August is National Back to School Month! As summer vacation gives way to the beginning of a new school year, families with children are gearing up to head back to school. Many parents use the month of August to prepare for the school year and cross off the many tasks associated with the start of school such as purchasing school supplies, organizing family schedules, shopping for new clothes, and getting back into a routine. Returning to school can be both exciting and stressful. Parents who arm themselves and their children with knowledge about what to do to prepare will help […]
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The Importance of Attendance for Child Care Centers
September is Attendance Awareness Month. It’s crucial for kids to attend school every day. Going to school regularly helps your child do well at school—from preschool through high school. Regular attendance creates successful learners Did you know that absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year? According to the Baltimore Education Research Consortium, half the students who miss two to four days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school. Students are less likely to succeed in school if they miss 10 percent or more of school days over the […]
Tools to Market Your Day Care Center
Market Your Day Care Center In our previous article, we stressed the fact that first impressions are everything in the child care industry. If you own or manage a child care center, chances are you are up against some stiff competition. Effective marketing allows you to let potential clients know your philosophy and approach to child care and to communicate who you are. What are the things you can do to set yourself apart from the competition? You can start by sharing your story: the number of years you’ve been in the child care field, the educational environment your center […]
Positive First Impressions: How to Host a Successful Open House
First impressions are so important! The messages that parents get from you and your staff when they first call or visit your center will likely be “make or break.” They will have a lasting impact and will color their opinion of you from that moment on. That first impression will affect what parents think of your facilities, of you, of your program, and your business in general. An open house provides parents with a firsthand impression that cannot be experienced via a website or a brochure. The opportunity for parents to establish a personal connection with the administration, the teachers, […]
Keeping Kids Safe: Establishing Child Care Safety Standards for Your Center and Your Staff
Every morning millions of parents across the country safely buckle their children in car seats and head off to child care. They expect that the center is receiving regular child care safety inspections, that the providers have successfully passed background checks, are well trained, and that the children in their care remain safe. As a child care provider, you can implement safety procedures so that each child is being taken care of in a safe and thriving environment. Child care safety standards before you open your center One of the first things an individual or organization does when they decide […]
Develop a Marketing Plan for Your Child Care Center
Marketing any business is tough and developing a marketing plan for your child care center can be extremely challenging if you haven’t done much marketing in the past. However, it’s the only way you’re going to grow your business. Word of mouth is great, but it rarely produces enough business to fill a center. So what critical features should a child care center marketing plan include to increase their business? Identify your customers Who are your target customers? Take a look at your neighborhood. What are the couples and families like? These are your potential customers so the better you […]
Child Care Challenges and Opportunities: Strategies for Maintaining Quality Staff and Programs
Child care challenges and opportunities combined with strategies to maintain quality staff and programs for your child care center. Child care plays an important role in the U.S. economy, helping to generate 15 million jobs and more than $500 billion in income annually. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of child care workers is projected to grow 7 percent from 2016 to 2026. Parents who work will continue to need the assistance of child care workers. The demand for preschools and child care facilities, and consequently child care workers, should remain strong because early […]
Summer’s Challenge: Weight Gain in Kids and Ways to Prevent It
School’s out! Kids are rushing out the school doors and into the summer sunshine. They are leaving behind homework and a structured schedule for classes, meals, free time and sleep. Once home, their idea of summertime fun is lazy days, sleeping late, favorite snack foods and lots of screen time. Unfortunately this can lead to weight gain in kids. Study finds rise of obesity in children in summer months A recent national study conducted of children from kindergarten through second grade found that the risk of obesity was higher when children were out of school than when they were in […]
Prevent Dangers to Children in Hot Cars: Tips to Keep Them Safe
Children in Hot Cars – How to Keep Them Safe With summer weather already here, many organizations and law enforcement officials are reminding parents about the dangers of leaving children in hot cars. Many loving, caring parents believe that they could never forget their children in cars; unfortunately, statistics prove otherwise. According to www.kidsandcars.org, in over 55% of cases, the person responsible for the child’s death unknowingly “forgot” their child due to distractions such as a change in driver routine, stress, or a sleeping baby in the back seat. In approximately 28% of cases, children got in on their own, […]
Time Management Tips for Child Care Directors
A frequent complaint of center directors is not having enough time. Everyone has unique and distinct life goals but few of us feel we have enough time to carefully and consciously balance work, family, and personal priorities. Time management becomes an issue. What gets in the way of your being as effective as you would like in managing your time? Is it interruptions from staff and parents? Situations with children that require your assistance? Phone calls? Paperwork and reporting deadlines? Time management is all about making the most effective use of your time and working smarter, not harder. It requires […]