Day Care Alternatives for Older Children
I'm a parent and former day care facility supervisor. Day care facilities are usually geared to younger preschool and under children. Due to overcrowding and poor management, many day care facilities fail older children. I learned early on that instead of child care, our children needed to learn responsibility, personal organization, communication skills, decision-making, social safety and self-advocacy skills. Parents need to provide a solid support network. a way to communicate, accessibility and a back-up plan. Here are some community resources:
Vacation Bible School- In our community each week of the summer, there is at least one church holding a Vacation Bible School. VBS provides fun and social activity for about three hours per day.
Library Activities- Children 9 and over are allowed to remain at the library without adult supervision. They must follow library protocol. Tell the librarian know that you are dropping the child off and when you will return; do not leave the child longer than 2 hours. Provide a cell phone. Librarians are not child care providers but if your child needs help, she can ask. The library offers reading programs, cybersafe internet and computer use, homework help and group activities also.
Museum Activities: This resource is vastly overlooked. Our local museum offers kid's activities, youth docent training and many other summer programs.
Day camps: Many local organizations offer day programs. Day camps are a great way to help your children build their skills in different areas. If you can't afford these programs, check out scholarship programs.
To make these options work, you need: a solid trust relationship with your child, proximity, cell phone contact.
regular check-in times, city bus system, and coordination with friends, family or neighbors.
For more parenting skills, check my blogs listed.
Published by Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben
Happy wife. Mom of 4. 10+ year homeschool vet. Certified K-8/special ed. Yahoo! News Beat Writer: Parenting, Michigan, Detroit. Published on Helium, SEED, AT&T, Diabetes Active, Mapquest, Best Contractors, H... View profile
- Home Day Care: License & Inspection For many working American families, using a home day care provides a great opportunity to begin a home based business while providing care for their own children.
- If You Build Your Day Care, They Will Come? Most business fail within the first three months. Why? They don't plan. Avoid this by knowing how to get your clients before you even start your Day Care.
- Free Day Care in Colorado Springs, Colorado Bright star day care offers two free hours of day care to job seekers.
- Family Day Care in Australia This article takes a look at the structure of family day care and the way it is structured and run.
- How to Evaluate Day Care Centers This article is important for parents who have a preschooler in regards to looking for a good day care center,
- Information Regarding Pin-On Diapers for Older Children and Teenagers with Bed-Wet...
- A Great Reading Program for Day Care Providers
- Are You Sure a Child Day Care Center Career is Right for You?
- Toddlers Toddle Away from Day Care
- Atlanta Doggie Day Care and Spas
- How to Choose the Right Day Care
- Five Facts About Adult Day Care
|
|
- It's Already that Time: How Much Will You Pay for Summer Camp?
- To Punish Daughter, Dad Destroys Her Laptop: Tough Love or Too Extreme? (Video)
- What Do You Do with the Valentine's Day Cards Your Kids Bring Home from School?
- Why I Fired My Child's Pediatrician (And How it Saved My Son's Life)
- Parenting Guru: A special Valentine for a mystery 4th grade girl
4 Comments
Post a CommentHi
The kindergarten Pilot is the head of government countrywide kindergarten place,
Offering a complete keep a record of preschools all through the kingdom.
preschool reviews
top preschools
best preschools
montessori preschools
Our mission is to provide you with the tools and in a row to help
You take home the greatest decision in lieu of your children.
Regards,
Shane
Great point about the Y, Kristina. I intended to mention the YMCA. That's exactly the kind of program I had in mind.
Great article! People often think about younger kids but forget about the problems that arise when the kids are too old for daycare, but too young to stay on their own. I was one of the kids who was in our school's after-care program in 5th and 6th grade and believe me there was nothing that I dreaded more than spending 3 hours after school doing activities geared towards 7 year olds and playing "teacher's helper". For summers we went to day camp at the YMCA which I actually thought was wonderful. I suggest that parents look into the programs at their local Y's to see if they are still good. They had lots of activities geared towards older kids.
great info. Just curious, what do people typically do when they work 8a-5p? Are after care facilities just as bad as far as what you described? I am a stay at hom mom and may be working (outside the home) by the time the kids are ten. Just curious what your take on that would be.