What's your child-care philosophy?

[hsdcmama]

I am interested to hear everyone's thoughts, especially about TV & video games. My own opinion is one of "everything in moderation". I let the kids watch PBS kids at drop-off time while they are still stumbling around at o' dark-thirty trying to wake up, then turn it off at breakfast. Sometimes I'll let the older kids play Skylanders or some other G-rated video game for a bit if we are waiting for the littles to wake up from nap or on a rainy day. But then we also do crafts, activities, sensory play, playdoh, as much outside time as we can possibly cram in each day, and tons of other non-screen stuff.

I homeschool my own 3 kids, ages 4, 7 and 9; so they are here all the time, and the dc kids are naturally interested in everything they are. We "unschool" (though I really dislike that term), so we are all about child-led learning and letting the kids explore their own interests rather than me sitting them down and making them all do the same activity. I never force any of the kids to do any craft or activity (except for things like nap/quiet time & outside time), though I only have one kid (my own) who always chooses to do something else during a group activity. I do not "helicopter parent" the kids; I make sure they are safe and cared for but I let them work out their own squabbles, figure out their own shoes, pull up their own pants, etc. I have my child-care philosophy written into my parent agreement & I talk about it during interview, so the parents know exactly what I'm all about. I grew up in daycare and my favorite places were the ones where I had the freedom to be myself, to create and explore and dream. The places I hated the most were the ones where everything was scheduled to the minute and all the kids were treated exactly the same regardless of age or indiviuality -they felt like prisons.

So that's me! What are you and your family child care all about?

[Blackcat31]

NO TV for DCK's. EVER.

In my personal opinion, "educational programming" is just a nice way to justify screen time.

I believe in foundational care/activities.

GOOD healthy food, LOTS of outdoor play and plenty of sleep.

If those needs are met, the rest falls into place easily.

I don't believe in too much guided play, worksheets, coloring books or cookie cutter crafts that have a dedicated outcome.

I believe kids learn MORE from (free) playing with age mates (both younger and older) in a group setting than they will every learn participating structured seat time.

(That stuff comes later ...not in early childhood)

[AmyKidsCo]

We don't do TV, video games, etc either, except...

Around Christmas we sometimes watch the Reindeer cam to see Santa feeding the reindeer.

And if we've got to take shelter in the basement because of a tornado I'll put in a video (if we have power) to help distract them so they're not scared.

[Heidi]

NO TV for DCK's. EVER.

In my personal opinion, "educational programming" is just a nice way to justify screen time.

I believe in foundational care/activities.

GOOD healthy food, LOTS of outdoor play and plenty of sleep.

If those needs are met, the rest falls into place easily.

I don't believe in too much guided play, worksheets, coloring books or cookie cutter crafts that have a dedicated outcome.

I believe kids learn MORE from (free) playing with age mates (both younger and older) in a group setting than they will every learn participating structured seat time.

(That stuff comes later ...not in early childhood)

My own (13-24 yo's) are all screen addicts. It all started innocently enough.

[Unregistered]

what is your child care philosophy?

Free play all day!Most will go to an early preschool here at age 4.....that's too many years of sitting at a desk............I feel they learn from play. We do get some am tv.It makes the am transition here easier at least for one in particular(he is otherwise 'out the box' active and I still have sleeping family).I also will not wake any sleeping child.

[spinnymarie]

If I had to break it down to a mission statement of sorts, I'd say we 'foster a love of learning, a strong sense of independence, and respect for others and self.'

[Josiegirl]

If I had to break it down to a mission statement of sorts, I'd say we 'foster a love of learning, a strong sense of independence, and respect for others and self.'

I like that; it says it all!
I believe kids learn through exploring and doing and they cannot do that while letting a tv do it for them. I'm by no means saying that's what you do, OP. I'm thinking about a couple of my dcks in particular who know every show or movie under the sun, they play or watch Kindles and iPods, and they're only 3 or so. I keep thinking of everything else they could be doing instead of that.
I believe learning is going on all the time with these little people(or at least the potential to learn is there!)and they can learn so much through conversation, asking them questions, making them think, pointing out things, cuddling and reading countless books with them, playing in squishy mud, tickling daddy-long-legs, etc.
Let kids be kids! There will be too many years ahead of them where they'll have to be growing up.

[nannyde]

Go play toys!

[Shell]

Go play toys!

Hilarious! I used to just say, "go play" but have adopted your "go play toys". The kids looked at me like I had 5 heads :: I agree- children need to play!!!

[DaveA]

Copied from my policy manual:

1. To provide opportunities for being with other children in a setting conducive to the development of wholesome social relationships.
2. To provide appropriate play experiences that contribute to the developmental needs of the child.
3. To provide meaningful opportunities for play that is based on the child’s individual needs, interests, and abilities.
4. To provide the stimuli for encouraging each child’s growth in each of the major areas of development: Motor, Language, Cognitive, Emotional, and Social.

Which is a really long way to say "Play, have fun, and hopefully learn something new each day."

[hsdcmama]

Free play all day!Most will go to an early preschool here at age 4.....that's too many years of sitting at a desk............I feel they learn from play. We do get some am tv.It makes the am transition here easier at least for one in particular(he is otherwise 'out the box' active and I still have sleeping family).I also will not wake any sleeping child.

My thoughts exactly! Plus, my daughter taught herself to read at age 4 by watching SuperWhy and WordWorld, so I know educational programming can be a great learning tool.

[midaycare]

No tv or video games, ever. Sometimes I use a YouTube video if it complements what we are working on. Like last week we were studying bugs and insects so I found a video of how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly.

The kids play, I direct. I do a "preschool" for 1 year and up. Simple theme, simple craft, simple things to go with it. Maybe 90 minutes a day. And we work on Spanish. I have a curriculum (Funshine Express) but only use about half of it. The rest is my own.

[Controlled Chaos]

I never turn on the TV during the day with the dcks. My kids get to watch a show while I cook dinner ( Dora, Magic School Bus, Arthur etc.) only if they have had a super good day, or if I have had a really hard day . They (mine) can earn a movie once a week.

I think free play inside and out is super important.

I try and do one art or sensory thing a day. I make an effort to make most art projects child directed but do at least one that is more presentation minded a week to keep parents happy and impressed.

I do 30 min of prek with my 3 and 4 year olds (the littles settle down for nap while we do prek, staggering has really helped everyone fall asleep better.) We sing calendar songs, trace their names, do a science experiment, count cheerios...

[MsLisa]

I'll admit I stole mine from another daycare in another state but it fits me & my philosophy so well.
"Inspiring and encouraging children to play, learn, experiment and get messy!"
I love messy play & play-based/child-led learning.

I only allow shows in the morning when I had B&A school care. Maybe a movie day on a rainy day (in the ball pit!). I'm actually very anti-tv, but my daughter is an electronic addict & so is my husband. I generally keep it off unless earned or as stated previously. If i had it my way all electronics would be gone.

[KidGrind]

I added a TV about a little over a month ago.
TV is my friend & assistant.

I have Roku. I turn it on:

Meal prep - Daniel Tiger, Super Why, LeapFrog ABCs and The Hungry Caterpillar.

Yoga- Cosmic Kid Yoga

Quiet time -YouTube Brahms Baby Music

We don’t do any video games.
We play,walks, paint, go to the park and nature walks.