It is easy to get caught up in the business side of running your own day care. But its a good idea to remember the core component of any day care and that is a population of very young children. You do all you can to prepare your day care so you can provide for the medical, nutritional, educational and social needs of the kids while they are in your care. But the fact remains that young children are emotional creatures and dealing with emotional issues is part of taking care of them.
Separation anxiety is a common event that you will face when dealing with a new child entering your day care community. There are actually two sides of separation anxiety. There is of course the home sickness the child will exhibit when he or she is trying to adapt to the new situation. But there is also a separation anxiety in the parent that surfaces in a lot of ways. You may see emotional outbursts from a mom at drop off or it might surface in frequent phone calls to check up on the child or to even talk to their youngster.
One way to reduce the impact of how the parents of your day care kids are hit by separation anxiety is early counseling and dialog about the problem. Many parents will deny that they will have those emotions when dropping their kids off. But if this is a first time experience of using day care for a parent, it will be an emotion that mom or dad will experience, even if nothing is said.
There are a number of ways you can help the parent feel more at ease about leaving their child at day care. You might suggest that the parents consider using the day care for a day for free and that mom or dad or both take a day off to hang around, watch how the day is organized, witness their little one enjoying time with the other kids and see the professionalism, warmth and caring of the staff. That one day may be worth the day off to help the parents get to a comfort level about where they are leaving their child.
That free day may also help the child get accustomed to being in this new environment which could help reduce the separation anxiety that child will inevitably feel during the first few weeks as he or she is getting used to day care. But there are other steps to take before the first day to help the child ease into day care with reduced stress including…
* Have mom and dad talk about day care with the child so the little one is not taken by surprise.
* If there is a little friend the child already knows at day care, make sure that connection is understood and even that the child is greeted at the car by the friend and escorted to the playground.
* Allow mom or dad to "pop in" every so often for the first week or two to increase the comfort level.
* Make sure the child sees the day care workers talking to mom and dad so the child knows these are trusted adults.
* Encourage the day care workers to bond with specific children so when anxiety hits, that special worker can be a comfort to that child.
When separation anxiety hits hard at the day care facility when mom or dad are not there, its good to not overlook or belittle the child. It could be the result of anxiety over a game or a conflict with another child. And when the anxious child wants mom or dad to help with the difficulty, not seeing that parent can cause anxiety or even panic.
Above all the workers should remain calm. Be comforting, understanding and accommodating. If the child needs to be away from the group for a little while, make that possible so he or she can be in a smaller setting with trusted adults and children the child feels at ease with until the anxiety passes. Just remember that fear and anxiety will grow when the child senses it in others but if he or she senses calm, warmth and acceptance, that goes a long way to reducing separation anxiety in any child just getting used to the big new scary world of day care.
Saturday, 11 December 2010
Day Care Is A Place To Work And A Business
"Walk a mile in my shoes" was a popular song long ago which advocated that to understand someone else's point of view, try to see the world through their eyes. In running a day care, sometimes it helps if we stop and try to understand how your customers view you and view the experience they are having using your service. And, of course, the "customers " of your day care are the children who are in your care and the parents who entrust those little ones to you for several hours each day.
To us a day care is a place to work and a business. At the day care worker level, there is a joy in working with children but it’s a job similar to teaching or other children related occupations. But to that child who shows up every day, this place is more than a day care, it is their second home. As such the priorities of a child in your dare care are no doubt much different the priorities you as the owner and operator of the day care or even your day care workers bring with them each morning. But the extent to which your customers, those children, feel that their priorities were met will be how much they report to their parents that they had a great day and want to go back again tomorrow.
To a child, there is a huge social value to coming to day care each day. Children love nothing more than to make new friends and participate in social events such as games and adventures. That is because a child spends very little time with people like them which is, of course, other children. So if they come to day care and they can make friends and enjoy activities that builds friendships with the other children, that makes all the difference to a child as to whether their day in day care was a good one or a terrible experience.
This little peek into the mind of a child can give you as the one who plans the day's event for those children a lot to think about. For one thing, getting the perspective that what these children think is important to your success could have a revolutionary effect on your business and your potential success. And just as importantly, knowing what are the values of the very young by looking at the world through their eyes can help you design programs and conduct your day care worker orientation to address the social needs of children deliberately.
Too often we as adults lecture children about getting along and making new friends but we don't create circumstances to make that possible. But a day care is the ideal situation to teach good social interaction skills and to create situations through games and activates that both encourages friendship and teamwork and allows plenty of time for those values to sprout and grow.
You are not required at your day care to have a curriculum. You don’t have to teach reading, writing and arithmetic to continue to be chartered to do business year after year. But you literally have hours of time with these children that you can use to teach them how to create relationships with each other. Moreover, you can even begin to instill in them the ability to resolve problems and handle conflict by using creative games and activities that such skills are used in a play scenario. As the children play at becoming good social creatures, those skills will take root and make them good social creatures.
Circle time is a great setting to get all of the children into a social activity that is fun, happy and relaxed so even the shyest of child can enter in at their own pace and without being judged for being a little retiring. In the circle time setting, games, stories, role playing skits and other activities can be used that to the children are just another form of fun but you and your day care workers know it is being used to build social skills in the very young. And if you can instill strong social skills in those children, those will be skills that will continue to help them be successes throughout their lives. What a great way to use the hours you have with them in day care.
To us a day care is a place to work and a business. At the day care worker level, there is a joy in working with children but it’s a job similar to teaching or other children related occupations. But to that child who shows up every day, this place is more than a day care, it is their second home. As such the priorities of a child in your dare care are no doubt much different the priorities you as the owner and operator of the day care or even your day care workers bring with them each morning. But the extent to which your customers, those children, feel that their priorities were met will be how much they report to their parents that they had a great day and want to go back again tomorrow.
To a child, there is a huge social value to coming to day care each day. Children love nothing more than to make new friends and participate in social events such as games and adventures. That is because a child spends very little time with people like them which is, of course, other children. So if they come to day care and they can make friends and enjoy activities that builds friendships with the other children, that makes all the difference to a child as to whether their day in day care was a good one or a terrible experience.
This little peek into the mind of a child can give you as the one who plans the day's event for those children a lot to think about. For one thing, getting the perspective that what these children think is important to your success could have a revolutionary effect on your business and your potential success. And just as importantly, knowing what are the values of the very young by looking at the world through their eyes can help you design programs and conduct your day care worker orientation to address the social needs of children deliberately.
Too often we as adults lecture children about getting along and making new friends but we don't create circumstances to make that possible. But a day care is the ideal situation to teach good social interaction skills and to create situations through games and activates that both encourages friendship and teamwork and allows plenty of time for those values to sprout and grow.
You are not required at your day care to have a curriculum. You don’t have to teach reading, writing and arithmetic to continue to be chartered to do business year after year. But you literally have hours of time with these children that you can use to teach them how to create relationships with each other. Moreover, you can even begin to instill in them the ability to resolve problems and handle conflict by using creative games and activities that such skills are used in a play scenario. As the children play at becoming good social creatures, those skills will take root and make them good social creatures.
Circle time is a great setting to get all of the children into a social activity that is fun, happy and relaxed so even the shyest of child can enter in at their own pace and without being judged for being a little retiring. In the circle time setting, games, stories, role playing skits and other activities can be used that to the children are just another form of fun but you and your day care workers know it is being used to build social skills in the very young. And if you can instill strong social skills in those children, those will be skills that will continue to help them be successes throughout their lives. What a great way to use the hours you have with them in day care.
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Nursing Assistants
Nursing Assistants work very hard to offer a contribution to the medical field. They work hard to help patients meet their basic needs. They also offer comfort and support. They work one on one with patients, getting to know them better than the other medical staff. They use this knowledge to make things easier for the patient as well as to help the other staff do what is best for the patient. In addition, they work with Nursing staff, often assisting with anything that comes up at a moments notice.
While most Nursing Assistants are happy in their role, they often do feel like they are taken for granted. The do so much behind the scenes that often the patients and the employer don’t realize all that they contribute to the overall goals of the medical facility and the medical profession as a whole. There are several things patients, staff, and employers can do to recognize the efforts of Nursing Assistants.
Many patients and their family choose to send a simply thank you note or letter to the Nursing Assistant. Often, this heartfelt thank you is more than sufficient. It can often help a Nursing Assistant stay motivated, knowing what they do really does make a difference for many people. A simple gift of candy, flowers, or a gift card can also be a great token of appreciation for someone who offered so much during your time of need.
Many Nursing Assistants do not feel appreciated by other medical staff, especially the Nursing staff they work directly under. Too often Nursing staff only point of what a Nursing Assistant didn’t do. This needs to be addressed, and verbal appreciation needs to be expressed towards the efforts of Nursing Assistants. Another great way to show appreciation is to ask Nursing Assistants for their input regarding patient care and include them in discussions about how to handle particular patient issues. This will definitely make them feel appreciated and valued.
Employers need to work hard to make Nursing Assistants feel appreciated as well. With them being is such high demand, they need to work hard to keep those quality workers they already have. In addition, their attitude towards the issue will often set the tone for other medical staff.
Employers can extend appreciation to individual Nursing Assistants or the profession as a whole in employment newsletters. These are often well read materials that pertain to the medical facility and can be distributed monthly or every pay day along with your check. If your facility participates in Medical Appreciate Week, then it is imperative that the Nursing Assistants feel honored during that time as well. Some employers offer raises to Nursing Assistants based on their performance as a bonus to recognize their efforts.
It is important to understand that Nursing Assistants don’t enter the profession looking for recognition. They sincerely want to help others the best way they can. However, being over worked and under appreciated it a mix that leads to stress, burnout, and often leaving the profession. Medical facilities need to take the opportunity to inform other staff of all the duties Nursing Assistants perform. Other staff and the facility need to work hard to make them feel as important as any other staff member. Too often, the mentality is that they are entry level workers with less education. This misconception will lead to a continued shortage of Nursing Assistants to help patients and other staff. That being said, it is definitely to the advantage of the staff and facility to make sure Nursing Assistants feel welcome, appreciated, and an intricate part of the team.
While most Nursing Assistants are happy in their role, they often do feel like they are taken for granted. The do so much behind the scenes that often the patients and the employer don’t realize all that they contribute to the overall goals of the medical facility and the medical profession as a whole. There are several things patients, staff, and employers can do to recognize the efforts of Nursing Assistants.
Many patients and their family choose to send a simply thank you note or letter to the Nursing Assistant. Often, this heartfelt thank you is more than sufficient. It can often help a Nursing Assistant stay motivated, knowing what they do really does make a difference for many people. A simple gift of candy, flowers, or a gift card can also be a great token of appreciation for someone who offered so much during your time of need.
Many Nursing Assistants do not feel appreciated by other medical staff, especially the Nursing staff they work directly under. Too often Nursing staff only point of what a Nursing Assistant didn’t do. This needs to be addressed, and verbal appreciation needs to be expressed towards the efforts of Nursing Assistants. Another great way to show appreciation is to ask Nursing Assistants for their input regarding patient care and include them in discussions about how to handle particular patient issues. This will definitely make them feel appreciated and valued.
Employers need to work hard to make Nursing Assistants feel appreciated as well. With them being is such high demand, they need to work hard to keep those quality workers they already have. In addition, their attitude towards the issue will often set the tone for other medical staff.
Employers can extend appreciation to individual Nursing Assistants or the profession as a whole in employment newsletters. These are often well read materials that pertain to the medical facility and can be distributed monthly or every pay day along with your check. If your facility participates in Medical Appreciate Week, then it is imperative that the Nursing Assistants feel honored during that time as well. Some employers offer raises to Nursing Assistants based on their performance as a bonus to recognize their efforts.
It is important to understand that Nursing Assistants don’t enter the profession looking for recognition. They sincerely want to help others the best way they can. However, being over worked and under appreciated it a mix that leads to stress, burnout, and often leaving the profession. Medical facilities need to take the opportunity to inform other staff of all the duties Nursing Assistants perform. Other staff and the facility need to work hard to make them feel as important as any other staff member. Too often, the mentality is that they are entry level workers with less education. This misconception will lead to a continued shortage of Nursing Assistants to help patients and other staff. That being said, it is definitely to the advantage of the staff and facility to make sure Nursing Assistants feel welcome, appreciated, and an intricate part of the team.
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