Child Care

In today’s post, we’ll discuss child care during coronavirus (COVID-19).

Undoubtedly, many parents (and child care providers) are worried about the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak right now. At CareLuLu, we work with thousands of families to help them find great daycare and preschool programs, and we’re getting tons of questions.

So, we thought we’d prepare a guide to daycare during coronavirus.

This guide includes tips on how to find child care during closures (no, not all daycares are closed!) Also, we’ll provide answers to questions many parents are asking themselves.

Before we go any further:

For parents who are essential workers and need to find care and can’t read the full post, click here to find emergency child care near you.

This guide is mostly designed for parents, but if you’re a child care business owner, preschool director or teacher, we also wrote a guide for you. Read it here: Coronavirus In Daycare: What Should Child Care Providers Do?

Now:

As a parent of an infant, toddler or preschooler, there’s a lot on your mind right now. Maybe you’re struggling to find child care while many facilities are closed because of coronavirus. Or, maybe you’re wondering if it’s safe to send your baby to daycare during COVID-19.

Here are the questions we’ll answer in this post:

Summer will be here before you know it and if you’re like most parents, you’re probably thinking about the best summer camp for your children. While you still have some time, you shouldn’t wait too long because many camps are already full. Most parents freak out when thinking about summer camp research, but have you thought about child care and preschool summer camp?

I know what you’re going to say:

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You may have that a co-op can help you reduce child care costs, but many parents don’t really know how to answer the question, what is a co-op preschool.

By now, you’ve probably heard that the cost of child care and preschool is exorbitant. So much so that according to the Economic Policy Institute’s latest report, “high quality care is out of reach for working families”. The cost of daycare and preschool for a 4 year-old is around $19,000/year in DC (the most expensive in the US) and infant care in a center costs about $24,000/year!

So, the question is: would you like to pay less for preschool? Read on to learn about co-op daycare and preschool options, and how they can help you reduce child care costs.

Recent research from the same German behavioral scientists who brought us Männergarten suggests that children are born with an innate fascination for sharp objects, self-destruct buttons, and hazardous nooks and crannies.

OK, it’s a joke!

They probably don’t feel the need to allocate research funding to something that everyone knows is true 🙂

More seriously though: what can you do about your child’s safety?

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One of the things parents look for when evaluating a child care provider, whether it’s a child care center, preschool or home daycare, is the discipline policy. After all, we all know that our toddler or preschooler is going to misbehave at some point. So it’s important to know what happens when a child misbehaves at daycare.

I know what you’re thinking:

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Did you know that the U.S. Department of Defense has the best regulated child care program in the country? We heard they are developing a 5-level “daycare sick child warning system” called “DEFCOUGH” based on the “DEFCON” system they developed during the cold war.

It goes something like this:

• DEFCOUGH 5: All quiet on the health front. Your child is eating normally and you try your best to build up their immune system with a balanced diet.
• DEFCOUGH 4: Early warning signs encountered, typically a cough or a runny nose. Take preemptive action such as an extra Vitamin C.
• DEFCOUGH 3: Daycare is no longer an option. Medic! Request a fly-by from a relative, babysitters, or neighbor to care for your child, because they’re too sick for daycare.
• DEFCOUGH 2: Request for fly-by negative. One or both parents need to request time off work to care for your child.
• DEFCOUGH 1: Request(s) for time off negative. Crisis imminent!

OK, DEFCOUGH is a joke, but the crisis scenario is all too real for working parents with children in daycare.

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In our recent post about what to expect when starting daycare or preschool, we said that starting daycare is a lot like flying. The first takeoff in particular can be stressful before the whole crew (you, your child and your child care provider) reaches a “cruising altitude” comfort zone. While switching daycares may not be as big of a change as starting the very first time, it’s not easy either!

Just as layovers are difficult for even the most seasoned travelers, switching daycares or preschools will have its own turbulence pockets for both parents and children. Here are a few tips to ensure a smooth crew change.

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Daycare and preschool, especially universal preschool, is one of those “hot button” issues where there will always be some debate. Does it work? Is it good for children? Who pays? Part of the problem with issues like early childhood education is that we will probably never have enough hard data points to satisfy everyone. Also, studies to measure the impact of early education on children’s adult lives take a really, really long time!

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I recently organized a child care seminar for parents and parents-to-be. The goal was to have an open discussion so that parents could bring all of their child care related questions, worries, hopes, and fears to the table. During the seminar, I realized the differences between child care centers and family child care (also referred to as home-based daycare) were unclear for a lot of families. I was also asked which environment was the best, child care center vs home daycare. My answer was simple: no option is intrinsically better than the other.

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Never heard of National Child Care Provider Appreciation Day? Not on our watch! It’s every year, the last Friday before Mother’s Day, so it’s coming up. Consider yourself warned. Do your homework and organize something for your child’s child care provider or preschool teacher.

There are quite a few tongue-in-cheek “appreciation days” out there. Today, for example, is Star Wars Day – May the 4^th be with you! But you really should take this Friday seriously: Besides family members, your child care provider is probably the single most important person in your child’s life.

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