Potty Training At Pamm's House

 

This is the handout I give to parents when they are interested in potty training their child . . .

If you are a child care provider, please feel free to use this flyer, just change my name and the information to suit your needs.

Here's more information . . .

Family Style Daycare

What does "Family Style Day Care" mean? It is care for your child, but in my home. My home consists of me, a mom, and my family including pets.  Our family is similar to your family. As a mom I care for your child's basic needs, loving and playing with him in my home.

Family-style daycare is an advantage over a child care center because:

♥ INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION: As your child's caregiver, I will get to know your child very well. I am not one of a staff of people who will be caring for your child, but your child's primary caregiver.

♥ FAMILY ATMOSPHERE: Your child will be exposed to a family each day, while he is in my care. We eat our meals together, play together, learn together, etc. Additionally, there is lots of supervised free play, just like home!

♥ HEALTH: There's less chances of germs being passed around. I can't promise that your child will never become ill, but the less people your child is exposed to, the less likely your child will become ill.

♥ SAFETY: Care homes are safer than a center. The caregiver to child ratio is kept low. Our home is checked often for safety hazards, inspected by the fire department, and cleaned often. There are specific safety guidelines I must adhere to.

Communication & Technology

With so many ways to communicate, I feel it necessary to make it clear where you will find information about your child while at Pamm’s House.

INTERNET -- A Green Way To Communicate & Share

Pamm’s House Blog:  In the blog I share recipes, photos of the children, slide shows, parenting information, announcements of upcoming events such as parties, etc. Pamm’s House Blog serves as a “green newsletter”. Blog posts will be emailed to you.

Pamm’s House Google Calendar (sample below):  I have a Google Calendar set up for each child in my care. The calendar is private, password protected, and by invitation only. This is where I record times I give your child medicine, any minor injuries (bumps, scratches, bruises), behavior problems, generally how your child’s day is going, lunch menus (for those old enough), cute things your child might do or say, etc. Although I will discuss these things with you at the time you pick-up your child, the calendar is a record you are able to read and/or print. I encourage you to add doctor appointments, vacation dates, medication notes, and other information you share with me.

Digital Photos:  I do my best to get a few photos of each child each week. Each photo containing your child will be emailed directly to you about once a week (from there you are welcome to print or forward them to your family and friends). Some photos are added to the blog and occasionally, photos are used for art projects.

Online Payments:  Pamm’s House accepts cash or online payments through PayPal (a green way to pay). Payments may be set up to be automatic or one-time payments.

COMMUNICATIONS

Talking In Person, Written Notes, and Your Child’s Cubby:  Each day I will verbally give you a brief update of your child’s day. Occasionally, I will have a note you will find in your child’s cubby along with any dirty clothing or other items to go home. Please check your child’s cubby daily; take home dirty clothing and replace with a clean clothes the next day.

Telephone, Texting and Email:  For communication that needs to be done quickly during the work day like asking you a question, I am able to either call on the phone, text, or send an email. You can communicate with me using any of these methods. Keep in mind it is not always practical for me to answer the phone, return a text, or reply in email immediately, but I can almost always get back to you in a few minutes (like I’m sure happens at your job). In an emergency, you will always tried to be reached first by phone.

SUMMARY

Please communicate :). Keep me up to date with what’s going on with your child and family. Let me know if you gave your child medication, if he/she had a rough night, or anything else. I can’t fix a problem I don’t know exists, so please bring any concern you have to my attention. I am approachable, easy to work with, and want to work with you to do what’s best for your child.

I’m working to let you know what goes on at my house through photos, blog, calendar, and other updates.

Pamm's House Program

I used this handout to explain to parents how my program works.

Pamm's House Calendar

Before there were daycare apps and other tools, I used Google Calendar. This method can still work today. It's simple and free!

Sample Menus and Activities

Before there were daycare apps and other tools, I used Google Calendar. This method can still work today. It's simple and free!

For each family I care for, I make a Google Calendar that is private between me and the parent. I fill in the calendar with updates of what the child has done during the day, any medicine given, what was served for meals and snacks, and anything else noteworthy. Parents can check the calendar at work to see their child's progress. I don't always get to update throughout the day, so I let parents know I will update by nap time for sure. This has helped parents who like to check on their child daily.

Developmental Checklists

 

For a long time, I saw no reason to ever use a Development Checklist for children. My philosophy has been that children develop at their own pace and should not be expected to hit "milestones" at any certain age.

But, then I had a child that seemed slow to develop. Not just slow, but super slow. Thankfully, her parents noticed it, too, and had her evaluated and she got the help she needed. I saw a positive change in this little girl very soon after she started getting some outside therapy. She was back on track for hitting those milestones not too far behind her friends of the same age in my daycare.

I saw how not measuring up to basic developmental milestones was a red flag for a child who is not meeting most of those targets. I began to see that a checklist was not to measure the children against one another or against someone's idea of when a milestone should be accomplished on a timeline, but it can be used for a tool to alert you, the parent or caregiver, when something should be checked out.

As parents or caregivers it's not our job to diagnose, but to know when it's time for a professional to be contacted. I am including these Developmental Checklists for you to use as a tool. I have included different types of checklists so you can choose what works best for you.

From ECDC

From The Arc

From Foundation Years

You can also check out Assessment Forms from PreKinders.

Raising Your Child Care Rates

Raising rates is never easy and when I knew it was time to raise mine, I went to my online friends and asked what was the best way to do this. I got some great advice that I'd like to share with you:

* Don't go on and on about how prices on everything has raised. The prices have raised for them, too, and it won't help to remind them.

* Highlight the programs, materials, and services you offer.

* Tell what you do to keep your child care going: Trainings you attend and stay in compliance with the Health Department, Licensing, etc.

* Mention that in order to maintain the quality of care you provide you must increase your rate.

* Let the parents know that this is a hard decision for you.