09 Jul Why Day Care is Important for Older Kids Too

In a perfect world there would be plenty of time for every parent to get their kids off to school in the morning and be there when the kids get home in the afternoon. Unfortunately it’s not a perfect world and working parents aren’t always able to spend as much time as they’d like doting on their kids. At the same time children – even 11 and 12 year olds – shouldn’t be coming home to an empty house and be expected to take care of themselves for long periods each day. So what to do?

Day Care for Older Kids – The Responsible Solution

It may seem like a good idea to leave an older child at home by his- or herself for several hours each day but studies reveal just the opposite is true. When compared to children with regular adult, after school supervision, “latchkey” kids are far more likely to:

• Get in trouble with the law
• Start smoking
• Abuse alcohol and drugs
• Neglect their schoolwork

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule: some children as young as 10 or 11 are very mature and responsible. But in general regularly leaving school age children unsupervised for large portions of each day is a risky endeavour at best. Even the most seemingly mature child can be distracted and tempted by freedom and peer pressure into doing things they wouldn’t ever do under normal circumstances.

At Lullaboo we’ve seen the statistics, identified the need and devised comprehensive solutions for parents with older children that require supervision before and after school. Our day care services for older children include:

• Seeing your child off to school
• Receiving them back at our centre when school is done
• Providing them with a quiet place to do their homework (if desired by the parents)
• Serving healthy snacks both in the morning and afternoon
• Providing guidance, attention and direction when necessary

Every effort is made to keep your child engaged and active while they are at Lullaboo and our professional staff are experts at finding and creating fun and productive age-appropriate activities.

Many parents believe that, as far as day care is concerned, the nursery school years are the toughest. They plan, hope and wait patiently for those years to be over so they can get their children into school, thinking their child care troubles are finally behind them. Sadly, once school starts most discover that inconvenient, unconsidered gap between the time their child finishes school and the time they finish work and begin to despair, seemingly out of options. After all, there is no such thing as day care for school age children. Is there?

At Lullaboo we are thrilled to be able to offer day care services for older children that fill this pressing need. No parent should have to choose between children and work. After all, most work to improve the lives of their children. Happily, you no longer have to contemplate such a choice. You have options. You have Lullaboo.