover than employees who did not utilize the child care program.

Employee Productivity:

Employees utilizing the child care program were 20% more likely to be rated as "top performers" by their employers.

45% of employees not utilizing the child care program reported missing work in the past 6 months because their child's school or daycare center was closed while only 9% of employees utilizing the child care program reported the same difficulties.

No, employer-sponsored child care programs are not a "quick fix". However, with data like this, it is clear that they are highly effective. Let KidCentric help you start a program.

Download the report here.

Parents Fight for Recess

2008-11-29T22:37:00.000-08:00

There is a recent article out of New Jersey that details how a group of parents are fighting to pass a law that requires schools to provide a 20-minute recess daily for their students. In their research, these parents found out that only 8 states require a recess period.

As an early childhood professional and a mother of two, I am saddened that schools would need a law to require them to provide recess time for children. I have 3 major reasons for believing that recess is desperately needed in schools: 1) physical fitness, 2) social development, and 3) for lack of a better word--sanity.

1) Physical fitness. We are all bombarded with news of how obesity is taking over our nation and how our children's lives will be shortened by a lack of physical fitness; news on how children spend their time on video games rather than running around outside. Why then would we want to take one more step to remove their opportunities for physical play? (They can't opt for video games at school recess.) Granted, not every child will be physically active during every recess, but a quick perusal of any playground will show a lot of physical activity.

2) Social development. There is a book that describes how the author learned everything he really needed to know in Kindergarten. A similar book could be written about how everything you need to know about living in a society can be learned on the playground. Children don't learn a lot about how to deal with each other when they are sitting at their desks doing school work. On a playground, children learn to share, compromise and deal with disappointment.

3) Sanity. How many of us, as adults, could spend 7 hours of each day with only a quick lunch break? That is what we are sometimes now asking our children to do. We ask them to sit at a desk and pay attention to their teacher for a little over 3 hours, give them 30-40 minutes for lunch (which sometimes barely gives them time to eat their food and, p.s., some schools do not allow talking during this time) and then sit them back at their desk for another 3 hours plus. I couldn't do that, nor would I want my children to do it.

Think back to your recess times--the chance to run off a little energy, breathe some fresh air, interact with your friends. Personally, I looked forward to every recess. Let's make sure our future generations can do the same.

Cutting Daycare Staffing Costs

2008-11-22T22:33:00.000-08:00

Since staffing costs comprise the largest part of most daycare programs' expenses, the most obvious place to look to cut costs would be in your staffing. Of course, we're not recommending cutting staff wages or benefits as many teachers are already underpaid. However, a little extra attention to detail on staff-child ratios could show areas in which you are paying for more staff members than you need. In our program, we use an hourly staff-child ratio tracking sheet to ensure that we are neither over ratio nor under ratio. Each classroom is required to make an hourly note of the number of children in attendance and the number of staff members in the classroom. By studying these sheets each day, you can see very clearly if you are staffing each room properly. If you are consistently overstaffed in one classroom at a particular time of the day, you can see that you need to change your staff schedule and either move staff members to another room or cut some hours. Along with this "after the fact" checking, you also need to have a policy in place for your late-day staff so that they understand which employee(s) should clock out and go home early if children have gone home early and they find themselves overstaffed.