An internal link on the web site for the Canadian Association for Young Children (which I have been following) brought me to a web site named “Child Care Exchange” found at www.childcareexchange.com. An article on the web site caught my attention as it was related to this week’s discussion regarding availability of child care. In particular, the author discussed a new trend in child care to address the needs of single parents and two-parent families who work odd hours and on weekends. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, a facility named the Children’s Home Extended Child Care Program is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for children ages 6 weeks old to 12-years old. Fees are assessed on a sliding scale. Services during normal business hours are based on a developmentally appropriate curriculum, while after hours care is more home-like with services aimed at feeding children dinner and getting them ready for bed. On the weekends, children go on field trips, and play for long hours outdoors. Movie nights with popcorn are a fun way to end the weekend day, before the bedtime routine. I simply had no idea such child care services were available, and can only imagine the extent of licensing regulations required to operate such a facility.
Allison,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a wonderful program. I would wonder about the cost of such a program. I think it would be a challenge to staff this type of program as well. I know that when my children were little, I wouldn't have wanted to work nights, and I started working for Head Start because the schedule was so similar to my own children's. It was always nice to have winter break and spring break with them and not have to find child care. I wonder if there are more programs like this out there! Thanks for sharing.