5 Benefits of a Local Child Care Organization
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A local child care organization can be a great benefit to all the providers and families they serve. Daycare is very demanding and we need support from other providers. It’s important to have support when running a home daycare.
There are great organizations for early childhood professionals such as NAEYC and NAFCC, but having a local organization is vitally important too.
Years ago, a friend and I, seeing a desperate need for our local childcare providers to bond together, founded a local childcare organization called Family Child Care in Action.
Working in a home setting is so different than a center. Family childcare is just that. A family, together with multi-age ranges and personal one on one care. There is a lot of value in that and it’s a unique working environment. And you have to know your limits as a home daycare provider.
Daycare organizations
A class taught for teachers who work with a room full of two-year-olds addresses different needs than a family childcare provider has. In my opinion, after being in childcare for over 20 years, family childcare has no equal in the childcare world. Herding large numbers of children who are the same age just cannot compare to specialized care in a family home. We needed a local child care organization for home daycare. Here are ideas for home daycare that can help you.
We saw the need for an organization that would provide support to family child care providers. So we came up with a plan to start one. In June of 2004, we started Family Child Care in Action, a local child care organization, to support providers of all kinds, but with a focus on the family childcare home.
There are many reasons to be a part of a local child care organization, here are just a few:
1. Family childcare can be isolating. We need friendships with other providers who can relate to what we do all day.
2. We need support when we are having a difficult time with a child and need advice. More likely it is a difficult parent who is trying to take advantage of us. Talking with other providers about a problem helps us to gain confidence and be professional in handling difficult situations.
3. We need training. And it’s awesome to get training that is geared toward family childcare homes.
4. We need a network. When we have openings we need to fill or know of extra kids needing care, we can help each other.
5. We need information. When we share information concerning new regulations, great ideas for things to do with kids, or policies that work, we are all better providers in the end.
Child Care Organizations
The local child care organization is NOT a place where we talk bad about the families we serve. We don’t use names when discussing difficult situations. We just present the problem and get advice on the best way to handle it.
An experienced provider can share their contract or the way they do things with a new provider and help them to create policies of their own that will work for them.
Several years ago, I stepped down as the president of Family Child Care in Action so others could have a chance to lead. It was time for new ideas and a fresh way of doing things.
I know they are working together to do their very best. The ladies in this local child care organization have become my friends. We work in different homes, but we all have the same goal to be the best we know how to be. I knew the organization was a very good thing and I was proud!
If you have a chance to be a part of a local childcare organization you should join TODAY!