The scramble is on. With Brighton School District 27-J moving to a 4-day student contact week, single parents and couples working outside the home must figure out who will care for their grade-school-age children on Mondays.
Our children are unique and so are available options. Paticia Dischler, former president of the National Association for Family Child Care reminds us, “There is no ‘one size fits all’ child care solution.”
It is important to consider your child’s personality and needs when weighing options.
Dischler states, “A child who thrives in family child care, due to the small group size, may feel overwhelmed in a larger community based program. Another child may thrive in a program that is sports-based, and another child may thrive best when cared for by a relative.”
Here are 6 suggestions to help your family find the best option for your children.
- Enroll in the 27-J school-based program.
27J will offer all-day Monday child care beginning August 2018. Children must be at least 5 years old and registered in Kindergarten and no older than 12 to be eligible for 27J child care. Monday child care will be held between 6:30 am – 6:00 pm. Monday child care fee will be $30 per Monday.
Pre-registration is required. For more information about 27J’s Child Care program, visit https://www.sd27j.org/domain/2191
- Sign up for enrichment programs.
Shopneck Boys & Girls Club will expand its services to accommodate 27J School District’s transition to a four-day school week. Beginning Monday, August 13, 2018, Shopneck Boys & Girls Club will be open on Mondays from 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. for a fee of $20 per child per Monday. This excludes recognized company holidays and closures.
Pre-registration is required. For more information, visit http://www.bgcmd.org/location/shopneck
- Sign up for other community-based programs.
Brighton Recreation Center is working in cooperation with the new Brighton 27-J School District schedule to offer RecPlay Mondays, which involves a variety of fun-filled programs for youth of all ages on Mondays.
Pre-registration is required. For more information, visit https://www.brightonco.gov/1291/RecPlay-Mondays
- Ask for help from your family.
Grandparents and other relatives are a favorite child care solution. If you’re lucky, you can coordinate a child care team by pulling together a combination of relatives, friends or hired child caregivers.
- Hire an after-school nanny.
Find an after-school nanny or babysitter who can watch our children while you are at work. A neighborhood teen may be a good option for your family, especially if this teen already serves as your date-night babysitter. As with all care providers, a teen caring for your child should hold child CPR certification.
If you go this route, check out the following resources:
Tips for hiring a teen babysitter
- Arrange a “share-care”.
‘Share-care” or child care cooperatives can be formed by a group of parents or neighbors. “Share-care” typically involves parents asking for care when they need it and caring for other members’ children in return.
If you go this route, make sure your “share-care” establishes ground rules to help you avoid any misunderstandings that can come up. Also, check out the following resource: