Daycare should give more than just games

What you need to know:

  • When searching for a daycare centre for your child, consider one that engages children in learning and child development programmes.

Stephanie Peatling, in her article, Child-care centres to focus on preparing children for school, in Essentialkids.com writes, “We now know the first three years of life are critical to how children develop language and control emotion. This is their foundation to become well-adjusted adults. The further we look, the more the research points us towards the same conclusion - getting a child ready for school and life starts at birth.”
Most people will understand daycare centres for tending to children below three years as their parents work.

Preparing them for school
While at the centre, children may not be engaged in classwork, but lately, it is important that a daycare prepares a child for preschool.
If you are looking for a daycare centre for your child, you may need to consider one where children are stimulated and encouraged to be curious so that by the time they start preschool, they are happy, confident learners.

Speech sessions
Three-year-old Britney Tukundakwe stays at a daycare centre from mid-day when she leaves nursery school till 6pm when she is picked up her mother Phionah.

Namukasa, an accountant, says Tukundakwe was introduced to a daycare centre at four months after the caretaker who was also Namukasa’s housemaid quit.
But when Tukundakwe started speaking, her caretakers started taking her through speech sessions to help her learn to pronounce most words.

“Because of my busy schedule, the only day I have to fully be with my child is Sunday. But the daycare centre taught her how to speak, relate with others, and share. by the time she joined nursery school in February, her teachers did not have any problems with her,” she reveals.

Grooming lessons
Annet Nalukwago, the owner of Happyland Daycare Centre in Seeta, Mukono, says children are introduced to different games and cartoons that they watch on TV at an allocated time. They also engage in singing and dancing with them, which keeps them active.

Nalukwago also points out that they groom children to prepare them for the days in later life as the Bible says “Train a child in the way they should go and they will never depart from it”.

“We train children in table manners, how to speak, and use a potty, among other skills.”
Cognitive activities
For Jamilah Adam Nansoso, the owner of Granny’s Daycare in Kabalaga, it is important that children are engaged in activities that develop their mental ability.

She says instead of leaving a child at home with an uneducated maid, a parent would rather leave them with people who understand a child’s growth and development.

“Maids are always trying to get children to sleep so that they can get them out of the way thus stopping them from doing any activity,” Nansoso observes.
She adds: “We have toys, puzzles and building blocks that train these children to think and solve issues.

We also have nursery rhymes and education videos. Our children leave when they have high self-esteem and confidence, which makes nursery school a walk over,” says Nansoso.
“Outdoor facilities include swings, toy cars and bicycles to train children sharing and teamwork.”

Appropriate age
Nalukwago says she receives children from three months to five years old. She, however, thinks that a child would be fit for daycare at six months because then, they can eat food and be taken care of.
“Very young babies are too delicate, and still need to fully breastfeed but they are brought to us because many mothers find it hard to attend to them alongside their high demanding jobs,” Nalukwago asserts.

Charges
Apart from Happyland Daycare Centre in Seeta, Mukono where charges range from Shs5,000 a day and Shs30,000 a week and are sometimes negotiable, at Granny’s Daycare in Kabalaga, fees are standard. They charge Shs15,000 a day and Shs300,000 a month. On special occasions when parents may require night care, Happyland charges Shs20,000 a night.

Look out for...
• Security of the place
• The environment, location and surroundings.
• The diet, the kind of food served to the children
• Cleanness of the place
• Fees; look for what you can afford
• Location to enable easy drop off and pickup
• The stuff, how they relate with the children
• Facilities, beds among others
• Safety of the child