Kids and food. The eternal struggle. Most Calgary daycares struggle with this… the ones that offer food anyway. We sure do.

How important is nutritious food to your child?

Are all Calgary daycares the same when it comes to quality?

Is catering the same as having a chef on-site?

What can you do as a parent, so your child eats and eats healthy?

All important questions to ask any daycare. Food is a very important part of your child’s development. It’s as important as the academics and level of care.

But there’s a huge difference in feeding your little one a hotdog and ketchup or a whole wheat bun with sliced, fresh ham. All food isn’t equal in nutrition, taste, and cost.

Your children probably love the junk food and not the healthy food. That’s typical for children…heck… even us adults. Who doesn’t love a greasy pizza or burger?

A treat here and there is fun and great for the kids. We just must be careful not to overdo it. There’s an obesity epidemic right now. Nutrition is important.

We Love Food!! A Bit Too Much

Canada, like the rest of the world has an obesity problem. If you add over weight to that its even worse. Obesity rates have tripled in the last 30 years. Our children are larger than they have ever been.

Parents and Calgary daycares need to take this very seriously. Obese children can get a lot of health issues.

• Bone and joint issues
• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Breathing and sleep issues

Those are some of the physical side affects of being obese. This is for kids and adults alike. Children have it a bit worse. They start young so changing the behavior is harder and the negative affects compound over time.

I know through my years working at and owning a daycare there’s another side that is just as bad and, in my opinion, even worse. The emotional side of being obese or overweight.

We’ve all seen a funny move or commercial with a “fat” kid that does something silly and usually falls over. We laugh and the move or even cartoon is great.

What we don’t see in the movies or cartoons is the emotional toll that takes on children. Being picked on for being overweight is hard on children. They can get bullied and treat very differently than their thinner friends.

A few emotional affects to being overweight are:

• Low self-esteem
• Bullying or teasing
• Depression
• Feeling left out

The good thing is that some Calgary daycares understand this. But many don’t. Knowing which take your child’s nutritional health into account is huge.

Michelin Star Daycare?

Your child is having an amazing day! Playing, learning, and getting to know his peers even more. The sun is shining and it’s a beautiful day. Your child is running and learning. They’re hungry.

Now the questions is; does your child get a Greek yogurt and homemade granola parfait with fruit on top. Or a pre-packaged sugary “breakfast cookie”?

What about lunch? Is it a whole wheat vegetarian lasagna made from scratch that’s filled with veggies or a hotdog?

Which would you rather they eat? Which would you rather feed your little one?

Our daycare chooses the first one. Is it as popular as the sugary or nutrition devoid options? No. Kids love hot dogs and sugar of course. But over time they start to enjoy the healthier options more.

I’ve seen this myself. Children that maybe don’t have the best diet in the world. Really pushing back on the home made, nutritious daycare food. But over time they eat a lot.

Why don’t all Calgary daycares just make amazing food so the children have a lot of brain food? Running my daycare, I know it’s time and money.

Let’s take a veggie butter chicken recipe we use at our child care centre. Feel free to try it out on the weekend. Our kids love this. Add some Naan bread and it’s a winner.

Anyways. Back to the time and money thing. If you clicked on the recipe you can see it’s a lot of ingredients.

This is from scratch (most of it is but you can cheat a bit with cans). Now make that for 80 kids like at our daycare. That’s a lot of work.

Our chef must prep everything. Cut up all the vegetables. Get the chicken prepped and cut up. Spice things just right for children. As you might now kids are fussy with how much spice is in things.

Once you add up the amount of healthy ingredients, which cost more. Plus the extra time the chef is putting in the food. It can get pricey. But I strongly believe its worth it.

If you make the food tasty AND nutritious it’ll help kids get out of the rut that good food tastes bad. Many kids default to the SAD diet (Standard American Diet) that Canadians and Americans eat.

The faster we can get them away from the SAD diet and into something more balanced the better.

Catering Vs A Daycare Chef

My daycare uses a chef. On site all the time and cooking home made meals daily. You might be asking if catering is just as good or even better. Let’s take a look.

This section will by my opinion. Like and op ed piece in a newspaper. Because it’s so hard to prove any of this and find legitimate information. But I am sure you will see, like I do that its just common sense.

Making things in bulk isn’t always the best. Stay with me. Here is my logic. Catering is a business that needs to make profits. They must make food in bulk.

It’s not profitable to make individual food items like we do at many Calgary daycares.

We know how hard it is to make food for 80 children at our Calgary daycares so it must be 10x harder to do it for 800. A lot of pre-made, canned, pre-packaged items are used. You’ve probably heard of Sysco of GFS.

Those are large corporations that many caterers, restaurants, etc. use for buying their food. These are pre-made, bulk food stuffs that probably aren’t the best when it comes to nutrition or being natural.

It saves cost to purchase from them and it saves a lot of time. They always deliver in bulk and you can quickly use there pre-made pastes, powders and other fillers. Quick, easy and cheap.

I know for sure some caterers add some fruit and some other healthy, natural items to their menus. But that doesn’t make there entire menu nutritious or healthy.

You can make protein packaged spaghetti super lunch in two ways. Which would you prefer that your child eats?

1) White noodle spaghetti, canned pasta sauce, hotdogs cut in (maybe some bulk ground beef), apple

2) Whole wheat spaghetti, home made spaghetti sauce with vegetables cut into it, beef shank cut into cubes in the sauce, whole wheat bun, fruit of choice

Both are spaghetti and both sound amazing but I know which one I would want to feed the children.

I know from experience that you can make anything sound good but you have to know what to look for to see if it truly is.

Between catering and an on site chef. I would go with a chef anytime. I haven’t even touched on customizing dishes and being creative with new foods. Our chef at our daycare does this all the time.

We also share recipes with our families so they can make this delicious food at home.

The Making of A Foodie Kid

Parents ask me all the time about food and their child. With over 20 years of experience with children I got to know a thing or two. Here are my top tips.

First and foremost, you need to have nutritious food. No point in starting this journey if the food you give is just plain bad.

I recommend 5-6 days a week of nutritious, vegetable laden foods. Then 1-2 days a week you can have fun.

Maybe the weekend is pizza and hotdogs. Some ice cream to wash it all down. Fun and enjoy. Teach your child that food can be fun and make some fun memories. I wish our daycare had this option.

Then the other 5-6 days a week you want to feed your child vegetables, fruits, whole wheats and water. This gives them the best of both worlds.

Some fun and junk food while watching a movie or at a birthday party on the weekend. While still keeping things healthy and teaching them about nutrition during the week.

Here are some great tips for keeping a healthy and fed child.

In the tips guide link above there is something I want to touch on again. Its not being a short order cook and standing your ground. Those are the biggest take aways from the guide.

It’s very similar to what we do at my daycare. Everyone eats the same. There is no ordering or saying that the children don’t want that. They eat what is given.

This is crucial. Once you start catering to them you’ll be making 10 dinners and lunches a day.

The last one is harder at my daycare but you as a parent can do this. That’s being very firm. Telling your child dinner is now.

Its here for and hour and after that its breakfast. Not sneaking an apple or finding something else to eat.

I know its harder with younger children but stick to it. This will really help set a standard and they will love you for it later in life.

What Calgary Daycares Has Taught Me About Food

Running our daycare in Calgary and being a daycare worker at other centers have given me insights others might not have. Healthy eating is crucial for little children.

Their brains are developing and they badly need the vitamins and minerals great food gives them.

 

Something like the picture above is exactly what I see work with kids. Don’t deprive them of fun and junky foods. Don’t use food as a punishment. Make it

If your child is going to a daycare in Calgary or any daycare. Ask them who makes the food. What company? Is it a chef on site? Which I strongly encourage you to look for.

As long as they serve fresh, wholesome and no pre-packaged food then you’re good. Check out this article on daycares and nutritious foods. Its an eye opener.

It’s bad food and bad food choices that start a slippery slope decline into being over weight and then obese.

Obesity is very unhealthy for your child’s body AND mind. Doing whatever you can to have a healthy little child is very important to their wellbeing.

And to leave off here are a few awesome recipes for you to try tonight. The children at my daycare LOVE them!

 

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 green onion (finely chopped)
• 3/4 white onion (chopped)
• 3 lb thawed boneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into small pieces)
• 6 tbsp butter or margarine (unsalted)
• 6 tsp lemon juice
• 25 tbsp garlic, minced
• 5 tbsp ginger paste or minced ginger
• 6 tsp garam masala
• 5 tbsp curry powder
• One package frozen vegetables (peas, corn, carrots)
• 3 tsp chili powder
• 3 tsp ground cumin
• 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 3 bay leaf
• 3 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 3 pinch salt
• 3 pinch black pepper
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 3 cup half-and-half
• 3 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions

1. Sauté in a large skillet, over medium-high heat: vegetable oil, green onion, finely chopped; white onion, chopped
2. When onions are tender add: boneless skinless chicken thighs
3. Once chicken in cooked, add: butter (unsalted), lemon juice; garlic minced, ginger paste or minced ginger; garam masala (if you can’t find it in the spice aisle you can find an easy recipe here); curry powder; chili powder ground cumin; 1 bay leaf (cayenne pepper is optional, see what the kids like)
4. Stir briefly to combine onion, chicken and spices and allow them to become aromatic in the oil, then add: tomato sauce; salt; black pepper, frozen vegetables
5. Stir to combine, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until chicken is very tender. 10 minutes before serving stir in: plain yogurt; half-and-half
6. Five minutes before serving combine: cornstarch with 3/4 cup water and stir into curry.
7. Heat until slightly thickened. Remove bay leaf then serve with rice

Social skills are very important for your child’s development. Daycares give that to your child. But so do other options that might suite your family better. Play groups, parks, friends, camps, etc. All great ways to be social.

A daycare can save you a lot of time and the best childcare centres focus on social development so your child gets a great head start.

They are well trained and know how to help your child be socially active with their peers.

My points in this article are about putting your child into daycare for the social development not about daycare in general.

If you need childcare then you need it, simple. But what if you don’t NEED it but want to put your child in for he social aspect?

Either way, being social is important for all ages and not just the early years. Let’s dig in and see how important it is.

I’m Super Social… Get Off My Lawn!!!!

I’m sure that more than one of you reading this got your job, found your significant other or had a great time by using your social skills. We’ve all been there.

That right person you know that got your resume to the top of the pile. They got you a job and maybe kick started your entire career. Wouldn’t have happened without social development.

Maybe you’re married or have an amazing significant other. That wasn’t luck or serendipity… well maybe a little. It was you being social. Your socially developed skills got the love of your life.

It can be argued that sales make a lot of money and take little formal education. I know I used to be a real estate agent in another life. The more social you are the more money you can make.

Check out this amazing article in the Harvard Business Review on how the more technology we acquire the more social skills are important.

For you guys out there that are busy…is that all of us? It pretty much says that all job growth since the 80’s has been social skill-intensive.

They also mention that as jobs get more automated by robots and software. Jobs with high social skills will be in more demand and hard to automate. Simply put the more social you are the more job security you will have…. And your child will have as an adult.

Let children play on your lawn! Its good for them and it’s good for you.

Is Daycare the Best Option?

It can be. Daycare in Calgary can be expensive as it can be in any city. This is a question of economic means. Not everyone can afford a high quality daycare.

I’ll touch on what options parents have that don’t have the funds to get their child into daycare. A nanny can be very expensive, and I would argue the least social. But to each their own.

For now let’s discuss all the benefits of a great daycare program. Let’s take our program, 2000 Days Pre-Kidnergarten. I try so hard to have the highest quality program I can create with my staff. We understand the value of social development.

My team strives to have children “get out of their shell”, interact and enjoy spending time with their peers. My childcare workers are trained and know how to interact with children as a guide.

What I mean by this is that in our daycare the teachers guide the children to activities and proper social behavior. They don’t interfere.

Part of being social is interacting with others (could say it’s the main thing). Your child will bite or kick or hit someone with a plastic dinosaur.

via GIPHY

It’s inevitable. How you or your child care worker handle this is important. In these early years the wrong reaction can have dire affects on your child later in life.

Knowing your child is in a daycare that handles your child’s negative social behavior is very important. My childcare centre never punishes children.

We use empathy and sympathy to help children understand how their actions hurt others and make them feel.

We also encourage children to interact and make friends. Many of the children from my program become friends for many years after. My teachers use programming and tools to help children become more social to make more friends.

A daycare has a lot of positives for social interaction. Another main one is the size. Daycares like mine have 80 children on a typical day. Our classrooms have between 10-20 children.

These are perfect sized classes to make friends.

Plus, the day to day is consistent. The children that come to our childcare facility are the same ones daily. Your child gets to create true bonds with their peers.

If you can afford a daycare in Calgary then I would say its your best bet for a very well adjust, social child. You have professionals working with your child daily to get the most out of them.

Being a parent, teaching your child to socialize and working a full-time job can be a bit much. But there are alternatives if you don’t want to send your child to daycare or if you can’t swing the cost.

Alternatives to a Daycare For Social Development

You don’t want to send your child to a daycare. Or maybe your financial circumstances don’t allow for it. A nanny is out of the question for you.

What can you do to get a well-adjusted social child? A lot actually.

The first thing I would do is read this. Great article from lifehack.org about 12 ways to improve sociability. It’s not focused on children but you can easily adapt them to your child and still get a lot of good from it.

Next you need to find play groups. Consistent ones that have the same children in it on a weekly basis at the minimum. Twice a week is much better.

Remember children have a short memory. They need reinforcement with friends to create social bonds.

You can find groups on Meetup.com or your local community website. If you’re not in Calgary or a big town then post things on local bulletin boards for play groups.

Facebook groups work. Even just standing around a local park and talking to her parents. Bottom line there are a lot of ways to get your child social.

Once your child is in social groups and gets consistent social interaction you need to apply some of those life hacks to them.

You need to model how to be social. Say hello to people. Be the first to strike up a conversation.

Show them how you call friends to make play dates and get togethers. You need to model to your child what being social is and what being a good friend is.

Your child is a sponge and soaks up a lot of the social queues you put up. Make them positive!

There is the opposite of that and you as the parent need to show your child what negative social behavior is. Bullying, hitting, not caring about friends are all negative social behaviors. You need to put in effort on this front and model again.

I mentioned modelling a lot. That’s because children watch you a lot. More than you think. They copy your mannerisms and social queues.

The more socially positive you are the more your child will be. I can’t stress this enough.

Yes, it’s a lot of work. That’s why if you can get your child into a daycare you should. It takes a lot of the stress and work off you.

But I get it; not everyone can. You will have to put in the heavy lifting to get a well-rounded and social child.

I can say for sure that if you do this it will pay off for you and your child.

To Daycare or not to Daycare?

The final verdict for if you should put your child into daycare for just the social aspects is….

It depends.

Like most questions about children it all depends. After working with children for 20+ years I can say that a childcare center will be very beneficial for your child’s social development. The routine of seeing the same children daily is huge.

Teachers that are trained to guide your child into healthy social behavior can’t be understated. Having larger groups of 8-18 children is also a benefit as social scenarios will come up and your child will have to navigate that.

Many daycares in Calgary document your little ones day. We do with Himama. It’s a great program that tells you what your child ate, how long they slept and any behaviors that are amazing or concerning.

That alone will help you guide your child in their social development.

Now the depends part. If you can’t afford daycare then I wouldn’t sacrifice quality of life for it.

As mentioned before there are still things you can do to get a well-rounded, socially adjusted child. My biggest concern is the time.

It takes a lot of time to get it right. Parents that work barely have time for themselves so might not have the adequate time to teach their child on how to be social.

Plus getting your child into larger groups consistently can also be a challenge.

But the fact that you’re reading this article shows you’re a caring parent that loves their child. Or you wouldn’t be searching out articles on how to make them a better and more successful person.

Daycare is a great option for social development in little ones and I highly recommend it. I know I own a daycare so I’m biased.

But even if I didn’t, I have worked with children long enough to see amazing results in their social skills.

Do you think childcare centres offer a bit more umph when it comes to social development?

 

This is one of those questions where I can answer easily and with certainty. It depends. There are many factors at play when you decide on exactly when to start at a Calgary daycare.

The main factors you should think about is…

• What age should your child be to start daycare? Are you comfortable?
• When does your maternity leave end? Going stir crazy?
• Have you chosen your child’s daycare? Is there a waitlist?
• Routine, time of year and the rest of it

As you can see it’s more than a “I have to get back to work!” mentality. There are a few things to think about before starting child care. Let’s take a look at each of these in depth and see what nuggets we can pull out.

What’s The Best Age to Start Daycare?

First let me say that there is not perfect age to start at a Calgary daycare. Some families have to put their kids into childcare early and others never do. There are better ages then others. But don’t feel bad by putting your child into care or not. The first year of your child’s life should be spent with the parents. Preferably both, full-time. Next best would be with one parent full-time. Third would be part-time with each parent. There have been studies that being there as much as possible is crucial for your infant. They need to bond with you and benefit from time spent with parents. If you can, try to spend as much quality time with your infant as you can. The first year and the next 4 are all very important for your little one. Its their first 2000 days. Those first 2000 days are vastly important. Parents can struggle with finding experiences and teachings for their child. This is where daycare can step in.

Child care centers can focus on those first 2000 days and really get your child off to a great start. My daycare, 2000 Days Pre-Kindergarten, focuses on the first 2000 days and we even supplement their early years with Highscope. Highscope is teaching method that focuses on the early years and getting the most out of your little ones. You want your child to be safe, have fun and learn. Highscope does all this. That doesn’t mean you as the mother or father couldn’t do this yourselves. It’s very time consuming and difficult to do on your own. Sorry, I got a little off topic on how important the first 2000 days are. Back on track to the question when you should start daycare. My answer is around 1-2 years of age. This age range is perfect because your child has gotten to know you and bonded over the first year. Now you need to get back to work or want a few days a week to run errands. Heck, maybe to get some yoga in. That’s fine. The one to two year old range is also a great start to getting them social. Social and emotional development is very important in the early years. Did you know empathy is learned and not genetic? You need to teach you little ones how to be a good human being. And it can be hard to find the time. So my definitive answer on when is the best time for your child to enter a daycare is… As quickly after 1 as you can. Get them learning, playing with theirs peers and exploring as much as they can.

Back to work? Yes!….or….Oh no!

Some parents can’t wait to get back to work while others dread it. After running a daycare in Calgary for over 8 years I have heard it all.

From the very excited to get back to their career to some who would rather stay at home with their little one.

Going stir crazy is normal. After 8-12 months with your new baby and with little sleep some parents need to get out. They need adult interactions and time away. You’re not a bad parent if you do this.

Many psychologists and doctors agree that time away from your child is beneficial for them AND for you.

As a mother of 3 I have given myself time, time with my husband and time with friends. Am I a bad mother? I sure hope not!

Starting child care can be a financial decision. When does maternity or paternity leave end? Maternity leave is usually 55% or 33% of your weekly wage.

See here. Many parents have no choice but to go back to work. And that is totally okay.

Picking A Childcare Centre Is Hard To Do

Another big factor deciding when to start your child in daycare is the child care centre itself. Do you have one picked out? Is there a short list? Have you toured many? Are you on a wait list?

Not having your preferred childcare center picked out could make the timing of your child care needs difficult.

Daycares in Calgary usually have some type of wait list. So getting on one early is usually a good idea. You don’t want to start work or get some of that YOU time I wrote above without your child in a childcare centre.

You want to find daycare centres that are on the way to work. Or closer to home. Once you have a list of 5 or so you want to tour them.

Asking a lot of questions and narrow it down to 2. Here is a checklist you can take with you to help.

Don’t underestimate the time it can take to get into a high quality childcare centre. There are times that are better and worse.

Usually the summer is a better time to get in then in the winter. This is because of general fluctuation through the year.

A lot of factors go into picking a daycare. Some parents are very picky and need a lot of time. Which is a good thing. Your child will thank you for it.

But in doing your research the time is ticking by. Getting a head start on finding an amazing daycare centre will help with proper timing.

Routines and Timing It All

As mentioned before the time of year does matter when enrolling your little one into childcare. Fall can be a hectic time as children are going back to school so daycare is top of mind. Spring is also another busy time to find care.

Winter and summer are usually slower and would be a better time to enroll. But that can be difficult on families as there are vacations to think of and Christmas can be a busy time.

Your family routine can also affect when to put your child into daycare. If your child isn’t on a good napping and sleep schedule then you might want to wait.

If your child doesn’t have a decent routine for their daily lives in place. Maybe waiting until they have something down might be a good idea.

I say this because I have seen hundreds of children dropped off at our daycare and the ones with a solid routine fair better. Not all but it helps a lot.

Going to a child care centre is stressful enough for your child. Adding no routine and difficult naps make the stress that much worse.

I have seen parents desperate to get their child into care with little routine and nap schedule. And it always works out.

It takes a little longer for your child to enjoy their time and start benefiting from the daycare environment.

If You Want The Most Out Of Daycare…

To get the most out of childcare for your family then I would recommend starting at around 1. Maybe you only go for 2 or 3 days a week and see how it goes. Then up to full time after 6-12 months.

The cost can be on the high side. We know Canada has some of the highest daycare fees around. So if you’re going to spend the money you might as well get the most out of it. Go early and find the best childcare center you can afford. Of course I’m biased as I own a daycare.

But even if I didn’t. All my years teaching early years children and talking to hundreds of families have taught me that the early years are beyond crucial. They are the time your child will be whomever they are in the future.

Not to stress parents out but in the firs 2000 days, roughly 5 years, your child will be the person they are for life. Truly little will change with them after that. Yes, friends will have a small affect and you will have a small affect. Other family and life experiences will have a small affect.

But most of your child’s personality and life success will be determined within those 2000 days. I strongly believe daycare can give them the social and emotional development they need. It can give them the academic start they need to thrive in school.

I had my own children in 2000 Days Pre-Kindergarten. My son, Owen, went through the program from 1-5 years of age. I can see on a daily basis that going to daycare has made him a more social and successful child. He is 8 now. I am glad he went and got the most out of it.

Now if you can’t afford childcare then you as the parent should try to schedule activities for your child. Have a daily routine and teach them. It can be a lot of work as the parent or guardian, but it will pay off in the end. I promise.

Do you think one/two years of age is the perfect time to get your child into daycare? Why or why not?

Daycare in Calgary can be some of the highest in the country. Our city ranks in the top 5 most expensive childcare fees. See for yourself.

There are 5 top reasons why your child care bill is so high. Let’s find out why.

#1 – Child Care Needs Bodies

Ratios, ratios, ratios. The Alberta government mandates that a certain number of daycare workers need to be watching a certain number of little ones.

That number can vary from 1 to 3 all the way to 1 to 15. These are the minimum ratios and some daycare providers lower them even more. Like 2000 Days Pre-Kindergarten.

Here are the Alberta childcare ratios and group sizes.

Payroll is the largest expense in most businesses. Daycares in Calgary are no different. The more bodies you have in the building being paid the more your costs go up.

Parents must shoulder those costs. This is the largest reason why childcare is so expensive.

You might think to increase the ratios so costs go down. And you would be right. But the down side is that now you have more children and less supervision.

Accidents would go up. Quality would go down. Most daycares don’t want to go this route.

#2 –Gotta Put A Roof Over Their Heads

Yup, rent. Most childcare centres have to pay rent. Very few own their own building and have it paid off. As we know Calgary can be expensive to lease a building to have a daycare in it.

Rent is usually paid by the square foot. With prices in the $20-$45 dollar range you can see how that adds up.

Rent for some daycares in Calgary can be well over $15,000 a month. For larger child care centres it could be over $50,000 a month.

Daycare centres also have to have a minimum size. For outdoor space to play and for indoor space. The average is about 3 square meters per child. This varies on program and age.

The Alberta government made this mandatory so certain child care providers couldn’t jam as many children into a space as possible.

This is a great policy and has to be in place for our children to have the space they need to thrive.

But again it adds to the costs of childcare. The larger the space the more the daycare provider is paying for rent.

Since we’re on this subject we can also touch on utilities. Heat, air conditioning, electricity aren’t cheap.  Most daycare centers are open 12+ hours a day so all those costs add up.

#3 – Quality Child Care

If you’ve been to a few daycare facilities you might have seen that quality can vary greatly. I noticed this too when I looked for childcare many years ago.

One center would have amazing security, teachers and building. The other is barely holding it together and the word sketchy could be used freely. 

Most parents want their child in a quality daycare program. I think you already know what I’m gonna write. This costs money. And it can be larger expense then most people think.

Daycare furniture is expensive. A child care table can be well over $300 dollars per table. A sleeping cot for one child could be over $110 dollars. That’s not even the really high end stuff.

Learning toys and equipment can also add up quickly. Buying a learning toy that is $25 dollars seems like a good deal and not too costly. But there are 15 children in that room that all want one. Now you are looking at $375 for one toy.

Children aren’t the most gentle with toys in the first place. In a childcare centre it’s even worse. Toys get damaged and cycled through a lot. Replacing these toys on a regular basis can drain the budget fast.

#4 – Yummy Yummy In My Tum Tum Tummy

Some daycares feed your child. Some feed them home made food that is prepared by a chef on site. Some do this and use high quality, nutritional ingredients. That adds up.

Having food made by the child care facility is great for most parents. Not worrying about a healthy lunch and snack each and everyday. Wow. That is a stress saver. The downside is that it costs money to feed so many children.

A daycare can cater or have a chef on site. I prefer a chef on site as he gets to know the families and their eating preferences. The quality can be better with a chef and from my own experience the meals are tastier. But catering is fine too.

Both get expensive quickly. Thousands for equipment in the kitchen. Replacing items as they wear out can add up quickly.

Thousands for food on a monthly basis. Your little monkeys eat like lions. Especially if the chef is good and makes nutritional and delicious meals.

Studies have shown that providing healthy meals is essential to your child’s health. It’s great for parents to not have to worry about this. They have enough on their plate. Get it plate. HA.

5# – Can’t Wrap Them In Bubble Wrap

Calgary Daycare centers have to be safe. That is something any parent can agree on. Safety means a lot of things.

There are standard safety measures that all businesses in Calgary need to abide by. Fire alarms, smoke detectors, building codes, etc.

Child care centers need to far beyond where most businesses stop. A retail store or plumbing shop need the bare minimum of safety.

Daycares in Calgary need to do a lot more. Here are a few things childcare facilities do to keep your child safe:

• Safety gates, safety doors
• Access control for the main door with key cards
• Weekly fire and intruder drills
• Dozens and dozens of cameras
• Special child acre equipment like tables, chairs, sleeping cots, etc.
• Quick access to emergency systems
• Child tracking systems
• Fenced and secure outdoor play area

These are some of the extra things daycares do to keep your child as safe as possible. There are also administrative costs to create procedures and policies for safety. These are constantly updated and changed to make sure that safety’s improved.

This should be top of mind for any parent that is looking for daycare. There are a lot of things to look for when touring a child care center.

Here are Alberta’s daycare safety guidelines. You can see for yourself what goes into keeping your child safe.

How Can We Make Daycare More Affordable?

So those are the top 5 reasons why child care can be expensive. It’s also the reasons why it can vary so much from city to city and province to province.

Toronto has very expensive daycare because wages are higher and rent is much higher. Quebec has low child care costs because the province subsidies daycare heavily. Speaking of subsidy…

Alberta Childcare Subsidy

The government of Alberta has a child care subsidy in place. This can lower your daycare costs drastically but there are stipulations.

Who qualifies and for how much they get can be very complicated. Luckily the government made a great tool to find out if you qualify and for how much. Here it is. 

The subsidy can help families that need it but with a cap of $628 and costs being as high as $1600 a month this can fall short.

Also, the income amount for families can be pretty high to qualify for subsidy. Even a two income family making a decent amount will not qualify. Take a look at the subsidy amounts here. 

But again use the calculator mentioned above to see if you do. Any amount helps to keep the costs of daycare down.

Everyone’s situation, income and family are different so give it a try. It only takes a few minutes and gives you a number right away. You have nothing to lose. I get asked all the time if there’s a better way to afford quality daycare. Other countries have done it so why can’t Calgary and Canada as a whole?

Daycare Done Right?

 

There is only one real way to make daycare more affordable for all Canadian parents. And that’s to have a federal universal childcare program.

Many other countries in the world have this already. Denmark is one of the highest rated. Sweden comes close. Norway,  South Korea, Slovenia, France and many more.

We should stop treating child care as an after thought and put it front and centre of our entire society. We were all children at some point… right?

We would all benefit from a high quality and universal day care program. Heck, our society would benefit.

We know that the first 2000 days of a child’s life is the most important. Those 2000 days make our children who they will be for the rest of their days.

Productive, happy member of society. A socially and emotionally developed child who can take on the stresses of the world.

Canada as a country should push forward to implement a universal child care program. Daycares that are private should be converted to public daycares. We should be following Denmark, Sweden, Norway and many others.

I know what some of you are thinking. Taxes! And you’re right. Our tax bill will probably have to go up to pay for this. But if you look at a place like Denmark where the highest taxes are 52.05% (cited here).

People are happy to pay it. With very inexpensive childcare and free university. The citizens of Denmark know their children, and future, is well taken care of.

Canada could do the same and we would feel the same. Do you think child care in Calgary is too darn high?

A few quotes from interviews at our daycare:

“She just quit. Happened in one day and now I have to take work off! It’s been a struggle!!”

“She promised to educate my kids. It’s one of the main reasons we hired her. All we got was TV watching and daily walks.”

“I fear my kid aren’t getting much socially. They hang out all day but a lot of it is my kids playing by themselves. A play date here or there but I can see its not enough. Also I’m worried their English is suffering.”

After interviewing over 700 families and talking to many about nannies. We noticed a theme.

The quotes above are para-phrased but true. Many crying and upset. Let’s take a look at the top 5 reasons a daycare wins over a nanny.

#1 – Daycare is safer, plain and simple

Your worst nightmare came true. Your child is choking at your daycare! They are turning blue and can’t breathe! They have minutes before the worst. 2 people freeze up and panic.

No idea what to do. A third walks in and preforms the Heimlich maneuver for toddlers. The child is fine and goes off to play.

This is a real scenario that happened at a Calgary daycare. There were 2 childcare workers with full child CPR.

They both froze and panicked. It took the third daycare to calm down and attend the child. Everything was fine.

This shows how much more safe and secure a daycare is. There is usually one nanny in a home. And they usually watch many children.

What would have happened in this scenario if the nanny froze? Or if she didn’t have child CPR training?

By having more people around there are more eyes to watch the children. More daycare workers to take action and more child care workers to help in case of emergency.

Add safety procedures, safety drills and a very safe building. And you can see how a daycare is safer then a nanny in your home.

Here are some tips of how to make your home safer for your child.

#2 – Socializing is key to a healthy child

Being social is as important as academics… or even more important than academics. How many of you got jobs by knowing a person? Or a hook up of some sort by a friend? Or a found your partner at a party? I could go on and on.

Don’t believe me? Check this out. Research shows that children that are socially and emotionally well adjusted are happier, more motivated and more positive.

A daycare can give your child all those things and more. I have seen it myself.

Children learning about sharing, the good and the bad. A daycare worker teaching empathy after two children fight.

Five children working together to color a large dinosaur painting. I could go on and on.

With a nanny you get one person. They can take your child out to play groups. Or other smaller activities. But its limited. And seeing the same children daily is important to create bonds.

Plus the peer in the group is the nanny. Usually they play with her and talk to her. Her values will rub off on your kids. Which could be good or bad.

At a daycare you have many daycare workers. Everyone teaching the little ones about being social and self-regulating their emotions.

Teaching a child empathy is important. It’s not an inherent ability. It takes time to cultivate. Great daycares know this and teach it.

#3 – Daycare workers are professionals

Early childhood are well educated. They usually have a 2 year diploma and extra training on top of that. Many have a 4 year diploma. Their schooling makes sure your child is safe and healthy.

Many daycares also have yearly on-going training. Or training when the child care staff start. For Alberta here is what a diploma program looks like.

It’s in-depth and many faceted. Childcare workers have a solid education in teaching your children.

Many nannies have zero or limited early child care education. Some are early childhood educators but very few are. My family is from the Philippines.

We go back every few years. So I have some insight. Not that all nannies are Filipino but many are. Some have CPR and that’s about it.

Most don’t have any education that is relevant to little children. Many don’t even speak English very well and that rubs off on your child.

Speech development is one of the main brain activities at this age.

These aren’t assumptions. We speak to many families that had nannies and switch to daycare because of these issues.

Most people would choose a lawyer for law challenges in their lives. Doctors for health issues. I believe most people would choose an early learning educator for their child.

#4 – You will save money at a daycare… probably

 

Yeah I know, that #4 title is terrible. Who writes a probably like that? It’s needed because a lot matters on how many of your children are going to daycare. Let’s break this down a bit.

These numbers are close to the average costs of daycare in Calgary.

This article discusses about daycare costs. It seems on the low side for Calgary. Especially at higher quality centers.

Let’s dig in and see why it the cost matters on how many children you have.

Full-time daycare is around $1250 a month. A nanny starts at $2000 at a minimum and goes up to $4000 a month. I’ve seen closer to $5000 for a high-end nanny.

One child in daycare is much less expensive than a nanny. Two children become comparable if you use the lowest possible nanny amount. Once you get to three children then the nanny option is cheaper.

But wait. Is it apples to apples comparison? No, it’s not. As stated before there are many benefits to a daycare.

True curriculum and program. Professional educators. Safety. You get a lot for that amount.

Nannies also have some pros. They can clean your house, do laundry and drive your children around. They can also live in your home, so the convenience is there. Who wouldn’t want all that?

If you’re looking to save money then the daycare makes more sense. It’s not as expensive expensive.

The kicker is that the more children you put into daycare the more expensive it is. And this starts to get as expensive as a nanny.

5# – My life got flip turned upside down

I had a family come in and the mother, Karen, started to cry. Her life was turned upside down in a matter of days.

She wanted her child in a Calgary daycare right away. Karen would do anything to get her child in a daycare.

What happened? Her nanny quit. Literally overnight. Something happened to her family back home and she had to leave.

Karen needed to get back to work asap and had few options. Her nanny quitting really put a wrench in her plans.

I’ve heard this several times. The reasons different, but the outcome is the same. Need daycare ASAP!! Why?

My nanny quit on me out of the blue. Another issue with having one person watch your children. If they are sick or leave, you are usually out of luck.

In a daycare you have a lot of staff. There is always someone to teach your child. A sick daycare staff doesn’t affect your child as there are other staff to take over for the day.

Your little one’s routine is intact and she is happy to come to her childcare center.

Liz had a nanny for about a year. Everything was fine and then slowly things got worse and worse.

Her nanny would be late, had the kids in front of the TV a lot. She wouldn’t follow instructions anymore.

Liz had to let her nanny go because of performance. It took her months to find a great nanny and it would take months again to find another one. During that time her family would be very disrupted.

With a daycare you rarely get that. There are enough teachers and daycares around that you can move to another if you aren’t happy.

And the winner is… daycare

Now don’t get me wrong. Nannies can be a great resource in certain scenarios. If you have 3 children or more a nanny can save you money.

Or if you need help cleaning and cooking at home. Nannies can add value that daycares can’t.

But daycares add much more value in the end. Safety is important to all parents and daycares win hands down over nannies. They are a safer place to have your child.

Social and emotional development grows leaps and bounds at a daycare. More children, trained staff and a focus on emotional and social skills give daycares the hand up on this.

Speaking of training. Daycares have professionals that know what they’re doing. A few online courses and CPR are a far cry from a 4-year diploma.

The cost savings at a daycare also trump what a nanny costs. As long as you have 2 or less children in daycare then the cost savings would add up monthly.

The stability of a daycare is priceless. Knowing your child goes to the same place for years and has a routine that rarely gets interrupted is peace of mind.

There is less stress for you about your job and where your child will be taught then with a nanny.

There are many more reasons that a daycare wins out over a nanny. Academics, better immune system, closer relationships with other families and so many more.

I had to choose a few or else this blog would turn into a book. I picked the top 5 that impact parents the most.

From my experience and talking to many parents I feel a daycare is the best choice for most families. It will give your child the best early years you can give them.

What are your thoughts on daycare centres being better for your child? Or do you think nannies are a better choice?