Searching for the best daycare provider is one of the most stressful things a parent can do. And rightfully so! You are trusting a bunch of people that you do not know to make the smart decisions for your child and get them all the things that they need.
It is tough to give up that control, which is why it is so important to find a childcare center where your child is going to have lots of fun, learn and grow, and be in a safe environment so you do not have to worry throughout your day.
There are a lot of things to consider, but where do you start? How do you know where to go when there are so many good daycares in Kenosha to choose from?
Tips To Choose The Best Daycare Provider For You
Does someone always answer the phone?
When you start looking for a child care center, you are probably going to start making a few calls to schedule tours and talk to the staff. When you call, take a note on who answers the phone, how quickly they answer the phone, and how quickly they get back to you. There are going to be times, especially if you are leaving a child for the first time, that you are going to want to check in and see how things are going. You will get a good feel for the responsiveness you will receive if you were to choose that center!
Is the staff friendly and do they answer your ridiculous questions?
The best daycare staff is there to make sure that your little ones are having fun and having the best experience possible, but they are also there as a resource for you! There are going to be times you have questions that you think are silly or kind of… well weird. If the providers are patient with you and your questions, you can rest assured that your child will be in the hands of caring and patient people that will give your child the best daycare experience.
Check out online reviews.
I’m sure you’ve already done this, but there are plenty of places online to find the best daycare in your area. Real people leaving real reviews like these should be helpful in your decision-making process!
Trust your gut.
You always know what is best for your child. Parents have a special connection with their kids and can sense when a place is going to be right for them. I have seen it first hand – it is like a sixth sense! The last step is to consider what your gut is telling you about the care that your child is going to receive. This is a very important decision and you need to make sure you are just as comfortable as your child will be. So take your time, evaluate the options, and make the choice that is right for you!
There are many things that go into picking a place for your child. With all the Kenosha and Racine area daycares, it can be tough to evaluate it all. Obviously, things like costs, location, and age limits are very important things to consider when making a choice, but it can be the way you are treated or the gut feeling you have that will make the ultimate decision. Trust those feeling and make sure you give your child the place to nurture them and help them grow!
If you liked this blog, here are some additional insights from CornerStone Academy:
One of the things that all parents wish for their child is happiness. Research shows that it is easier for happy people to be successful compared to unhappy people. The happier an individual is, the higher the possibility that he or she will pursue his or her passion, try out new things, make more friends and achieve success. Here are some
Tips To Raise A Happy Child
BE HAPPY YOURSELF
This may sound strange, and you may say that you are concerned about your child’s happiness and not your own, but this is important. Your child learns most things from you because you are their first role model. Therefore, if you are happy, you will teach your child to be happy too. It is time to get selfish and find your happiness. Go out with friends, dance, listen to music, go on an adventure and do things that make you happy and let your child see you laughing because you are happy.
SHOW YOUR CHILD HOW TO FOSTER CONNECTIONS
We find ourselves developing relationships throughout our lives, and these relationships are happy. The unfortunate thing is that parents do not teach their children how they should relate to other people.
The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health took time to research on this topic, and they studied approximately 90,000 teenagers. Results of the study showed that the individuals who feel loved and feel a connection to others have significantly low chances of becoming emotionally stressed. Life can be hard, and when that happens, your child can get through and continue to be happy if he or she has strong relationships to rely on.
ALLOW BOTH SUCCESS & FAILURE
This may sound absurd because every child wants his child to be successful. However, the reality is that there are ups and downs in life and so your child will succeed in some things and fail at others. Allow your child to try new things, and their self-esteem will improve when they finally master it. Don’t come in to help them when they fail as much as you will want to. Let them figure it out, and they will be happy when they succeed.
For example, if your child is learning to walk or to feed themselves, they will fail a couple of times. Give them room to master it and you will see how happy they will be and that’s the approach they’ll take in life even when they grow up.
ENCOURAGE CREATIVE PLAY
One thing that is common with all children is that they love to play. Play helps their brain to develop. Through play, children learn creativity, communication and how to solve problems. Kids express their emotions during play, and this is vital in relieving stress. Also, playtime is a fun time, and fun is essential for one’s happiness.
You no longer have to stress about your child’s happiness. Apply these tips, and you’ll be on your way to raising a child with higher chances of being happy both in the present and in the future.
We were taught from an early age that ‘sharing is caring.’ We know that we are supposed to share what we have with other people, and every person would like to share easily.
However, the reality is that sharing is hard, even for adults. Therefore, you can imagine how harder it must be for children who do not understand why they have to give their toys to other children to play with or why they need to share their delicious snacks and cookies. We see this all the time at our Kenosha daycare.
However, hope is not lost. These are some tips that can help
How to Teach a Toddler to Share
Start as Soon as Possible
It is never too soon to teach your child adaptive skills or about sharing. Start as soon as you can. Start now because there is nothing to wait for. Provided your child is old enough to grasp something, use it as a learning moment. Let him or her hold the object then ask him to pass it to you then give it back to him and ask him for it again, and the cycle continues. Your child will understand that it’s important to take turns to have something.
Act as an Example
What you do will stick in a child’s mind better than what you tell them. Therefore, if you want to find out how to teach a toddle to share, you need to lead by example share yourself.
An example of how you can go about this is by telling your child to share your couch with you, and then you can have fun cuddling.
You can buy an ice-cream and then give them some.
Better still, you can share with other people who are not your family members. Your child will also spire to do what you do. While doing these things, it is vital to slip in the word ‘sharing’ so he can know what you are doing.
Don’t Punish a Toddler for not Sharing
It may be frustrating when you see that your child doesn’t want to share with others. However, this doesn’t mean that he’ll grow up to be a selfish human being. It just means that he’s a child at that moment.
It can sometimes take multiple years to truly understand what sharing is so let them act their age. This does not mean that you should encourage them. The best thing is to tell them you are disappointed with their decision of not sharing and that it makes you sad to know that they don’t want to share.
Don’t make a fuss out of it. Part of being a parent is learning to ignore some struggles. No child wants to make his parents feel sad and disappointed. Therefore, your child will find a way of correcting their behavior. The next time you might be surprised to see them sharing without you asking him to.
Praise Your Child After Sharing
When your child shares something with someone else, make it a learning moment. Praise him or her for it and not just general praises like telling him that he is a good boy but the kind of praise that shows him what he did great.
For example, you can ask them if they noticed the big smile their friend had when they gave them a particular toy. You can then tell your child that sharing his toy with his friend, made his friend happy.
Naps are an important part of a child’s development. A newborn baby will nap and sleep throughout most of the day and evening. Then, after a baby is 4 months old, he or she will need two separate naps throughout the day. Your baby will need one nap in the morning and one nap in the afternoon.
Then when a baby grows to a toddler, he or she will need just one nap during the daytime. This nap is typically during the early afternoon and sometime after lunch. This nap can range anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours.
Here are some tips for toddler naps to ensure your child sleeps peacefully:
4 Tips for Toddler Naps
ROUTINE
Both newborns and toddlers respond very well to routines. Your best bet for a successful nap for your toddler every day is to put your son or daughter down for their nap at the same time each day.
You will find a time that works best for your schedule and for your child but we often find that sometime soon after lunch is a good time for a nap for a toddler.
ENVIRONMENT
You want the room and the bed or crib your toddler naps in to be the same room he or she sleeps in at night. This will help set the expectation that this is the time for quiet and sleep.
If necessary, run a white noise machine or a floor fan to drowned out noise from other rooms in the house and dim or turn off the lights in the room as well. If your toddler still needs a pacifier, he or she will probably want one for their naptime as well (Read: How to Take Away Your Toddler’s Pacifier).
THE FERBER METHOD
You have probably heard of the Ferber Method for helping children fall asleep. This method recommends that for both naptime and bedtime, a parent put their child in their crib or their bed when they are still awake. Don’t wait until your child has fallen asleep somewhere else and then move them to the crib.
This method does involve some patience on the part of parents as children might first cry when left in their bed or crib alone but over time the child will learn to soothe themselves to sleep and this will be better for everyone in the long run.
LENGTH
It is not recommended for a toddler to nap much longer than 2 hours in the afternoon. If a toddler naps well over 2 hours it could disrupt their schedule for the remainder of the day and it might also prevent them from falling asleep on time during the evening bedtime routine.
Cornerstone Academy daycare in Kenosha, WI offers a soothing environment for naptime for toddlers. We feel naps are an important part of a toddler’s routine and do our best to create a relaxing space for them at our location.
An important question from our series on Questions to Ask During a Daycare Tour regarded the amount of staff at a child care center compared to the number of children or students in attendance. For us, the perfect question is “What is your ratio of staff to child?”
This is an important question because you want to be 100% certain your child is receiving the proper care and attention during their time at a daycare Kenosha location or preschool. If the staff members in the facility are overworked, it will be impossible for them to provide the necessary focus on your child in a day.
But, what is a good ratio? Ideally, there would be one caregiver for one child but that is rarely the case for most preschools and daycares. Therefore, we have provided the perfect child-to-caregiver ratio for each age group in order for you to have an understanding of what a good answer would be when you ask about the ratio of staff to children.
BEST RATIO FOR DAYCARE STAFF TO CHILDREN:
NEWBORN TO 18 MONTHS: 1:4
Wisconsin state requirements are one child care staff member per four newborn or infant children under 15 months old in a daycare. The WI DHFS feels that one staff member should be able to coordinate feeding schedules, naps, diaper changes and other basic newborn needs throughout a day without much help from additional staff members.
TODDLERS (2 YEARS OLD): 1:6
TODDLERS (2.5 YEARS OLD): 1:8
3 YEARS OLD: 1:10
4 YEARS OLD: 1:13
The WI DHFS recommends the same child-to-caregiver ratio for toddlers as it does for newborns and infants. There should be one staff member assigned to every group of six to eight toddlers. A toddler is a child between 18 months and 30 months old. The caregiver will need to be able to help children to go to the bathroom, prepare snacks and meals, coordinate naps and schedule one or two activities throughout the day to stimulate the children.
PRESCHOOL: 1:17
Children ages 4+ in preschool only need one child caregiver per every 17 children/students. This is because there is the expectation that a 4-year-old child will be better behaved than a toddler or an infant. The expectation is the child will listen to directions, be respectful to the teacher and other students and be able to use the bathroom by themselves.
Therefore, it is the recommendation of Cornerstone Academy in Kenosha, WI that the daycare you choose for your child offer the child-to-caregiver ratios we have provided above that have been approved by the WI DHFS.
If the daycare you tour doesn’t staff enough caregivers to meet these recommendations, you should continue to interview and research other facilities near your home or job that would be better prepared to care for your child and provide them the necessary attention to foster growth and ensure safety and comfort.
To learn about the child-to-caregiver ration at Cornerstone Academy and our current enrollment opportunities, contact us online or call (262) 552-5368.
For most parents, the location of a daycare is one of the primary factors in determining where to send your son or daughter for child care in Kenosha, WI.
Parents will often choose a daycare either near their home or near their workplace in order to drop off and pick up their child on the same route as their work commute.
But, should you choose a daycare near work or home? This is a very common concern for parents when researching the best preschool or child care center for their child.
Here are some things to consider when deciding the location of your child’s daycare:
Who Will Drop Off & Pick Up Your Child Most of the Time?
If the plan is for one parent to do the majority of the dropping off and picking up at the daycare then that parent should choose a location most convenient for them, whether that is near their work or near their home. It could be that none of the daycare near that parent’s business are a match in which case that parent will need to compromise and choose a daycare closer to home.
How Far is Your Work from Your Home?
If it is a very long commute to and from work every morning, you might want to choose a daycare near your home instead of near your work. The reason is, if you call in sick to work or unable to go to your office for any reason, it will require your spouse to drive all the way to the daycare near your job instead of just driving to a daycare near your home. He or she can then easily pick up your child at the end of the day as well. Another reason a daycare near home is convenient is if you forget to pack something for your newborn or toddler and need to return home quick to retrieve it. This will be much easier if the daycare is by your house and not your job.
Does Your Work Require Constant Travel?
The amount of travel your job requires is important in determining if you should choose a daycare near your office or place of business. If the company you work for demands constant out-of-state and overnight travel, you will want to consider a child care center closer to your home instead of one closer to your work. The reason is similar to the issue above in that if you are out of town traveling, it will require your spouse to drive and drop off your child near your office instead of near his or hers.
Do You Want Your Child Near You During the Day?
Your comfort level and the comfort level of your child concerning how far away you are from them throughout the course of a work day depends on the needs of your child. If you have a long commute but don’t want your child to be 20-30 minutes away or even an hour or more, you will want to favor a daycare near your job.
Is There Heavy Traffic During Your Commute?
If there is heavier traffic on your commute to work, it might be best to choose a daycare near your home in order to drop off your child right away and ensure he or she doesn’t miss any part of their routine during the morning at daycare. On the other hand, if there is more traffic on your commute home from work you might want to consider a daycare closer to your job to avoid arriving late for pickup at the child care center or preschool. There are some daycares that charge a fee for pickups that occur after the designated time. This is something to consider before you choose a daycare for your son or daughter.
Location is very important and you need to decide the location of the daycare you choose that is best for you, your child and your spouse and is compatible with your family’s schedules and work day.
Cornerstone Academy is centrally located in Kenosha, WI at 1230 22nd Ave and is near a myriad of suburbs and neighborhoods as well as office buildings and industrial complexes to suit the needs of a variety of parents and lifestyles.
One of the most common foods to cause allergies are peanuts. This is a difficult allergy for a child or adult to live with as peanuts are very common in many recipes and baking ingredients.
Peanuts are a legume. Peanuts are not considered a nut, however, children with peanut allergy should be careful about consuming or handling tree nuts. This includes almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, cashews and pecans, among others. The type of protein in peanuts is similar to the type of protein in tree nuts.
Peanut allergy is permanent. Unlike food allergies from milk, wheat and eggs that children often outgrow, peanut allergy is something a child must live with his or her entire life.
Below is more information on peanut allergy, including symptoms of an allergic reaction, precautions on how to avoid peanuts and some of the most likely to contain peanuts and additional tips for parenting a child with peanut allergy:
Peanut Allergy Reaction
What occurs during a peanut allergy reaction? If a child is allergic to peanuts or other nuts, the immune system will overreact to the proteins in the peanut. Instead of treating the proteins as nourishing, the immune system treats them as an infection or virus and will soon release chemicals and histamine to fight off the infection, or in this case, proteins from the peanuts.
It is the chemicals and histamine that cause the more visible symptoms of an allergic reaction to peanuts and tree nuts. The chemicals can result in a child suffering from shortness of breath, coughing, stomach pains, vomiting, watery or itchy eyes, hives or an immediate drop in blood pressure.
Sometimes peanut allergy can lead to a dangerous reaction that is called anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis begins with some of the less severe types of reactions or symptoms listed above but then progresses to trouble breathing and perhaps even a loss of consciousness. If bad enough, anaphylaxis can be fatal.
The most common cause of an allergic reaction to peanuts is from ingestion. Someone who suffers from peanut allergy will often ingest a peanut or traces of peanut proteins in baked goods or other recipes containing many ingredients. The other cause of an allergic reaction to peanuts is from handling peanuts or allowing the peanut protein to reach the surface of the skin. It is not common for someone to experience an allergic reaction from breathing in peanut proteins however it can occur if there is a lot of the peanut protein in the air in an enclosed area.
How to Manage an Allergic Reaction
Life-threatening cases of peanut allergy will require that you and your child carry epinephrine at all times. Epinephrine comes in various portable sizes. Your doctor should be able to show you how to properly use epinephrine in the event of a life-threatening allergic reaction to peanuts or nuts.
In the event you do need to use epinephrine on your child, be sure to bring him or her to their doctor or an emergency care center immediately following the reaction as sometimes a secondary reaction will occur hours later if not properly treated.
For more mild reactions, consider carrying an over-the-counter antihistamine product in order to curb the effect of the histamines released during the allergic reaction. You can use an antihistamine along with epinephrine but not in place of it if the reaction is severe enough.
Peanut Allergy Tips & Precautions
If you’re child is diagnosed with peanut allergy, your doctor will be able to provide helpful tips and some guidelines on parenting a child with peanut allergy.
In general, you will need to ensure your child does not consume or ingest peanut proteins. The obvious solution is to no longer permit your child to eat peanuts or any type of nut, however, it goes further than that as several other foods contain peanuts and the proteins that can lead to an allergic reaction.
The first thing to do before serving your child with the allergy any food is to read the ingredients on the labels of the food. Food manufacturers in the USA are required by law to advertise whether or not their product contains any nuts. If the food does contain nuts, do not allow your child to eat it.
Be aware of this type of verbiage on the labels of food:
May contain nuts
Produced on the same equipment as peanuts or nuts
You want to be aware of these phrases in order to prevent cross-contamination from occurring. Cross-contamination is when peanuts or nuts from a nearby food or recipe end up coming into contact with an entirely different food or recipe in the same cooking or preparation space.
Foods to Avoid for Peanut Allergy
Here are some of the most common types of food that contain peanuts or nuts:
Cookies & Desserts
You should avoid store-bought cookies or cookies and treats from bakeries in order to ensure that your child does not consume any nuts. Nuts are a very common ingredient in baked goods and in order to be 100% confident your child’s desserts do not contain any peanuts; you should consider baking them yourself.
Candy
Only allow your child to eat candy made by well-known and large manufacturers. Smaller candy makers and bakeries might not be as diligent in listing all of the ingredients included in their candy or where the candy was made.
Ice Cream
Be careful purchasing ice cream from an ice cream parlor for any who has a peanut allergy. This is because the scoops and devices for serving the ice cream are used across several different containers and flavors of ice cream, some of which might contain peanuts or nuts. Instead, similar to candy, purchase ice cream from your local grocery store from larger companies that will list all of the ingredients and information about their product on the label.
Sauces
The most inconspicuous source of peanuts in food is in sauces. Chefs will use peanuts in their sauces in order to thicken the texture of the sauce. This results in peanuts being an ingredient in foods you would never imagine so you must be careful before serving your child anything with a sauce that you didn’t cook yourself.
The general rule of thumb is to be cautious before eating or preparing any meal for your child. Continue to read the labels of all food each time you purchase it as the manufacturer could change the ingredients or the manufacturing process where the potential for cross-contamination could occur.
Additional Precautions & Parenting Tips:
Cross-contamination can occur from almost any surface in a kitchen or food preparation area. Be careful of knives or cutting boards where you or another member of your family might have prepared a peanut butter sandwich or another meal that did contain peanuts. If possible, try to limit peanuts and other nuts in your home as much as you can.
Prepare your child’s lunches yourself. Do not order hot lunch or meals provided from your child’s school.
Inform other parents and family members of your child’s peanut allergy if your child will be eating a snack or a meal in their home.
Dine at restaurants that are willing to provide the complete list of ingredients for the meals on their menu.
Be sure your child’s school, daycare or childcare facility is aware of the peanut allergy and takes the proper precautions to ensure no allergic reaction occurs during their care.*
Keep epinephrine and other necessary medications on you at all time. Store them in your purse or pocket as well as in your car and in various areas throughout your home so access is instant.
Peanut allergy is becoming more common and well-known in the USA to where businesses and restaurants are aware of the issue and as such are altering their manufacturing process and ingredients in order to accommodate those that suffer from the allergy.
To parent and care for a child with peanut allergy, it will require diligence and attentiveness concerning the food your child eats and where he or she eats throughout their childhood but with the proper information and help from friends and family, peanut allergy is manageable and will not hinder the growth or development of your child in any way.
*Cornerstone Academy and our daycare Kenosha facility and staff is able to handle and manage peanut allergy for children in our care. Please inform our staff if your child does have peanut allergy in order for us to put the proper preparations in place.
