Category: Childcare

Childcare refers to the attention accorded the children in their early stages of development with the sole purpose of monitoring and supervising them. Childcare often goes by the title early childhood education relating to the fact that in the process of offering care, knowledge and understanding are imparted on the child as a part of development.

Typically in our society setting, this early childhood care is the role of the parents or the legal guardians. Other cases exist however where the role is taken up by the extended family or the child grows up in an orphanage. The process of child development requires understanding of the child, the families they hail from and the community they grow in. this way the interrelation of all the three and how they impact early childhood development is established therefore painting a clear picture of the impingement of varying any one of them.

The mode of learning in the early years of a child is considered a determinant in their emotional as well as psychological well being. These experiences are shaped by the natural attributes of the individual children coupled with environments they grow in. The lives of children in their early years revolves around interaction with their families, then as they grow they join child care services where they are exposed to school rules, the larger community which has standards and set out norms.

The community set up also includes the geographical appearance of the surroundings as well as the political climate of the region, and finally the cultural orientations of the community and surrounding communities. This particular research lays emphasis on children from low income earning families; these children attend a pre-kindergarten center (Deanna, 2002).

Early childhood services are mainly programs designed to influence the child’s development in preparation to joining elementary school. As much as these programs are offered in a school setting today, the focus is on activities and experiences geared towards positively shaping the child’s life.

These services are offered in centers known as preschool and pre-kindergarten which offer early childhood education. These centers understand that the process of learning in young children is through play and so the learning is modified into interactive activities. In these centers, teachers who are caring adults take care of the children and offer guidance thus providing an environment that is safe, fostering and exhilarating.

In search of the best early childhood service centers for their children, parents consider the ones with well spelt out goals and philosophy and which has a schedule that covers all aspects of development in children. Learning takes place in well structured schedules which take in focus the nature of the young minds of the children which are bound to have a short concentration span.

Meals and snacks are offered in these centers and are well balanced for the health of the growing children. The education aspect mainly concentrates in language development and elementary math. Learning is mainly in form of activities and play where the teachers issue instructions and guides the children following a laid down schedule. These activities are performed either individually, small-group or large-groups.

The teachers carefully follow the progress of each individual child and actively involve the parents and guardians by keeping them informed. In this setup the children are exposed to an environment where they are required to interact socially with individuals who are not members of their family, children of probably different cultural orientations, children from different social classes and teachers with various modes of administering instructions.

They are also bound by the rules of that particular organization and tasks are performed according to schedule as opposed to learning their abilities naturally (Deanna, 2002).

The community surrounding the early childhood center plays a vital role in shaping the norms and standards governing the kindergarten. The community happens to be a generally low socioeconomic class. Most of the parents are low income earners who struggle to provide decent education for their children due to lack of both finances and know-how on the right preparation for their children for their advanced stages of education.

Approximately half of the children are brought up in single parent families and survive on a very low livelihood. One in every five children is from a household where the parent has no reliable source of income. In this community the rate of job mobility is eminent. This causes the families to move too resulting in many children having inconsistent school sessions as well as confusing their lives.

The family set ups are also a major player in the nature of the community. The recent past has seen changes in the family set ups following massive cases of divorce, separation, rising cases of single parenthood as well as step parenthood. The number of working hours has gone up meaning that the parents are separated from their children longer now.

Quite a number of the children in the community are not indigenous; the result is a mix of different cultures which also extends to the schools. With many families always on the move to new neighborhoods, people have realized that a good way to make friends with the neighbors is through the children.

Most children especially aged 5-10 years play with the neighboring children and through them the parents come to meet and foster a good relationship. Despite the streets in the neighborhood being generally unsafe the kids still play out on the streets. Most parents are against this though. With the low levels of safety in the neighborhood, most parents have developed an aspect of ‘stranger danger’ hence find it hard to allow just a stranger to interact with their children.

A common scenario too is spotting adults come out pubs drunk signifying the high level of alcoholism in the neighborhood. Most people use public transport which is considered very poor. This has worked as a hindrance when it comes to parents sending their children away from their locality for school or otherwise. With the increase in population, playing areas are also becoming limited for the children hence limiting their learning experiences (Edwards, 2005).

A combination of these various aspects determines the kind of experience a young child is going to have. From the child’s individual natural attributes coupled with the ones gathered from interactions with the parents or guardian and other family members as well as the neighborhood and the early childhood care they attend, the young child develops and learns through these experiences.

Every person in the family however has their role in the development of the child, and a breakdown in the family structure therefore has adverse effects on the way the child develops. In cases of separation and divorce the child lack the parental figure of the other partner as well as failing to experience the love that comes with a family that lives happily (Bowman, 1994).

The constant commotions that mar such relationships have been said to affect the child emotionally and psychologically thus impairing the learning and development of the child. An abusive marriage is also likely to be accompanied by abuse on the children too. Studies have shown a significant relation between likelihood of mental conditions and childhood abuse.

Where the child is brought up in a single parent family which is in a majority of the cases the mother, the child lacks the fatherly love. The gender of the child comes into play here since it is common knowledge that male children bond with their fathers and learn the masculine abilities by engaging in activities that are physical with the father.

Girls born and brought up in single parent families also have a higher chance becoming single parents too. Where the child is a step child, there are high possibilities of abuse by the other children in the family as well as the step parent. Such a child’s learning experiences are limited since the child doesn’t freely engage in play and is emotionally stressed.

This also manifests itself later in school as it can register academically in form of poor results. Another aspect in the family is if the child is born in a family of the same gender or mixed. Same gender family, that is a case where all the siblings are of the same sex, leads to some growing tendencies that are inclined towards the common attributes of that gender.

The nature of the job the parents have impacts on the development of the child. Parents who work regular hours have time with children in the morning and evenings after the children spend the day in the preschool. These parents can be said to have time to spend time with their children and exercise parenting. Children from such families therefore learn faster and do well in school (Ungerer, 2009).

In the neighborhood though, a majority of the parents work for many hours according to the trends in the recent past. This leaves very limited hours for spending with the children. Such children are therefore mostly with either the house help or are in the preschool. The parents in the neighborhood have a tendency of switching jobs.

This job mobility has meant families relocate to new neighborhoods every now and then. This causes a state of confusion in the child. This is due to inconsistency in the schools in which they attend as well as having to adapt to new neighborhood every now and then.

With quite a number of children being of different ethnicity and cultural background, the challenge comes in when the preschool has to design programs meant to take into consideration different cultures and languages. The child is also faced with the challenge of breaking the cultural and linguistic barrier and form social ties with these children. The mix up of these cultures may not work to assist the child as the confusion may slow down the process of development (Edgar, 2002).

According to Bowman, (1994), it is important to note that culture may determine what kind of things the child takes note of as well as how they categorize various objects. A mix up in the cultures may therefore make some children seem to exhibit a learning disability whereas it is the inclinations in culture that force the child to learn specific aspects.

Cultural stereotypes can result in the child being a victim of scorn and ridicule. General assumptions made on the child especially at preschool can downplay the child’s ideas and the way of thinking. The teacher for example may tend to take firm stands on their cultural belief whenever confronted with a difference of ideas based on culture thus bringing out the cultural bound and naive narrow-mindedness.

In a secure neighborhood parents feel safe to send their children out to play with the neighbors. Such children are bound to learn a lot of experiences through play which form a major part of the learning process in children. In an unsafe environment however, socialization is limited since parents prefer if the kids play indoors. This also limits the level of friendship between the neighbors.

Where the kids go out to play in the streets in such unsafe settings, they are likely to adapt some antisocial practices which usually for the activities in most unsafe neighborhoods. Living a low social class neighborhood implies that various social malpractices become an all too familiar occurrence.

Children are able to spot adults engaging in negative tendencies like drinking alcohol, drug dealing, crime and prostitution. These tendencies grow in a child as they become familiar with the recurrent practices. Children are restricted in movement owing to a combination of factors like poor public transport, the parents being too busy to travel with them, poverty which does not allow families to go on holidays and lack of enough funds to send the children to schools in other regions (Ungerer, 2009).

Having a clear picture of the situation, it is clear that the process of the children development is a combination of several factors that come into play. These are correlative in a way and each affect the other and so changing one of them means a reasonable amount of changes in the child’s development process. The children have their own inborn attributes that they genetically inherit, they also have the qualities that come with belonging to a certain culture and which are known to be facts.

An example is the fact that people of Asian descent have a higher IQ and those of African descent has a higher athletic ability to perform physical tasks. These should be taken into consideration when handling the children during their learning experiences and play. This mostly applies to the experience in the kindergarten where children are paired to perform particular tasks by the teachers.

The teacher should understand the various innate abilities in the different children and be able to pair them accordingly as well as avoid stereotypic comments that kill the children’s morale. These attributes could however in the right manner be brought out to teach each other and foster an environment where socialization behaviour prevail. Such an intelligent ability to use the disparities in individual attributes in a wise manner proves a helpful aid in the process of development.

Other innate attributes that might of importance are those that result from behavior and tendencies of the parents, an example is a mother who took nicotine during pregnancy gives birth to children who have sleep problems in their early stages of life. A parent should be able to understand the child’s behaviour early in life and be able to tell that there is a difference in the child’s manner of living and actions and therefore be in a position to act accordingly.

Parents who were exposed to drug taking are likely to have their children born with certain anomalies which range from mental to physical. A parent might be tempted to punish the child whenever such tendencies come into play whereas they should take time and review their history and seek medical advice.

Another example is of children who were exposed to a lot of television in their early years who then tend to have unhealthy behavioral dispositions as they grow and this peak at adolescent. It is therefore advisable to understand the level of risk associated with exposure to television in the development of the child. Television watching should be regulated starting in the early stages of a child’s life. The restriction should be in terms of the duration and time for watching and the materials that the children are watching.

As Edgar, (2002) clearly put it, a parent who understands this knows that the child is not supposed to choose what they watch but the parent should choose the right programs because they understand the child’s stages of development. Constant commotions in the families have adverse effect on the child’s development. It is however important to note that in such a poor neighborhood it is several factors that combine to lead to such a situation.

Placing the children in day care centers which are far from home and which operate for long hours could work to reduce the children’s exposure to the family’s commotions, but this comes at a higher price which a majority of the parents are not in apposition to afford.

The structure of the workplace also plays a major role in separating the time the families spend with each other and the children and this works in fueling arguments in relationships. The situation the children are left in can only be termed as a toxic environment (Edwards, 2005).

The situation in the kindergarten is a little different from the family set up. Here the children are bound to the rules and schedule. The teachers take up the role of the parents and are usually adults who are trained in the area early childhood care. In the early childhood centers the experiences are more educational than at home.

The institutional rules bind the children as they engage in learning activities and this have proven a more effective method to improve their ability to listen and follow instructions on top of improving literacy. Factors that surround their social life in the kindergarten include a mix of the cultures as well as the issue of the teacher’s personal attributes forcing them to treat the children in a bias manner (Bowman, 1994).

If the differences in the worlds these children hail from bring about a disparity in the experiences, beliefs as well as custom practices which the teachers must not at all brush off for this would bar them from offering an effective curriculum that fully takes care of each child’s needs and abilities.

The issue of poverty in the community means the parents are also poorly educated, their socialization is low and they have cases of anti social conducts that are linked to lack of control. The size of the families in the poor neighborhood are generally large which results in limitations in time to give each child ample attention. Children only have access to poor quality childcare services that have poor resources too.

A look at the wider community shows that there exist little or no policies that have worked towards improving the situation. The level of insecurity is high, the families still survive on low income abusive jobs, the schools are short of resources, and ethnicity is still evident among other social ills.

The policy makers should understand that living in a community marred with all the antisocial tendencies as well as low quality livelihood is the reason the children result in poor developmental experiences as opposed to the problems experienced at home of say abusive families, single parenthood, cultural diversity, low paying jobs.

Policies that ensure that the neighborhoods lived in harmony have links socially, have good schools, kindergarten, the parents have social support groups, and the law makers and other support agencies teamed up for the betterment of the community. This would include including the community members in making the laws and decisions that pertain to their lives (Edwards, 2005).

In conclusion, the process of the children development is experiential and forms their learning methodology. As the children learn these experiences in the early childhood centers, the various factors come into play to affect their development process. These are their personal attributes, the close family members, and the community surrounding them and the childcare center and the policies in place to govern the community.

It is clear that it’s almost impossible to single out each of these factors and the manner in which they affect the children development process since they are all interwoven in a way that each affects the other and together they have an impact on the children. Improving the wider community will ensure benefits trickle down to the children and hence ensure they lead a socially functional life.

References

Bowman, B. (1994). Cultural Diversity and Academic Achievement, Chicago, Illinois: N.C.R.E.L Urban Education Program.

Deanna, M. (2002.) Enrollment in Early Childhood Education Program. National Center for Education Statistics. Web.

Edgar, D. (2002) Fixing the Foundations: Early Childhood Development & Education, 5(2). 12-17.

Edwards, B. (2005). Does it take a village? Investigations of Neighborhood Influences on Young Children’s Development in Australia. 15(2), 8-10.

Ungerer, J. (2009). Ann Research on Children, Families and Communities. South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.

Introduction

For the longest time, women have been considered and treated as the weaker sex as compared to their male counterparts. The human race is considered to be the only one in nature where females depend on males for survival (Perkins 2006). The relationship between men and women is characterized by women serving as domestic workers and playing the role of mothers.

Prior to civilization, women were treated as objects and man’s property and source of pleasure. This role was passed down to the young generation who in turn passed it to their children. This at last developed into a culture that portrayed man to be a better and a stronger being than the woman.

In the recent past, women have come out strongly to defend and fight for their rightful position in the society. They have also demanded to receive the same respect and rights accorded to men. This can be said to have been achieved as a result of education.

Women have resorted to hiring the services of house help and cooks to take care of domestic chores hence freeing them from house work. Women have also sought the services of baby sitters and even child care centers. Creation of this free time away from family life and domestic hustle has made women reconsider their economic viability.

In this paper, the author will look at how the availability of child care has affected the participation of women in the labor force. To this end, the researcher will address some of the benefits and costs of child care to the women.

Childcare in Contemporary Society

In contemporary society, male superiority can be considered to be a thing of the past. Both men and women are considered equal and studies have shown that women are also as economically viable as men. Both men and women engage in economic activities and are able to meet their needs without one having to depend on the other.

Such civilization has also led to division of labor, an act previously considered impossible. Men have learnt to appreciate the fact that women are also human beings just like them and that they deserve equal and fair treatment (Perkins, 2006).

One factor that has previously inhibited the success of this evolution is the presence of children in the family. Children inhibited their mother’s mobility. Women would resort to seeking the assistance of their close relatives and even neighbors to keep take care of their children while they went to work. This method was however not effective since the mother would have to create extra time to be around her children. As a result of this concentration at work was minimal (Blau et al., 2003).

Children also greatly influenced the mobility of their mother as compared to that of the fathers. Child care is considered to be the responsibility of the mother and includes activities such as breast feeding at the early stages of child development. This meant that mothers had to stay close to their children.

Women would thus be hindered from taking up a career away from home. Men on the other hand would move freely in the job market. Introduction of child care helped turn this round and women would now be able to travel all over the world in search of jobs (Hill, 2006).

Introduction of child care has now become popular in many developed and developing countries among them Canada. This development has helped women to get more involved in economic ventures than before. Women are now able to exploit their economic potential in their respective careers without worrying about their children’s welfare. Women are given the opportunity to compete favorably with men (Hill, 2006).

Effects of Childcare on Women’s Labor Force Participation

Childcare services relieve mothers of their responsibility to take care of the children. These services may be sourced from babysitters or even baby day care centers. This renders a mother free to do whatever she may want with her time. It is however important for the parents to explain to the children why they need the services of child care provider so that the children may not feel neglected (Kimmel & Aronson, 1998).

Though helpful, this method may severe the ties between children and their parents. Parents should create extra time to catch up with their children’s progress. Free time such as weekends should be used constructively to try and cover up for the time that the children spent away from their parents. It is also important to acknowledge the fact that no childcare intervention can be considered to be important than parental care. Mothers therefore should not overuse this service (Degler, 1996).

Childcare has allowed women to be self reliant. Time that would have been spent watching over the children can be used in more economic viable activities. Today, studies reveal that women contribute to about one third of the world’s workforce. About half of this population has families. This means that about fifteen percent of the world’s labor force benefits from childcare. This also gives women the chance to be independent from their husbands. This also improves a family’s living standards due to increased earnings.

Childcare has also enabled women to be more flexible. Women can now work from different locations yet run their families smoothly. Women get an opportunity to work away from home without negatively impacting on their families. Canadian women for example have been observed to be increasingly ambitious.

They compete for top position with men. Studies have also shown that these women attain outcomes comparable to those of their male counterparts or even better. They are also able to seek jobs away from home without the fear of being away from their children. They are assured of the fact that the children are well taken care of.

Childcare has also been of great benefit to women who are single parents. Such mothers are given the opportunity to take care of their families with ease and also take up the responsibilities of the father in the family. To fulfill these responsibilities, women engage themselves in economic activities to generate income.

They thus move into the job market to provide the much needed labor force. Here they can work peacefully knowing that their children are well taken care of hence increasing their concentration and productivity in their various posts in the job market (Blau et al., 2003).

This flexibility and increased concentration has enabled women to make big strides in their participation in the labor force. Many women have excelled in the various posts over the years. Taking the case of Canadian women, it is noted that they have been able to head giant corporations and companies. Women are now known to be as productive as men. They have the capability to lead their organizations into success. Such women have also earned the respect of their male junior staff who they now lead (Degler, 1996).

Child care has also empowered women to be of economic importance to the country at large. Women now can provide labor to government departments. Canadian women for example hold important dockets in the government. Some of these women have risen to the ministerial positions. This way, the women not only serve their departments but also their countries and the world at large.

Research has shown that women exhibit capabilities to perform just as well as their male counterparts in the work place. This further increases the urge of women in the society to participate in the labor market. Those women who are already in powerful positions introduce policies that strengthen and empower the weaker women in the society. They also serve as role models for the young women who strive to be just like them later in life (Perkins, 1996).

Childcare has also challenged the perception that some jobs are a preserve of men. Women have in the recent past engaged in almost all forms of jobs. Women have provided labor in almost all sectors of the world’s economy. A case in point is the Canadian women discussed above.

These women seek both sedentary and manual work just like men to earn a living. They can also engage in technical activities that include engineering among others. This has helped prove to the world that there is no distinction between men and women other than gender. This has gone a long way in enhancing equity in the society (Perkins, 2006).

Women have also become more involved in the service provision industry. Childcare has encouraged the participation of women in providing labor force in this sector. Women have actually dominated the service provision sector taking up jobs such as hair dressing and design. Canadian women dominate this section of the economy with many of them running their own businesses. This has also encouraged self employment with most beauty parlors belonging to women.

Conclusion

Women participation in the economy can be summed up in one quote, “what a man can do, a woman can also do” (Kimmel & Aronson, 1998: p. 3). Childcare has given women an opportunity to prove their worth to the world. Women have been able to provide the much needed labor force in the economy.

This has in some sense created equality between men and women. The earnings of these women can now be used to supplement the family budget. This situation is portrayed best by Canadian women who have engaged in income generating activities to provide for their families.

Because of the income generating activities, there has been a decrease in social vices such as prostitution. Women have been empowered to earn respectable income rather than depend on others for support. They have also changed their status from house wives to equal partners in running the affairs of their families like in the case among Canadian women. Women have also been able to dominate the service provision industry that was previously vacant.

Caution should however be practiced in providing and using childcare services. Parents would find themselves alienated from their children. Children may also feel neglected by their parents. This may cause tension and disunity in the families. The children may also lack parental love and care. Balance between work and family should therefore be maintained.

References

Blau, F. D., Ferber, M. A., & Winkler, A. E. (2003). The economics of women, men and work. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Degler, C. (1996). Introduction to women and economics. New York: Harper and Row.

Hill, M. A. (2006). Introduction to Charlotte Perkins Gilman- The making of a radical feminist. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Kimmel, M., & Aronson, A. (1998). Focus on Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Women and Economics. Berkeley. California: University of California Press.

Perkins, G. (2006). Women and economics. New York: Harper and Row Press.

Perkins, C. (1996). Women economics: New York: Harper and Row.

Introduction

The development of a website focused on childcare and education for the Brimbank City Council is a complex project that may help various people and organisations. One of the first steps in its planning is to identify the key stakeholders – individuals or segments of the population actively involved or benefiting from the given programme. Young families and carers of Brimbank City Council with pre-school children to age five may be considered the primary stakeholders of the project since they are its internal part and direct beneficiaries. According to the recent statistics, there were over eleven thousand birth notifications during the last five years (Brimbank Children’s Plan 2015-2019, p. 2). Therefore, even if the project includes only a part of these young families as stakeholders, it still may number in thousands. It is crucial to understand that this large group will be the primary user or the beneficiary of the website, directly affected by its ease of access and availability.

While parents of young children are to be the key recipients of the information available via the future website, the childcare providers are the inherent second large group of stakeholders. Playgroup coordinators, kindergarten directors, and other childcare service organisations are the key suppliers of resources that are also interested and affected by the success of the project. Brimbank is an international and culturally diverse community, home to families from various countries, such as India, Pakistan, China and many others. Over the last years, Brimbank City Council focused on providing opportunities for non-English speaking families through participating in playgroups to increase literacy and community engagement (Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020-2024). Therefore, the projected website may serve as the main ground for connecting families in need of childcare and education services and their providers.

Another key stakeholder directly involved and affected by the project is the Brimbank City Council itself since it acts as a facilitator and mediator between other stakeholder groups. According to the City Council plan, it is vital to develop “an informed, accessible and responsive suite of child and family services” (Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020-2024, p. 18). The mobile-friendly website focused on providing the required information will allow the Council to more effectively implement their strategies and deliver the necessary services to children across the community.

Stakeholder Management Plan

Once the main stakeholders are identified, it is vital to develop a strategy to manage them effectively. A stakeholder analysis should be carried out to systematically gather the relevant information and determine the level of involvement of a particular group and whose interests should be taken into account first. A complete register of everyone involved is required and should be compiled to ease the future interaction between various stakeholder categories.

The management plan is a crucial tool to execute and complete a successful project and in significant part, focuses on communication. Keeping everyone involved in the project, internally or externally, adequately informed is critical to the success of the website development plan. Therefore, the right method of communication needs to be determined to stimulate the stakeholders’ continued interest. Group and individual meetings, written and online correspondence are among the key channels to share project information and conduct relevant discussions.

Different stakeholders may have various and sometimes contradicting needs in terms of the content of the mobile-friendly educational website. The best way to determine the expectations of the main groups is through a series of meetings with them to cover the principal issues. It is crucial to understand what interest both parents and childcare services institutions have in the development of the website, how it will comply with their primary objectives, and what risks are to be expected.

One of the potential risks the project may encounter is the unwillingness of families to transition to the mobile website to gather the information on childcare services. A significant number of non-English speaking parents prefer face-to-face meetings with local councillors. However, an adequate contingency plan will be put in place and include community sessions to inform the affected families that the website is planned to have multiple languages. Moreover, such sessions will include the required training to ease the transition and explain the benefits of using the mobile platform to connect with childcare providers.

POWER The power-interest grid associated with the developing a mobile-friendly website covers the most extensive stakeholder groups: childcare service providers, families with young children, and the Brimbank City Council. The levels of interest in the success of the project, and the involvement of these groups is different. Please, refer to the below grid to see the segregation and prioritisation of the key participants in the project:

Using this power-interest grid, it is easy to determine who has high or low power to impact the project, as well as who has high or low interest in its success. Brimbank City Council is a high-impact – high interest stakeholder, hence, must be closely monitored and managed in terms of its expectations. Web develops and the IT department, on the contrary, has low interest and low power, therefore, should not be involved in all the project communications, however, closely monitored in terms of tasks completion.

Reference List

Brimbank Children’s Plan 2015-2019. Web.

Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020-2024. Web.

Introduction

An 18 hour childcare for children aged between 6 months to 12yrs is a serviced based business model intended to provide reliable childcare to women and men within communities who are working. The business was invented to capitalize on the market opportunity due to demand for such services (Godin, 2000). Accordingly, a series of market researches were conducted and conclusions were made in regard to the customer preferences for childcare services while at work. Most of the working men and women were finding it a challenge to jargon between childcare and their careers. This essay will describe the business model and potential benefits that will emanate from its establishment. The establishment process will be analyzed to reveal the potential success and problem solving from the business innovation.

The opportunity

The pilling demand for childcare services has called for realization that such services must be of significantly great quality (Aggarwal et al., 2003). Parents, employers and the society stand to gain a lot from quality childcare services. The changes taking place in the United States and the entire world at large are gradually replacing the ancient function and composition of the community. Besides, the increasing growth in economy has necessitated the unprecedented preference for child care facilities especially with the local community. Accessibility to efficient childcare facilities has a lot to give back to the social, educational and emotional growth of children. There are open gains for the economy resulting for childcare services.

The absence of reliable and relevant childcare services complicates many men and women to obtain and sustain job related opportunities and the jobs in particular. It is in this light that a market survey was conducted where it was discovered that the facilities are very few in the locality. And those that are currently available had issues concerning the safety of the children time in time out, reducing the confidence vested in them by their customers. It is due to these discrepancies in the business that an opportunity presented itself to carry out the services more efficiently than the existing facilities. In so doing, success was just but a few meters away.

Ensuring success

In providing guarantee for success, the previous attitude towards such facilities in regard to security was to be wiped out first. Second, there are various codes of standards set out by the Child Care Act 2002 (Peter & Rowan, 2008). Any business that conforms to the set laws of a particular country has a good base ground for prosperity. In this respect, the business model innovated will ensure total compliance to the laws governing childcare services to promote the level of assurance among the working parents. The business has set up the site of the facility in an area with ample field for playground and all the safety measures fitted to ensure the child has enough space for movement and being monitored. The site is also accessible to public transport system and good traffic conditions. The intended number of hours for operations is a maximum of 18 hours per day to give assurance the late workers of their children’s safety. Moreover, the staff designated to receive and release the children will be given additional training and orientation to familiarize themselves with the rightful parents to avoid imposters picking the children and endangering their lives.

Impact on Results

The innovation is set to have a great impact on the results as shown by the intended satisfaction of the customer needs. Introduction of this facility is a groundbreaking occurrence to the rather dormant childcare provision in the locality. First as a result of the numerous procedures that accompany putting such a business idea into a reality are very complicated and at times some entrepreneurs might get tired on the way. The most important factor is focus towards the goal. With the presentation of structure and general layout of the facility to the customers who seek the business services, they are bound to recommend the services to their colleagues where the marketability will mostly de did by word of mouth. The location is densely populated next to the town where most of the adults work. The large population of workers will be capitalized in producing tremendous outcome to the business. The innovation will work on a common saying ‘action speaks louder than words’ since the determination of the staff and services provided will speak for itself.

The innovation

The childcare facility is unique in that its design has been developed to suit all the customer preferences. Ranging from security, health and response to urgent matters, the facility will employ trained and licensed staff and medical practitioners to respond to state of emergencies (Louvierer, Hensher & Swait, 2001). Different from other facilities in the country, the state of innovation in this facility comes along with surveillance cameras, security personnel and police whose availability will be always when called upon to react to matters of security. The business model that has been innovated is not taking chances to critical subjects of concern such as provision of security. The customers are meant to be convinced that their children are left in safe custody. This improves the value created in the invention. The facilities playground for older children will be fitted with the state of the art play gadgets and facilities that can enhance positive growth of children. It should be noted play is very important in a child’s development hence the playground will also be under strict watch eye of trained personnel and security officers to avoid preventable accidents.

Creating customer value

Creation of customer value will be done using customizing of the services for the parents (Kim & Maugorne, 2000). Notably, the parents would wish their children to be picked up near their residential places hence through the business model shuttle services will be provided to make their work easier. The buses will be equipped with trained nurses and comfortable beds and comfort to ensure the children under the age of one year have an opportunity to sleep whenever possible. Besides, the parents who will still be breastfeeding their children will have a chance to do so in such a manner that at designated times their children will be brought to their places of work for breastfeeding. Moreover, the working parents will not have to get to the nursing homes to collect their children; all they will be required is to call the care centers and the child will be taken to their homes after working hours. For the children between the ages of 5 to 12 years, trained early childhood development teachers will be handy in teaching the children how to read and write. This has the implication that the form of innovation in this business model will be significant to the parents who will not worry about looking for learning institution for their growing children.

Implementation process

The process of implementation involves five steps in major business models. First, there is setting of the stage which comprise of setting ultimate goals for the business model (Goldstein et al., 2002). The staff and the clients must understand the direction the business is heading to. Second, is the discovery process which entails understanding the needs of the customers, the challenges facing the industry and the potential benefit the business will provide to the entrepreneurs. It also helps to understand the state of resources in the company and how they are going to be implemented to outdo competitors. Third, development and design which enables the business do more research to discover the trends in customer behavior and how to fulfill their varying needs. Fourth, is the stage of conversion, which involves putting the ideas into practice and making fortunes from the opportunities? Lastly the process of implementation is the commercialization which entails making the ideas work effectively through the use of various mechanism such as launching new venture (Fitzgerald, 2005).

Measuring the impact

In measuring the impact of the implementation process, a random survey is conducted within the community to find out the view of the people in connection to the business entity. Structured questionnaires are distributed randomly to willing respondents to find out from their point of view how they would rate the business model invented. More positive response from the respondents is a sign to show that the business perception is positive in the community. In addition, a survey is also conducted on the clients in person through questionnaires to establish their level of satisfaction with the services provided. In most cases, where the business is giving maximum fulfillment to the clients in a way that they can easily balance their careers and childcare then the outcome will be exemplified by an increase in the number of clients within the business. Lastly the financial statements are appropriate in measuring the impact of the processes of the business model. Therefore, increase in the assets and profitability is a good sign of growth.

Reflection on Learning

From the innovation above, there are important lessons that I have learnt that will be instrumental for my personal development and growth. First, I have learnt that to be successful in any business, one needs the patience and persistence in the line of business. That patience enables one gain the confidence even upon making mistakes in the course of nurturing the business. Second, success is not built on ‘a silver plate’ but rather it demands careful and cautious approach towards business ideas. The fact that someone failed in that line of business cannot be a discouraging factor. Success is built under a series of mistakes and learning from the mistakes. Working hard and determination is required until the ultimate goal is achieved (James & Higgins, 2000). Moreover, networking and conforming to the government rules and regulations ensures good health in business. The type of business invented required more of networking for its success. Last but not least, I have learnt to be a wide minded person especially when dealing with children and the staff employed to provide care to the children. This is very fundamental in creating a healthy connection or relation with the clients hence building on customer trust.

References

Aggarwal, S., Erramili, M. K., & Dev, C. S. (2003). Market Orientation and performance in service firms: role of innovation. The journal of services Marketing, Vol. 17, No.1, pp.68-82.

Fitzgerald, M. (2005). Research in development. Web.

Godin, B. (2006). The Linear Model of Innovation: The Historical Construction of an Analytical Framework. Science, Technology & Human Values, 31, pp.639-667

Goldstein, S. M., Johnston, R., Duffy, J., & Rao, J. (2002). The service concept: The missing link in service design research? Journal of operations Management, Vol. 20, No 2, pp. 121-134.

James, M., & Higgins, D. (2000). Achieving Innovation, the Core Competence. R&D Innovator, Vol 5 (1), 37-56

Kim, C., & Maugorne, R. (2000). Value Innovation: The strategic Logic of high Growth. Harvard Business Review, Vol.75, No. 1, pp. 102-113.

Louviere, J.J., Hensher, D.A., & Swait, J. D. (2001). stated preference methods: Analysis and Application, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Peter, S., & Rowan, G. (2008). Innovation: A blue print for transforming the way your Company innovates to the core. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Press,

Executive summary

With inflation growing exponentially year after year, today’s average American family requires two or more salaries. This trend has increased the need for high-quality child care services. The population growth rate in Hillsborough County’s Riverview area is presently 14.6 percent, indicating rising commercial viability for this industry in our area. Price, service, certification, and reputation are essential success criteria in the child care services market. Therefore, the Community Childcare Academy (CCA) will compete successfully in the market by maintaining an excellent record with parents and the community it will serve and delivering low costs, more excellent child care services, and cutting-edge educational programs with qualified college-educated instructors.

This is a childcare business plan for Community Childcare Academy that will emphasize two subgroups: ‘Lake St. Charles’ and ‘The Villages of Lake St. Charles,’ both of which are new affluent community developments with over 900 new houses within a two-square-mile radius. Our target clients are double, middle-class households who value the educational and child care services we provide for their kids aged four months to 12 years.

We will begin operations with a preliminary enrollment of 13 pupils. We anticipate healthy sales at the end of the first year, with revenues nearly tripling by Year 3. Our most significant operational expenses will be salary at industry standard levels for our highly qualified personnel and rent on our buildings, which will be renovated for our needs throughout the start-up period. We want to expand to four campuses eventually, but this will be done cautiously and with existing cash flow. We expect to turn a profit in our second year. To that end, we are making a significant investment in the company and looking for a match in an SBA loan.

Mission

“Some of the happiest years of our lives were spent as children and subsequently as college students…” Working adults in a fast-paced culture sometimes lose sight of how valuable and transitory those years are (Hill et al., 2019). Consider an alternative to the standard infant, day, and after-school care that satisfies your child’s needs and offers an activity-based learning environment similar to those employed at colleges, universities, and technical centers around the country. A collegiate community of professional caregivers with the qualifications to improve your kid’s early social and motor abilities and teach them advanced topics in the biological sciences found at universities. A collegiate-based program designed specifically for children and presented in a pleasant, supportive caregiving setting.

Childcare Community Academy is a new comprehensive community college for children aged four months to five, in grades one through five. The Academy devotes its resources and expertise to providing high-quality caregiving services and a high-quality activity-based learning environment geared to children of these ages. The school will meet the requirements of its parents and students by providing exceptional care and guidance, an advanced curriculum, customizable programming, involvement in the local community, and commercial collaborations (Hill et al., 2019). It is dedicated to accessibility and inclusivity and its open-door approach welcomes those who want to give their children better care, readiness, and learning. The Academy strives to provide affordable, first-rate care and education by offering a wide range of comprehensive programs and services and new learning methodologies. It is dedicated to serving as a leader in child care, higher education, community service, ethnic diversity, and focuses its efforts on student success.

Objectives

• Increasing sales to almost double first-year ones by the end of Year 2.
• Maintain a high raw gross margin by the end of Year 1.
• Open the second campus by the end of Year 1.
• Begin franchise effort by the end of Year 3.

Keys to Success

The keys to success for CCA are:

• Marketing: establishing a distinction between CCA’s caregiving and educational services and standard daycare and interest activity programs.
• Service quality: primary level and certified educators, daycare workers, tutors, and subject matter industry experts deliver care and educational programs in a technologically sophisticated first-class collegiate atmosphere.
• Maintaining a well-known excellent reputation in child care, education, and community involvement and being the preferred employer in our industry for child care and academic talent.
• Profitability: the ability to control costs and manage budgets in compliance with company goals, adhere to strategic business initiatives for growth and expansion, and reinvest in the firm and its people.

Company Summary

Riverview, Florida, will be the home of Community Childcare Academy – Lake St. Charles Campus. The academy will use six fundamentals as the key driver behind the services provided:

• Premier Care-Giving Services.
• An Activity Based, Children Structured Collegiate Curriculum.
• Advanced Technology and Developmental Programs.
• Trademarked General and ‘Continuing’ Education Mentoring and Tutoring.
• Learning Services.
• Community Advancement and Involvement.

The Lake St. Charles campus is a freshly built, 3,600 square foot site in the Lake St. Charles Medical Plaza that will be established following strict CCA design requirements and under the oversight of Hillsborough County Child Care Licensing.

Start-up Summary

The academy’s founder and the president would supervise budgetary accountability, with financial oversight provided by an independent CPA. A Campus Director will be employed to oversee the facility’s day-to-day operations and will collaborate with the silent stakeholders and other campus workers to ensure the facility’s success (Hill et al., 2019). CCA’s anticipated start-up costs are $39,450. The owners’ substantial cash reserves and potential credit lines will cover these expenses entirely. Working capital will be provided through a $60,000 SBA-approved 5-year loan. The company’s future expansion, growth, and licensing strategy will be self-funded.

Table: Start-up

Table: Start-up Funding Table

Company Locations and Facilities

Community Childcare Academy will start with a single campus in Riverview, FL, near the posh Lake St. Charles community entrance. The school, located at the Lake St. Charles Health Care professional Center, will include separate halls for arts and crafts, theater and dance, information systems, library and quiet study, coaching, infant care, and a cafeteria. The play space will be next to campus, securely fenced, and equipped with adequate playground tools and facilities.

Services

Community Childcare Academy provides luxury childcare services and a sophisticated collegiate-based curriculum for children ages four months to 5 years and in grades 1^st through 5^th. Regular business hours will be 6:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, with all significant legal holidays observed. Technology, collaborations, professional services, and other practices that encourage and enhance higher learning are used in our educational and child care services. In addition to the overall services and curriculum provided, each campus will provide weekend specialist seminars for children and adults and scheduled family events in the neighborhood. CCA will also host children’s birthday parties, providing fun activities for children and a simple experience for parents. These events will be led by activity instructors, who will be assigned to provide a grand celebration.

CCA exists to give Premier child care services that attempt to improve standard daycare approaches and integrate extracurricular activities (such as artistry, dance, theater, and gymnastics) into a single holistic curriculum. Our activity-based collegiate curriculum is designed exclusively for children and is modeled after the arts and sciences taught in colleges, universities, and technical education around the country. We provide cutting-edge technology programs in cutting-edge facilities, preparing students for the technological age they live in. Our regular and ‘continuing’ educational programs guide and tutor pupils through ‘core school’ homework assignments, providing a foundation of comprehension and engagement to ensure a future educational achievement. Finally, our development programs promote fundamental social, listening, independent, and motor abilities while preparing kids for relevant future engagement.

Service Description

Community Childcare Academy will provide four essential services to the Lake St. Charles community when it opens:

• • Full-time Child Day Care.
• • Part-time/After School Care (including drop-off and pick-up).
• • After School Tutoring.
• • Drop-In Care.

The Academy will hold a two-month registration drive before its debut. These services may be modified to fulfill the community’s needs based on market response to the drive. It will always be adaptable enough to meet the community demands it serves.

Market Analysis Plan

Community Childcare Academy provides critical services in today’s fast-paced, dual-income world. As more families rely on two incomes, the demand for high-quality child care has risen dramatically. According to Florida Business Statistics, 84.6 percent of licensed child care facilities are profitable in their first year of business, and this figure is 66.7 percent nationwide (Hill et al., 2019). There is no doubt that Community Childcare Academy has a place and a need in the Riverview, Florida area.

Target Market Segmentation Strategy

Community Childcare Academy focuses on satisfying the local community’s demand for daycare within a given jurisdiction of Riverview. Students will be admitted flexibly, either full-time or part-time, and full-time working couples are the target market for children’s Community Academy. The critical marketing techniques will be referral marketing, direct mail campaigns, and community activity days. Maintaining and improving its reputation among households and society will be critical in achieving the targeted market share gain.

Market Growth

According to US Census 2000 statistics, Hillsborough county’s population growth rate was roughly 2%. Conversely, the Riverview area of Hillsborough County is enjoying a residential construction boom, with a growth rate of more than 14.6 percent (Hill et al., 2019). This is substantiated by data gathered from Hillsborough County Building. This implies that more families are moving into the Riverview region, becoming prospective clients. According to our market research, the number of potential clients should increase by 6% per year (Hill et al., 2019). With monetary policy continuing to grow year after year, today’s average American family requires two or more salaries. This trend has increased the need for high-quality child care services, and this model is unlikely to change soon (Hill et al., 2019). Indeed, given the growth in the Riverview area, particularly the new Lake St. Charles and Village of Lake St. Charles subdivisions, we anticipate a rise in demand.

Competitive Analysis

Price, service, certification, and reputation are essential success criteria in the child care services market. Community Childcare Academy will compete successfully in our market by providing competitive prices, high-quality child care services, cutting-edge educational programs taught by certified, college-educated instructors, and sustaining an excellent track record with parents and the community we serve. The subdivisions of Lake St. Charles and ‘The Villages of Lake St. Charles’ have 800 and 100 single-family houses, respectively. There are just two other child care centers in the area. One is nearby, a church-based institution, while the other is two miles distant, hosted by a regional martial arts academy.

There are three family child caretakers listed in the region, but none in the nearby neighborhood. Community Childcare Academy will set itself along with its competing firms by providing an alternative to typical daycare methods. The market strategy of the Academy is built on offering an activity-based educational environment that is employed in many major institutions, universities, and technical centers around the country. We will provide a community of expert caretakers who will increase a child’s early social and motor abilities and teach them advanced topics in the creative arts found at universities.

Community Childcare Academy will be housed in a modern medical arts plaza, which has demonstrated a demand for and interest in child care services. Clients who have asked about child care services are currently served by the center’s pediatrician’s office and fitness center. The institution will establish itself as the share of the market leader in child care services, development, and educational opportunities by creating collaborative connections with these enterprises and being an authoritative figure in the Lake St. Charles region.

Main Competitors

Catholic Church Day Care:

• Strengths: Large church audience. Already well-known in the market.
• Weaknesses: It May is not a plea to clients of dissimilar religious beliefs. Unlicensed facility. Non-accredited.

Martial Arts America – Kick Kare:

• Strengths: Already established in the area. Martial arts are offered with child care services.
• Weaknesses: Location – outside of the middle-income market. Non-academic offering. Building conditions disposed to constant flooding.

Family Child Care Homes:

• Strengths: Established in the market. ‘Individual’ service.
• Weaknesses: Capacity – only allowed a certain number of children. Non-professional stigma.

Design and Development Plan

Community Childcare Academy will concentrate on two subareas: ‘Lake St. Charles’ and ‘The Villages of Lake St. Charles,’ which are new affluent community developments with over 900 new houses within a two-square-mile radius. Customers are dual-income, middle-class households who value the education quality and child care given to their children aged four months to twelve years (Hill et al., 2019). The value proposition of Community Childcare Academy is relatively straightforward and easily recognized by those in the market. We provide distinctively quality child care services, as seen by the education and activities, the instructors’ expertise and educational level, community involvement, and the community college theme.

Competitive Edge

We begin with a fundamental competitive advantage: no rival in our market offers our concept, quality educational curriculum, or child care services. Our educational method is unique, and we have a team with over 25 years of experience in child care and over 17 years of technical knowledge. Our standing in these areas is difficult to duplicate, but only if we remain focused on our strategy, business development, marketing, and fulfillment. We should be aware that the inclination to dilute this expertise through bargain hunting may reduce the significance of our competitive advantage. Still, we must continue to strengthen our value proposition.

Marketing Programs

We will reach out to our community through various means, including customized open houses, parental survival days/nights, facility pool parties, and weekend movie matinees. We will also form and maintain relationships with local firms that cater to children’s needs. An enrollment fee waiver, complimentary children ID cards, T-shirts, and a community block celebration funded and hosted by Community Childcare Academy will be part of our pre-opening campaign.

Positioning Statement

Community Childcare Academy is a terrific alternative to conventional child care services and specific interest-oriented programs for families who appreciate the importance of professional development and quality child care services. Unlike such programs, CCA mixes child care with a specialized collegiate level curriculum designed specifically for children. Community Childcare Academy must charge a reasonable fee for the high-end, high academic, and caregiving services we provide. Because the salaries we pay to ensure quality services must be matched by the money we collect, our revenue structure must support our cost structure.

Sales Strategy

Community Childcare Academy will differentiate itself from standard daycare-only options by selling its community college ethos, services, and offerings. We will provide child care, advanced education, and specialized program options all in one location. We will also be involved in the community, establishing a solid reputation among parents and the general public. We aim to see an operative net profit in the 9^th month of the first year if we achieve in these areas while expanding enrollment by 32% monthly for the first eight months and progressively after that until our maximum allowable capacity is reached. There are seven full-time students at $115 per week, six after-school children at $60 per week, and around $100 in drop-in revenue every month.

Operation and Management Plan

The Community Childcare Academy opening management team will include the creator, a silent stakeholder, a campus administrator, and an office assistant. As the college expands, gradual expenditures on the instructional personnel will be made over the next three years, starting in June 2023 or as enrollment dictates. Community Childcare Academy depends on the founder, silent partner, Campus Director and VP of Education Operations for management in the following roles:

• Owner/President – The Entrepreneur will be in charge of the company’s overall finances, ensuring that it is fiscally sustainable and meets its objectives.
• The Industry Consultant will be depended on for her industry experience, offering essential insight into rules, regulations, and federal programs that may help the college.
• The Campus Director will be in charge of daily operations, curriculum monitoring, and managing all teachers, caregivers, and tutors.

Reference

Hill, Z., Gennetian, L. A., & Mendez, J. (2019). A descriptive profile of state Child Care and Development Fund policies in states with high populations of low-income Hispanic children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 47, 111-123.