The following forms are really great, I like to put them in the parents packet at the first interview. Feel free to use anything you see.
Where Does the Money Go?
Women's World Article 1997Where do your childcare dollars go? Did you know that 50% to 80% of the total Daycare Center budget goes to pay personnel costs? Other budget categories include the costs for space, insurance, teaching supplies, food, and utilities. Those costs are fixed and have to be met no matter where your child is; a center-based program or a family childcare home. Recently many of these fixed costs have risen, but the fees that centers are still charging have remained stable when adjusted for inflation. As a result, Teacher salaries in centers have declined approximately 25% since the mid '70's.
Many parents assume that teachers and caregivers are well paid since childcare seems so expensive. However, the reality is that salaries are terrible inadequate for most child care workers.
A national survey found that preschool teachers in centers earned about $11,500 per year in 1990. Regulated family childcare providers reported total childcare earnings (before costs) of approximately $10,000 per year. Such salaries are extremely low even compared to those of other female dominated occupations.
Good childcare is expensive. The number of children per adult must be limited, because young children need close adult attention in order to thrive, especially during the time spent away from their homes.
The small number of children one adult may adequately provide for sets an upper limit on personnel costs when the program budget source is based on parent fees. The average center relies on parent fees for 90% of its budget. As a result, limited income must be divided among many individuals. There is seldom enough money to permit adequate compensation of childcare staff, even when families pay high fees.
Example:
Let's pretend you paid $90 for one week (45 hours) of care for your child. Your provider spends approximately....
$7.70 extra per week on utilities per child
$10.00 per week for meals (the state reimbursement for one child a day is inadequate at $1.40)
$1.50 per week in crafts and book materials/pre-school programs
$1.00 on average per week on toys
$.50 for daycare insurance per week
$13.50 for taxes (per $90)
$4.00 wear and tear on car on average (based upon standard mileage rate)
$.65 per week in advertising (business cards, advertisements, fliers)
$.12 per week in office materials expenses
$2.00 per week in household supplies (laundry soup, toilet paper, paper towels)
$3.24 for maintenance/repair and improvements of home for daycare
All for just your child! $90.00 expenses = $43.78 profit That makes roughly $1.16 per hour Isn't your child worth it?
***These figures based directly on tax totals and divided by the number of children your daycare Provider cares for***
Family Childcare: Another Alternative In a society where the majority of mothers and fathers are working outside the home, the need for quality childcare is growing at a rapid pace. A large contingent of the population is beginning to realize that center-based daycare is not their only option. Since it is now being acknowledged that the first three years of a child's life are the most important of their formative years, parents of young children are discovering that family child care can provide the individualized attention that children of this age need.
Just what is family childcare? In short, it is childcare that is offered in the provider's home. "Oh, so it's just someone who baby sits" you assume. Actually, quality family childcare is so much more than that. Quality providers are entrepreneurs who take pride in their small businesses and continually challenge themselves to remain at the leading edge of the child care profession.
One of the major benefits family childcare offers that center-based care simply cannot is a small group. Washington law mandates that a family childcare provider can have no more than 6 children in her care at any one time with 2 children under the age of two. (This includes her own children under the age of twelve) Or she may have 8 children in her care with none under age two. Any parent of a young child knows that the fewer people their child is exposed to--the less likely they are to become ill. Center-based care may offer separate rooms for different age groups, but the fact of the matter is, that when large numbers of people--children as well as their parents--walk through a center's doors, as many as 100 people each day could be bringing their cold and flu symptoms into that environment! Factor in all of the center's employees and the potential for exposure to illness seems staggering.
More and more often, parents are choosing family child care because they know that increased time and attention can be tailor-made for their children. It allows small groupings in an atmosphere resembling their own homes, and its flexible scheduling adapts to each family’s individual needs. Because providers must adhere to state guidelines, they can offer loving care without having to sacrifice the quality of their programs. Due to the low ratio of children in each program to begin with, and the even lower number of infants allowed, parents can really appreciate the individualized attention that is offered in these homes, and know that what is being offered really is serving their child's best interests.
Another major benefit that center-based care can't match is the consistency of the caregiver. In centers--where minimum wages are the industry standard--it can be detrimental for a child to become attached to their caregiver and then have that employee leave for "greener pastures." Children have to go through the trauma of dealing with feelings of abandonment and then re-establish a trust relationship with a new caregiver. This cycle is repeated time and time again in day care centers during the child's formative years. Alternatively, if your child spends more than 8 hours a day in a center, as most children of working parents do, he or she will be handed off to different caregivers throughout the course of each day. (Centers do not allow their employees to work overtime, so two full time shifts or three part time shifts are used for their normal 12-14 hour business day.) In contrast, since the family childcare provider runs a business from her home, parents can rest assured that their child can go from infancy to kindergarten with the same caregiver.
How can parents find quality family childcare? Just as you would ask your friends and acquaintances for personal referrals when looking for a new doctor or home decorator--that's the best way to seek out good family childcare as well. Most providers credit the bulk of their business to word-of-mouth personal referrals, as well as referrals obtained through professional organizations or corporate networks. Should a parent not have a referral to fall back on, then their best bet would be to get in touch with Project Child, Child Care Resource and Referral. Organizations like this envision quality family child care as having a "ripple effect" in the community-where parents and providers alike recognize the need to expect and demand this exceptional type of care and advocate for quality programs to become the norm-not the exception-across the country.
How can parents distinguish between a quality provider and a sitter? Look for affiliation with one or more groups like Project Child or the CACFP. Some other organizations that providers may be affiliated with are the National Association of Family Child Care (NAFCC), or the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Memberships in groups such as these show a commitment to offering the best quality of child care possible. Additionally, the NAFCC distinguishes providers that meet professional standards of excellence in the areas of safety, health, nutrition, learning environment, interacting, outdoor play environment, and professional responsibility. All quality providers will meet or exceed parent’s expectations in each of these areas. While finding an exceptional provider may seem like a daunting task, rest assured that they do exist in large numbers! The search is well worth the effort--after all, don't we all want to give our children the very best?
What Your Child Will Learn In A Family Day Care Home
Typical Skills Children Learn in Family DaycareFinding Toys
Cognitive: Makes decisions about interests materials and to work with abilities.
Self help: Finds toys by himself or self or others. Sets up environment for play.
Social/Language: Learns to share, barter, manage conflict, and ask for help.
Emotional: Learns about acceptance and rejection. Expresses needs.Block Play
Physical: Learns to balance blocks and lines them up (small motor coordination).
Cognitive: May count blocks, sees pattern and design. Learns to build and plan structure. Matches blocks that look alike.
Social: Learns to share and cooperate.Dramatic Play
Social: Plays adult roles. Develops self-image and coordinates others.
Language: Learns to express self in another role.
Cognitive: Decides appropriate dress and appearance for role; uses visual perceptions to assist self, others, and play environment. Learns and remembers behaviors to imitate. Develops abstract thinking abilities.
Self-help: Dresses self. Sets up play environment and finds props.Story Time Or Listening To Music
Cognitive: Listens and retains information. Follows story line (sequencing) with eyes and/or ears. Recognizes words, pictures, instruments, and rhythms.Finger Plays Or Songs
Cognitive/Language: Learns words, gestures, and melody (sequencing, repetition, speech and listening skills). Follows directions.
Physical: Coordination (small and large motor) for gestures and finger plays.Dance
Cognitive/Language: Listens to music and rhythms. Learns to understand simple movement directions and their relationship to the music.
Physical: Coordinates movements (large motor).Climbing/Riding
Cognitive: May count the rungs to the top of a climbing structure; plans his climb. Maps out direction and distance to ride: watches for others in path.
Physical: Large motor coordination, balance.
Social: Takes turns, interacts.Putting Away Toys
Cognitive: Sorts toys, follows directions.
Physical: Places object on the shelf, replaces lids, opens and shuts doors.
Social: Takes turns, learns to handle toys carefully.
Effective Ways To Discipline A Child *Separation*
Have children rest or play apart for a time when they keep irritating one another, fight, squabble, and hit, or kick. Being apart for a while lets each calm down. Then you can use other ways to encourage better behavior.*Behavior Management*
Talk with children calmly to learn what happened and why and how they see it. Then talk about ways to deal with it. Come to a solution that's agreeable to both you and the child. This helps children learn to be responsible for their behavior.*Redirection*
When children get into trouble, stop them, explain why you are stopping them, and suggest another activity. When they scribble on the wall, give them paper and crayons. When they race dangerously indoors, take them outside for a game of chase. When they throw books at each other, gather them for a story time or organize a beanbag toss. This works especially well with young children.*Fix-up*
When children cause trouble or hurt, expect them to fix it up—or at least help. If they spill milk, give them a cloth to clean it up. If they break a toy, ask them to help with fixing it. If they make a child cry, have them help with the soothing. If they throw toys around the room, ask them to put them away.*Ignore*
The best way to deal with misbehavior aimed at getting your attention is to simply ignore it. But be sure to give attention to your children when they behave well. Children need attention for good behavior, not misbehavior.*Be Firm*
Clearly and firmly state, or even demand, that the child do what needs to be done. Do not use a wishy-washy tone of voice. Speak in a tone that lets your child know that you mean what you say and that you expect the child to do it. Being firm doesn't mean yelling, threatening, reasoning, or taking away privileges. Being firm works for any age child and for many situations.*Stay in Control*
Act before the situation gets out of control before you get angry and overly frustrated and before the child's behavior becomes unreasonable.*Be Detached*
In other words, "keep your cool". If your child does something you don't approve of, or is wrong, pretend your child is your neighbor's child and ask yourself, "What would I do?" Or imagine that you are your child's teacher. How would the teacher handle this situation? That is how you might handle it, too. College of Agriculture & Home Economics WASU
Guide to Toilet Training! Signs That Your Child May Be Ready Staying dry for at least 2 hours at a time during the day
Being able to walk to and from the bathroom, undress and redress
Seeming uncomfortable in soiled diapers and wanting to be changed
Asking for the toilet chair, showing interest
Wanting to wear "big kid" underwear
Having regular and predictable bowel movements
Willing to start training, showing no signs of fear
Child is at ease with using the toilet and doesn’t fight you
How To Start Toilet Training Carefully choose the words to describe body parts, urine and bowel movements. Choose words that are correct in terminology and that will not embarrass or confuse your child.
Select a toilet chair or use an adapter. The adapter allows them to use the regular toilet with the aid of a step stool and smaller seat that fits over the regular toilet. This allows less transition when trained.
Take your child to the toilet on regular intervals. Don’t insist the child sits there until he/she "goes" This will only frustrate them and they may resist going back to the toilet. If they don’t go after a reasonable time, "try" again in 20-30 minutes. But also try to avoid taking the child too often. If the child is truly ready mentally and physically the accidents will be minimal…… but accidents DO happen.
Remember to never scold or punish for a accidents. If there are repeated accidents you may need to consider that maybe they aren’t ready mentally. They may also not be ready physically to hold urine. If you have ANY doubt, its best to wait for a couple months.
If the child is truly ready for training I recommend the use of training pants with plastic pants from the start. Pull ups in my opinion are too much like diapers and they may not feel their accident, however at night they are fine. It is completely a personal choice.
Most children will have achieved bowl and urine control by age 3-4 years. Any significant changes in their bathroom habits or continued accidents may warrant a call to the pediatrician to rule out other problems or for advice.
Most of all, If you and the child are ready mentally and physically for the task, training will happen quickly!! Patience, consistency and a sense of humor are the keys. Something someone told me one time when my daughter was training, "I’ve never meet a kindergartner who was still wearing diapersBarb's Little Dumplin's Email
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