Child Care and Summertime

Hello Everyone! Sorry I have been out of touch for awhile! I am back now and you can once again expect regular posts. An issue that is on a lot of people's minds right now, is child care in the summertime. There are several issues that face both parents and child care providers when faced with summertime. Let's look at the parent issues first.

Parents either have their children in care year round, have them in care only during the school year, or have them in care only during school vacations. Parents that have school age children who are now out of school for the summertime (or soon will be!) face the unique challenge of what to do with their kids over the summer. Kids under the age of about 12 or 13 shouldn't be left alone all day every day during the summer while parents work. But it can be difficult to find care for the children over the summer. Many churches and daycare centers offer special summer programs that are made for a little bit older children and include frequent field trips and outdoor activities. These are great for many families, but they can also be very costly. Because these programs include at least weekly field trips, they usually run families at least $300 per month for one child. Sometimes parents can find a home daycare that has summertime openings. These are usually less costly options but many times they aren't as activity packed either.

For child care providers this provides a unique opportunity to make some extra money over the summer. You can establish a child care that will provide summertime care for school age children with lots of fun activities at a reasonable cost. For more ideas on what to include in such a situation, see my new article on ezinearticles.com entitled Running a Summertime Home Childcare.

There are two dilemmas that childcare providers face during the summer months. The first is what to do with the extra kids you inherit during the summer months. More than likely you have your own school age children that are home during the summer. This adds extra children into your count. You also may have children that you normally have for before and after school care that suddenly need part or full time care during the summer. Again, your number ratio is affected by these kids. So, what do you do? First, I would contact your licensing bureau and explain your situation. Most bureaus are understanding about these situations and will either grant you leniency on your numbers for the summer months or will have some suggestions on how to handle the situation. Also, you can speak with the parents and let them know about your dilemma. Some parents may be able to alter their summer work schedule to help you out. The second dilemma you face is what to do to keep all of those kids active over the summer. Summer care needs to look a little different than care during the rest of the year. Plan outdoor time at least twice a day. Schedule some extra fun activities. Plan a couple of field trips. Again, for a more complete list see the article referenced above.

All in all summertime offers unique opportunities for child care providers to broadent their horizons and expand their business. Take advantage of it! For some fun ways to spend your time, see the list of my favorite child care products above this posting! Happy summer!