Finding Child Care Ideas for your Kids or Grandkids
See Below: TIPS, IDEAS & SUGGESTION FOR FREE & DISCOUNTED CHILD CARE IDEAS
The Need for Child Care Ideas
We are all looking for child care ideas. But, where do you start when you are looking for childcare for your kids or grandkids? When our grandkids moved in, my husband & I worked full-time. We had our own schedules and didn’t need to worry about your day-to-day time commitments.
With the grandkids living with us, we needed to make schedule and priority changes. I gained custody of my grandkids right at the end of the school year, which meant I would need to find full time child care as soon as possible for the summer.
My husband and I were fortunate to have very flexible jobs, so we worked hard to figure out our daily schedules for the kids. One of my daughters, who was living with us at the time, helped out immensely. We were and still are extremely grateful to her for her ongoing love and support!
Their paternal grandmother, who had and has always been in our grandkids lives, also provided support for taking care of the kids.
After School Arrangements
When school started, I was luck to find a wonderful woman, through the elementary school, who would pick up my granddaughter after school until I finished work. Between she and their paternal grandmother, shared picking up every week for two school years and it worked out very well.
My grandson’s school was very close to our house, so he walked to and from school, and enjoyed living so close. His paternal grandmother would also check in on him to make sure he was ok until I arrived home from work.
I was and am so grateful for both women to have provided such great support and child care during the beginning years of my grandkids living with me. Asking for support is really important! Don’t forget to ask when you need help!
For more information regarding Activities for Kids see DETERMINING THE BEST EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS.
For more information regarding school information and challenges for you and your child see SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES FACED BY STUDENTS IN SCHOOL
Finding FREE and Discounted Child Care Options
High School Daycare Programs
Of course, there were many times when I needed additional child care. Luckily, I had experience with some child care programs from when my own children were young. I knew our local High School offered a child care course for juniors and seniors as a credited course.
In addition to the child care classwork, students taking the child care courses are required to care for a “computerized baby” for a weekend. The “baby” had a tracker inside which teachers could monitor to ensure the students were taking care of the “baby’s” needs throughout the scheduled timeframe.
The “computerized baby” cried for various reasons, food, wet or dirty diaper, tired, bored, etc. While the student cared for the “baby’s” needs, the tracker recorded the students responses as appropriate or not.
Most of the students in the high school loved the child care course, but after caring for the “computerized baby” had many mixed feeling. The weekend experiment was difficult for most students and a bit of a challenge for parents as well!
Students in the child care course are also caretakers at the FREE daycare at the high school. Local parents sign up in advance for the daycare program. It is a VERY popular program in our area and parents, teachers, students and the children enjoy the benefits the program offers.
Contact your local High Schools to inquire about Child Care or Daycare programs for local families.
Girl & Boy Scout After School Programs
Many Girl and Boy Scouting programs offer after school care for children in a specific age group. Most of the scouting after school programs are FREE or extremely discounted.
The Girl or Boy scout caring for the children in the after school program earn badges for their time dedicated to the childcare program.
Reach out to your local Girl and Boy Scout programs to inquire about after school or child care programs. It may be very beneficial to you and to a local Scout.
American Red Cross Babysitting Certification
The American Red Cross offers certification for Babysitting Classes and Child Care courses. The Babysitting Basics course is offered to children 11 years old and older. This course is designed for new babysitters and gives a basic foundation for child care.
Babysitting Training is offered to 11- 15 year olds. This class builds from the skills learned in the Babysitting Basic course. The focus for this course is on keeping children safe and helping children’s behavior.
The American Red Cross also offers an Advanced Child Care course focused on child behaviors, discipline, holding and feeding infants.
All courses offered through the American Red Cross include:
- How to care for infants and children
- Age appropriate activities
- How to handle emergency situations
- Basic First Aid
- CPR
- Other Child Care situations
The American Red Cross certification is a wonderful tool when hiring a babysitter, and great for child care ideas, it is not a state license required for childcare providers and does not meet all state requirements.
Child Safety Products For Childproofing:
This post was about finding FREE or discounted child care ideas for your children or grandchildren.
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TIPS, IDEAS & SUGGESTION FOR FREE OR DISCOUNTED CHILD CARE IDEAS:
- Many local high schools have Child Development courses and daycare services supervised by the teachers, supervised by the high school students. Check with the high schools in your area to see if they can provide these services for free or a discounted rates. High School Child Development programs are one of the best child care ideas for children.
- Some Girl Scouts, perhaps even Boy Scouts and other Scouting programs, programs offer after-school child care for school-age children. Check with your local Scout programs to inquire about opportunities for after-school care and other child care ideas through the scouting programs.
- American Red Cross offers babysitting certifications for children between the ages of 11-15. These programs are taught by experts and range from Babysitting Basics to Advanced Child Care for infants to older children. Contact your local American Red Cross office to find certified babysitters in your area.
