ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

Hello to friends in Indonesia

Brief comment about your situation and the dilemma:
I am assuming that the children in care have a stimulating programme / activities and a safe and fun environment at the service provided. Considering the age I will suggest to increase the lenght of stay on the exsisting days - say to 4 hours each of the 4 days.
Rationalle: at this age children need frequent carer attention to fullfill their physical needs ie. feeding, nappy changing, sleeping routines of each individual child etc. thus leaving minimum time for additional activities to promote overall development ie. singing, stories, physical activities, puzzles, blocks, painting and many, many suitable fun activities.

I'm not sure if this would fit into the cultural values, practices and lifestyle but it may be worth considering.

Best wishes from
Canberra

Three hours a day at that age seem appropriate. Four days are fine. According the family five days would be okay but not my first choice.

That is a great question, and one we in the USA might do well to reconsider. I think there will continue to be a growing need for more days and hours of child care provided for the growing demands of working parents. So the issue from my perspective is what the quality of care is for those children, however long they are in care. We have not reached a level of quality, in most cases, that is needed for young children, especially infants and toddlers, to build strong attachment, a solid sense of security and the opportunity for brain development to occur that is influenced by relationship. That ultimately affects all levels of development, from building language to social skills, motor and cognitive development. That being said, I believe that young children should be with their parent as much as possible, with that time shifting as the child gets older and becomes naturally more social and able to handle social settings and experiences.

The issue for what I guess is the majority of US families is early education & child care for parents who work out of the home. The hours of the parents' jobs determine the hours of care and education.

Whether those hours, sometimes long, are ideal, remains to be seen. In a good center, with good professional early childhood teachers, child care can be a growthful, enriching experience, regardless of the hours in care. A shorter day program, with less qualified staff, is less desirable.

So quality of staff, to me, is a more important public policy issue than time length of the program.

I once worked in a program in which we had children attending -5 mornings, -3 mornings and -2 mornings a week.

We got to know and understand the childrren best who came five morning a week. It took longer to get to know the childrren coming three days a week. It took "forever" to get to know the children coming two days a week.

From this perspective only, five days a week is best.

I own a child-care and preschool center. We only reccomend 3 hours per week for this age group if a parent does not work and an additional 6 hours if the parent/family is attending. Playgroup settings are developmentally appropriate but if a child can spend quality time within his/her family community at any location that should be priority.

hello
i belive that u should give as much information as u can...n the child willnot get tired n fed up if u keep the school for 5 days. the children will rather enjoy it. rather than geting bored at home . n here in india we hv school 2hrs. for 5 days . and stil the parents wants us to keep school for 6 days . :) so plz u should hv school for 5 days ...n it wont affect the children in any rong way.

Dear Centre Director
Surabaya Indonesia

It is amazing to read your article and discover that more people show keen interest to provide centre for early childhood programme. Although you claimed that you are not trained to be a teacher of young children, you have initiate setting up a school for early childhood programme in your area. Indeed you deserve a Thumbs Up!

In Singapore, there are more that 200 Child Care Centres to provide child care programme for children aged 18 months to 6 years old. Child Care Centres are common practices here especially to assist working parents in caring for their children while they are at work. Children aged 18 months to 6 years old comes to the centre as early as 7am to 7pm. However, 'formal learning' or 'classroom learning' only begins between 8.30am to 11.30am. This schedule varies from centre to centre.

I believe the culture and lifestyle of the Indonesian and Singaporean are almost similar - especially when we are neighbours. When it comes to education the young, all of us always want to provide the best for the children under our charge.

I am in the opinion that you could increase the number of days for your programme with the children as priority. The increase should be for the benefit of the children. As long as they enjoy coming to the centre, enjoy being with peers and adult in the centre and enjoy the programme of the centre, then they should be allowed more time there. As we know - children learn best when they interact with the environment and the people around them.

I am against the idea of increasing number of days for your program if parents are the one who insist because they want to be 'hands-free' of their children for one more extra day.

I'd be glad to share whatever knowledge that I have. My email is [email protected].

All the best!

Because of the attention span of the 18 mts. I feel the time span is adequate, however, the two and three year old can extend their day and time. According to standards the older children need a consistant schedule. Giving them five days until 3:oop.m. would be very appropiate. Making sure their needs for rest and food are meet.
Christine

There is no "right" answer to this question. Everyone you ask will have a version of thier own. The most precious gift we can recieve is our children. It is a shame that, in today's society soon after we recieve the gift it seems they get tossed aside and become less important. I feel that the less time children spend in day care, the better. Why do we have children and then leave it up to someone to raise them? I know that sometimes it seems we have no chioce, but I think sometimes we choose not to look at all options and we rush to just "get by" instead of "live life to the fullest". Teachers will come and go, but a parent is forever. The best investment you can make is "time" with your child.

0-3 year olds may well sustain more hours than 3 mornings per week. However, it depends on parental philosophy and reasons for seeking more childcare attendance and perhaps also on the individual child's own temperament and wishes (and these are often displayed loud and clear by a young child). Philosophies may incorporate that children are a long time at school once they commence and that parent time is precious and limited. That's the way my personal view leans! Again, it can come down to being dependant on a family's individual requirements. Dont forget too to pay close regard to the quality of the physical and emotional environment of the centre when choosing care for such young children!

I have had the priviledge to care for children age 6 weeks - 6 years for 30+ years in my home care. I feel that the professional care that these children receive is often better than they could receive at their own home. Single parents and young Teen mothers have had an opportunity to share in the expereince of other parents and childcare professionals as mentors. My services are from 7:30am-6:00pm Mon.-Fri. year round. I have contact with many of the childrern and families that have been in our care and they still remember as adults the time they shared here. I have just received invitations to 4 graduations. 3 from high school and one from a young man graduating from college as a christian minister. What do you think of the results of the 6+ years they stayed with us? Thanks be to God I have been allowed to be a part of these lives and their families. Ann Brinson

Children are like sponges, they will absorb all of the information that you give them. They are capable of enjoying five days a week with a few hours of care. It all depends on the quality of the care and the energy level of the care givers. The children need to be continuously stimulated with enriching and meaningful activities. If the children become bored they will not want to come to the program and then get anything out of the enrichment that you are offering. I run a large childcare facility (163 students ) and most of them are in the program for 9 or more hours per day. Educated and compassionate staff will keep the children happy and therefore they will learn. Try it and see !!

I am a mother of three from 16mo to 6 yrs old, my kids have been in the childcare system from the time the were allowed to go around 3months till just last year, they went all day a good 8 hours a day. It may seem like a lot but there were benefits.
1. I had to work to maintain our household income also my husband worked to
2. While I worked they were able to play with friend and learn from the daily curriculum to
3. When they would get home I was ready for them and showered them with attention
4. It provides children with their time and moms with their time (even if you are at work)
5. Now I am a stay at home mom running my family center and my kids and my youngest are with me 24/7 with the exception to headstart and kindergarten. We still have the away time for breaks but it seems to work out fine
Alot of parents both have to work fulltime job to maintain, leaving your child at daycare M-F maybe on Sat 1/2 isnt really un-natural as long as when you are with your children make the most of it.

I think that time in care is individual to children. Some can handle more hours and some not.Many children in the US spend much more time in care. It seems like there is a very good staff to child ratio in your program and that is important. Also, I'd be curious to know about it being called school for 18 mon-36 mo children. Much depends on what you are doing with the children. They should be getting lots of sensory motor time; moving about, water play, building, stories and music etc. in small groups or individually, but not formal "school" stuff. Social play with enough toys and materials for everyone is very important

Being both a supervioir and a mother of 2 children aged 2 and 5 i understand the concern of children being in childcare and parents having to work.
I have been teaching for 8 years in daycare centre and I see no reason why children cannot attend a 1/2 day program for 3 or 5 days a week. While the children are at the centre they are learning valuable lessons such as routine structure, interaction with childnren and play time. During there day there should also be some time of learning activity. I have children who stay at the centre with me from 7:00 am - 6:00 pm. Now that is what i call a long day for those children. Those children rarely have the opportunity to spend with their parents but is is a choice that we working parents need to make. We are unable to stay home for 1/2 day or a full day due to our economy.
In your situation, i see great opportunities for those children to attend 5 mornings and it will help them adjust for the upcoming school year.
Best of luck.

Have you considered offering families a choice of hours. Those who would like a slightly longer day could opt to stay through Lunch. Eating a meal together offers a rich opportunity for conversation as well as manners and social customs. Please understand, I am not saying longer is better, but advocating for parental choice. Good luck!

This is just a gut reaction to the question, I don't have hard research on hand. I have heard a lot of opinions, but I am not sure of some of them. The research I can refer to has to do with the development of attachment between young children and parents and the development of a healthy socialization and moral values. My gut reaction is that if children of this young age (under three) don't have to be in group care for long periods of time it is best to avoid it. Very young children need close bonding with parents and consistent caregivers. It is this bonding that allows them to learn the values of their own culture. It is not the "group" that teaches them this, but the loving adults. I am the director of a child care center. We have infants up to 6 years of age. Some of the children are there 10 hours a day, five days a week. It is heart breaking to me. The staff at the center are excellent, loving people, but each year, the child must adjust to a new teacher. The group of children remains the same but the adults do not. I see many of these children accepting the "group" over the adults, including their parents.Since the other children do not know any more than they do about how to survive in our world, who is teaching what? This is not very clear, I know, but it is an observation that I have made over the years. The longer the very young child is away from parents and their influence, the less likely it is that the child will accept and live by their standards.

xxxx

Three hours per day four days per week is plenty for them.

I think it would be fine to add an extra day. I depends on the quality of care the children our receiving as well. An extra day wouldn't hurt them unless they are in a bad situation. Good luck

The criteria I would use would be that if specific chidlren are thriving and funcitoning well in the 4 day program, and you want to add a 5th day, let them add it on a trial basis, say for a month. If you find their behavior, emotions negatively affected, then they should return to the 4 day schedule. If you have concerns, I would try it first only with children that are established successfully in your program and are settled in thier home with no big life events coming up (new baby, moving, toilet learning, etc). That way you could fairly safely judge that any changes in behavior would be related to the additional time in group care.

Good question..I have a family based small group home in a growing community though still small. It has been my experience with our children ages 0-4 that every day routines established early help children as they continue through school and beyond. Patterns of regular eating, play - structured and free, sleep etc. especially aide children who come from home setting are unorganized and unstructured. Many of the children I have had the opprtunity to serve are now in middle school and high school and they are doing very well. When daily routines are broken up e.g Mon Wed Fri or even Mon - Thur it is more difficult for the child to recapture the feeling of security and "settling in". Transitions times are increased and more difficult for both parent and child. This is seen in infants and toddlers as well as pre-school age children. In our community many of our families must have 2 working parents thus day-care/preschool is not only a family need but serves as an extension of the family thus enhancing the family unit. This extension of family continues on after children move on to grade school.

The parents we serve would be in quite a bind if we didn't offer the hours of care that we do, which is 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, for ages 6 weeks to 16 years. The philosophy of many here is that a child's place should be in the home with a primary caregiver, but given our families' circumstances, it is just not a reality to not work or only work part time. We encourage parents to only use care for when they need it (because of class or work) and not just for convenience (the extra 4 hours they are not working). While the children are here, though, we provide them a safe, loving, nurturing and educational environment. We strive to create a home away from home, especially for our littlest ones. In some cases, our children are better off for it.

At our child care in Wisconsin our clientelle is based upon children who range in age from 6 weeks through 5 years (Kindergarten).
We provide infant care, preschool and 4 year old Kindergarten as part of our services.
Most of our parents consist of parents who are eith both working full time (2 parent households) or single parents who are required to work.
Our policies are set so children may attend up to 10 hours each day as many of our parents work 8 hour days and 9 hours when they are on overtime.
We try to calculate in driving time to meet the needs of our families.

Parent often have the impression that more than 3hours is too much. I would have to say that it depends on the quality of care and the program that is being offered. I have seen programs where half an hour is too much. However, if the program is stimulating then 6 hours can be a good amount of time. It allows children to settle in and work at their own pace. Having a shorter program means that you are constantly rushing the children from one thing to the next to ensure that it's all covered but it is stressful! Singapore has a very competitive academic environment and parents will sign their children up for multiple programs in different centres to ensure that their children are "well-prepared" for primary school. If you could find one place that is stimulating in all the right ways then what's the problem with staying in that place for an extended amount of time? Shuttling children from one place to another is not fun for parents and children alike.

I am a cooperative preschool teacher in Edmonds Wa, USA.
All the coops around here go from Monday-Thursday and
for 2 hours. The coop I teach at is for family home child care
providers whose daycare children from infants to 5 years. Each provider brings her children 1 to 2 days a week from
9:15AM -11:15AM. I've noticed that the 2 year olds and under
get very hungry and tired about 11:00AM. The 3 year olds could handle that extra hour but not the younger ones. You could try splitting the group into 2 classes-older and younger
so you can go longer with the older group.

In my own facility I find that children are very resilient in the number of hours of care per day as long as you have well planned or structured activities. Some of my children are with me as long as 10 hours per day, 5 days a week. Children thrive on consistancy in care and rountine, and feel much more safer when knowing what their day will be like. Thus it helps them to learn the different developmental area's, such as play routine, snack times, social skills needed to be in their groups.
Adding another day for these children will give them the added ability to be flexible in their routines and what is best,
they will have the opportunity to be with their special groups of friends and parents will know that they are well taken care of during their time at school. Everyone can be blessed by this arrangement.

It is obvious that it is difficult to express an opinion without knowledge of the culture and the environment. If the team of people running the nursery are dedicated to the children in their efforts to care for and educate them through play fun and laughter then I would think that the children would love to have some more time and share many more experiences together.
Parents are obviously seeing value in your nursery and I am assuming your programmes would be structured differently from those at school.

I feel 12 hours a week is enough for toddlers to be in group care. At their age, it is more important to have the nurturing and influence of family. There is plenty of time for "formal" school.

Our area preschools meet two times a week for 2 1/2 hours per day (for children 3-4 yrs old) or three times a week for 2 1/2 hours per day (for children 4-5 yrs old).
Day care situations are different though, we have children six weeks thru kindergarten in care for up to 12 hours per day, five days per week. Those day care situations are structured differently than the preschool.

In an ideal world the children would be happy at home interacting within a family dynamic. I don't think it is a question of how long as much as a question of why they are there? what are they doing? and how appropriate are the activities for the development and enjoyment of the children? Once these questions are answered then a suitable time and program can be set up. Early childhood programs are only ever second to a loving, secure and supportive family environment.

Trust your feelings. You know what's best for your family and children. My experience has shown children that age benefit more from time with Mom than time at school. You are their first teacher, take this job seriously.

I work in a university town, where parents are busy going to school, teaching at the university, or in professional training programs like medical school, dental school, or law school. I have worked in Early Childhood Education for 22 years, and I have seen lots of children attend group childcare for more than 10 hours per day. I don't feel that 10 hours a day is ideal for young children, but they seem to do well with it if the program is high quality with well trained teachers. Personally, I feel that 6 to 8 hours a day in group care would be better for the children, but when parents must work or train outside of the home they must use the childcare center for the longer time periods.

Children are amazingly flexible, and each child is different, but I have witnessed hundreds of children in group childcare during my career, and they not only tolerate the 10 hour days, they seem to thrive on it as long as the program has good teachers and is structured to meet the needs of the children with periods quiet activities and periods of more strenuous play interspersed throughout the day.

I agree that an additional day per week makes for a long week. Since you are concerned, it seems to me that your instincts are correct and the children can use the "at home" time. I assume that the children are in good, loving homes. A parent has limited time with their children, cherish it!

If it helps the mothers/parents go take care of themselves and/or go to work it seems to me that 5 hours a day...4-5 days a week is not too much at all. It really depends on the type and quality of care being offered.

This issue is values based in NZ. Here parents choose from differing types of early childhood settings. Child care is available for 40 hours per week, teacher ratios depend on ages of children U2 1-5 and O2 1-6;our sessional settings,kindergarten and playcentre have higher ratios to cover shorter times attended by families and in kindergarten the teachers have a 3 year diploma and 3-45 ratio. Playcentre is run by parents as in the example in Indonesia and parents choose session times with a committment to a parent roster when required. Many playcentres operate 5 mornings a week, however our children dont go to school until they are 5 years old. Te Whariki the NZ curriculum suggests we should meet the needs of our community and in consultation with the families plan and evaluate the programmes.Research suggests there are many benefits in quality childcare particularly social and cognitive, I think children need an emotional attachment to a primary caregiver in their setting for best outcomes for the child.

I believe these children would be able to handle an extra day of school especially considering they are only there for 3 hours. The question would then have to be for what reason is another day being added when it has operated for 3 years under the current system? I feel that 4 days of care/school a week is plenty for such a young child. It sounds like the parents of these children are very involved so the children are most likely getting the attention, care, and instruction they need at this age.

Our preschool consists of 150 students ages 3 and 4 years. They attend preschool 2, 3, or 4 days a week for 2-1/2 hours per day. This is what is desired in our area at the present. I agree that it is cultural as our daughter in law who is from Haiti tells us there children between the ages of 18 months to 3 years attend 5 days from 8 until noon and have lunch in their program. If the children are getting more social, emotional, academic and physical direction while attending the program then they would at home the increased time would be benefical.

I do not believe that you should give in to parent pressure; I believe that no child under 4 NEEDS preschool, that in fact I would not recommend more than 2 days a week for 2 year olds, and that the main reason for having 5-day-a-week programs is parent need to work, not the needs of the children.

I've already responded once, but after reading everyone's comments I felt I wanted to say more. I find it very interesting that the majority of comments from the US are so pro-work related and 8-10 hour days in length is what we are accustomed to needing to provide for our working families/clientele. Recently a new mom, but having worked in child care for 12 years, I also find it interesting that just because I work in child care, doesn't mean I solely believe in it. That is to say that I firmly do not believe in the 8-10 hour days, especially for that age group and that your program involvement sounds again ideal and you should stick to the half days with the children you are working with. One more day will not hurt anyone, but the real question is "does it work for the coop?" I also agreed with the comment about the Magda Gerber research about RIE (research for Infant educarers) and to be mindful of all the other things that are involved for those children's days. For U.S. children, day care /preschool is needed and unfortunately is rarely only half days. This is not to insult all the working families only to state that each family does what they have to do. I believe that the families should relish the moments of their young children and that the immediate family and grandparents as caregivers are the best for all children, no matter where they live.

In Ontario, many 3 year olds attend nursery school for 5 mornings or 5 afternoons per week; however, they generally attend from 9:00a.m. until 11:30p.m. (or 1:00p.m - 3:30p.m.) which is only 2.5 hours per day. Parents can choose to send their children to nursery school anywhere from 2 to 5 one-half days. It is the parent's choice as they know their children's limits best.

How wonderful to hear the word "limit" in your description of the program. I think the Mon - Thursday, 3 hours a day is ideal. Especially for the parent cooperative plan. You would not be harming the children by adding another day if the 5th day is really needed by the majority of the families you serve. Otherwise I would stick to the 4 days and call it GOOD. I believe you are correct that they will be in school soon enough, but how great to have the experience of the half day program a few days a week. - Enjoy your time with them while they are small. :)

We have 70 kids aged 1 month through 5 years who are here full time Monday through Friday. Legally, parents are allowed to keep their children here for 10 hours a day, so that they can work 8 hours, have a lunch break and travel time. Personally, I think this is a long time, and feel bad for the kids who are in care this amount of time. We see the kids more waking hours than their parents. So I think the added hours you are wanting in Indonesia is very reasonable.

I do not think that adding a few extra hours would do any harm. Children at my center are here from 6-10 hours a day 5 days a week. I think 4-6 hours is ideal, however anymore than that I personally believe is too much. A very long day in child care/preschool can be overwhelming for a child. I also think that consistency and routine is key. The child should know what to expect each day so going every day for say 4 hours would be beneficial versus every other day (TTH). I have noticed that the children that come only twice a week have a much more difficult time adjusting because they get confused as to when they will be at school and when they get to stay home. The parents intentions are usually good because they think it is better to gradually transition them in, but they do not realize the negative effect it has on the children.

We have a school of three and four year olds. Our building is designed for up to 28 children with four teachers. We are open mon-fri, 8-4. The children who come two to three days show the best progress and have the least number of behavior issues.
We take a varied group of children. Children who are considered at risk, with special needs, typical, various economic backgrounds etc... next year we will have 20
children with four teachers! I really feel like it's the teachers and the lessons and the structuire of the class that makes or breaks a program for the children and the quality of their day no matter how much time they spend in school.
The sad ending to this story is there aren't enough schools who are quality or have time restrictions on a child's time in school. I worked in a daycare where we had babies coming to us at 6 weeks, five days a week, 10 hours a day, for six years. The school should have made some restrictions on the amount of time the school would care for him.

We offer preschool and child care at our center. I do feel that children adjust better when they attend more often. Part time children never quite feel as "at home" as the full time children do. The teachers spend more time on guidance and reaffirming the routine with the part time children than on much else with them. The full time children are just like a little family away from their families of origin. If the program is high quality, ratios are low and teachers are nurturing and professional, I don't forsee any ill effects from long hours in child care or preschool. I honestly see more ill effects when parents use the shorter child care hours in a center as an excuse to bounce them from home, to center, to grandma, to friend, to father, etc. That's my experience, anyway. :)

Miss Catherine's Creative Learning Center accepts children from 16 months-6 years old. Our hours are from 7AM-6PM. Most children come M-F, while some come M,W,F or T,Th. Most children stay as long as 9 hours, while some stay ony in the morning. Our children seem to ease into their daily routine without a problem. We are careful to engage the children in interesting, fun, and challenging activities. They especially enjoy outdoor play with friends twice a day. We even have some children that are never ready to go home, even after being here for most of the day.

I believe that if the children are participating in the nursery for social reasons only, the length of time they are participating is reasonable. I don't think it would harm the children to be there longer but it raises some questions for me. Why do the parents want the children there longer? Do they need daycare? Even though this is not daycare do they need daycare more than they need nursery school? The children are young and I believe that if their parents are available, capable and can afford not to work, the parent is (probably) the best caregiver for that child. I believe in affordable, available and quality daycare but if one is lucky enough to be able to stay at home with their own child, why not, it's a win-win situation for both mother and child.

I hope this note is going to the Nursery School with the Question.

It has been my experience that the amount of time a child can cope in child care is dependent on the child, and the program. Most nursery schools I have come in contact with run half a day every second day. But these programs are structured with specific activities every day. In an unstrutured program, say a child care centre, where the children can learn more through play many children can cope with a larger amount of time spent in the centre.

I hope I have answered the question.

How much time one need to schedule for schooling very much depend on one's definition of what schooling for young children should be like. It is not so much on the quantity of time but is the quality of time spend with children. Schooling for children should be fun, enjoying and constructive.

What a wonderful school program you have. I would recommend 5 days, with a choice for parents, who clearly know their child best. What I know about very young children is that they need dependable routines in their lives. Coming to school consistently will give them that opportunity.

Neurodevelopmental prinicples and attachment research indicate that children under 3 learn through interactive play and daily activities within their family grouping. Structured learning in a "school" environment is not developmentally appropriate or effective for younger children. In fact, development may be delayed or deterred the more time babies spend in a group setting with unfamiliar adults and many other youngsters. Infants learn through direct experience, engaging in interactive activities with people who love them and are immediately responsive to their needs. To fully understand when it is appropriate to enroll children in nursery school settings, one must first understand brain development in the early years. Just as adult health care practices are not effective in pediatric care, adult learning principles cannot be applied to very young children. I recommend early childhood educators read articles on infant attachment and brain development when developing curriculum and structuring formal learning environments for children under 3 years of age.

If the children are socializing, playing and manipulating their world to learn about the wonders of everything and having an enjoyable time, then adding another 3 hours a week would be a pleasure for everyone. If a child is not having a pleasurable experience, then it needs to be halted before much damage is done. Hard to be a successful learner when "formal schooling" begins if you've had unsuccessful experiences in early childhood!

Unfortunately due to the way society is now, parents are working extra long hours and both parents are working outside of the home now. My childcare center is open for up to 12 hours per day, 5 days a week. Some children's hours in care vary. For the most part what is the alternative, you have children being barely supervised by others who are not as qualified. The positive and negative is that the children who spend the majority of the day in care form relationships and close attachments with the staff rather than parents.

It all depends on what you call school. What is your environment like? What are the children doing during their time. Children that age in the states can be in quality care for 9 hours and do well if they are in a quality setting.

Children under 6 years of age need to learn through PLAY. They need lots of unstructured ( by others) time. Adding more hours in school may not do that as well as having playtime at home where they can determine how long to play with any idea or item.

In our program we serve children 6 weeks to 5 years old. The children are at the centers from 8:00 to 4:00 Monday through Friday and it works out really well.

I have been in a few settings that are very different from each other. One Nursery School served 3- and 4-year olds. In the AM from 8am-12pm they served 3 year olds, and from 12pm-4:30pm they served 4-year olds 5 days a week. Where I am now working, we serve children from 6 weeks to 10 years. Each child is allotted at most 50 hours a week. we try to limit each day to 10 hours max. This of course is a Child Development Center in the Eastern USA, which is very different culturally compared to the Nursery School in Indonesia. We have many families where both parents are in the work force and need the care for longer time periods. We also are connected to a larger organization (hospital). On a daily basis, we have as many as 120 children in our center each day. We have enrolled 170 children which includes Full time children, Part time children and drop-ins.

I run a full day center for working parents. Our hours are 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday thru Friday. Although this is different than your pre school program, we try (unsuccessfully) to limit the hours that the children are here to 10 hours per day. The children have blossomed tremendously with the consistancy and academics that we instill in them. We have become an extension of their familiy. I do not think an additional 3 hours would harm the children in your program at all. Good Luck.

I will never forget the time, years ago, that I heard Magda Gerber speak about caring for infants in groups. She was one of a very few who had the courage to express that perhaps we should consider this idea of full day group care for infants more carefully before just accepting that it had to be that way due to the needs of families to work full time. She felt strongly that infants should not be in group care for a full day - at least not without the assurance of what is considered quality care for that age group. Magda was, as I recall, the pioneer of the RIE approach and may have coined the term "educarers" as an alternative term for professional infant/toddler care providers. Perhaps this would be a good place to start research on this topic for those who are interested.

As an in-home childcare provider since 1987, I would like to offer my opinion (for whatever that is worth), aboutt he hours in care. I provide care for children whose aprents are working their jobs, so the children in my care are usually here about an average of 9 hours per day, 5 days per week. I think that the children are accepting of whatever their schedule needs to be as long as the relationship between provider and children is aproductive one. if they aren't happy to be with that provider, they won't aceept even a very short schedule. I guess what I am saying is that the quality of the program is what establishes the success of the success of the relationship with children and their parents too. If the child is happy to be here, then the parents are usually happy too. Thanks for your time......................Pat Schenck

Children are happy to spend 10 hours a day, five days a week in stimulating, supportive, developmentally appropriate and nurturing environments. Their emotional well-being is reflective of the kind of care they are given regardless of the amount of time they spend in that care. This care needs to be responsive to the social and emotional needs of the children by curriculum choices, adequate rest periods, and changes in the schedule and pace of the day. Transitional times should be limited as the children spend more and more time in school so they have fewer play interruptions and can sustain attended play. Professionals that respect a child's developmental age will plan enjoyable moments of play and teaching throughout the day without overtaxing a child's energy and focus.

Our program offers 5 day a week program. The hours are 9 AM to 12 Noon. The ages are 18 months to 3 years. Also in our children house ours are 8:30 til 3 or 8:30 til Noon. 5 days a week. We feel that children need to have consistency in their daily schedule. Parents do have the option for before and aftercare if they work longer hours. However, I feel that the shortest time in a group setting is the best. Three hours for 18months to young three. 3 to 7 hours for the older children.(older 3to6 years)

I have over 25 years expereince working in the field of Early Childhood Education and am also the mother of children who attended childcare programs. I currently am the director of a non profit childcare program that offers both full day and half day programs to children ranging in age from 18 months to 6 years. What I have come to learn from my expereince is that each child and family is unique as are the needs of each child. Some children thrive in a group setting and the ideal amount of time in that setting is determined by the child. Observations of the child's (children's) holestic growth and development, comfort level, sense of self and well being are clearly indicated through observing the child, recording their growth and development and responding to the needs of the child. Hence for some children it may be very appropriate and even enrichening for them to attend a 1/2 day program 5 morning per week and for other children of this age it may be more conducive to their needs to be in a 1/2 program less time. The trick is identifying what is in the best needs of each child and creating a high quality early learning program that responds to these needs. I hope it is helpful - Good luck.
Debbie

As long as the time that they are spent in your care is age appropriate, nurturing, and educational, an extra day will probably be more beneficial than spending that time at home. I know that personally when I am at home all day with my children I am less attentive to their needs then when we have had a short time apart so I can focus on "tasks" and then can spend more focused time on them when we are together.

I don't think it makes too much difference how long they stay.
It all depends on the home atmosphere and the childcare atmosphere. If they are both loving, secure and trusting places, longer hours will work OK. Our infants and toddlers spend around 8-10 a day in our center and they seem well adjusted.

I agree with you.

I think it depends on the purpose for the school. It sounds like you've developed a program with "learning/education" specifically the goal or reason for the school. It is my belief that Mon -Thur. would be enough and that parents should take on the role of continuing their education at home on the off days. Keeping your parents involved is the key or you could perhaps turn into "babysitters" for Mothers instead of Early Childhood Educators.

I believe that for children 3 years of age, 2 1/2-3 hrs per day, 2 or 3 days per week, is more than enough time to learn and socialize in a group setting such as Nursery School. Most children 4 or 5 years of age, thrive in a learning environment of full mornings or afternoons, 5 days per week, 3 hours per day. I believe that parents want their children to go to school earlier, and for longer hours, mainly for their own convenience and not just to give their children an "edge" where learning is concerned. In my time as a Nursery and Daycare Director, I have observed that children need more time with their families - the concept of "family time" seems moot; weekdays now consist of school, daycare, an evening activity, dinner, bathtime and bedtime, and the children are suffering. I am afraid that the family unit is in decline and do not want to see children pushed earlier and earlier, for longer hours, into institutional centers, no matter how well-run or organized they may be.

I never allow children to remain in care for over 10 hours each day.

These are very young children who need a lot of responsive attention. However, how long they should be in a group setting depends on what the rest of their day is like. No matter what the school is doing, each child has the same long day. It might be worth while to consider the schedule of the child's day, from the time of waking up, all the way through to the bedtime at home.

If the child is not at home with a mother or other close relative for the rest of the day, then it is very important the children this young not go to another center type of group program. Two "schools" in the same day is stressful. They would need to be in an after-school or extended day program at the same place that they were in the first group program, or in a home based program, which we call family child care.

The other consideration is the pacing of the child's day. If the child is going to be in the same group program for longer hours, we know that the day has to be paced differently. The pace of a short morning program goes faster, has more transitions, than
the pace of a high quality longer day program. The same scheduling doesn't work at all, which may be why some part-day nursery school programs think that quality cannot be achieved in a long day -- what worked for the short day doesn't work for the long day. The last consideration is to be sure that the program, short or long, meets all the child's developmental needs, especially the need for relationships, social-emotional development, and not just cognitive needs.

I work with Infants and toddlers (ages 6 weeks to 2.9 years). I have had kids under my care who have been in daycare/school for ten hours a day 5days a week. They are scheduled from 7 am -6pm. They seem to be doing fine. My daughter spends on an average 8-9 hours in daycare 5 days a week. She seems to be doing fine too. As a parent I wish it was less but have no choice. Plus it is preparing her for school too. As long as kids have caring, nurturing caregivers who are willing to meet the needs of the children and have constructive things going on then they are fine. Lack of constructive things in a program causes boredom leading to other problems!

The care and nurture of young children under three-years of age in a group setting is and has been a topic fraught with many opinions. Your question concerns the amount of time spent in a group setting others may ask if children this young should be in a group setting of this size at all.
Research has shown that young children can flourish in a group setting that is developmentally appropriate and where highly trained and nurturing adults maintain a vital relationship with each child.
Gonzales-Mena, J.,& Widmeyer, D.E. ( 1997). Infants, toddlers, and caregiviers. Palo Alton, CA: Mayfield.
Carnegie Task Force on Meeting the Needs of our youngest children (1994). From NAEYC
You could also avail yourself too much of the current research that has been used to help develop the Early Head Start program.

What is the goal or purpose of your business? Go back to your original objectives and review your vision. If you want or need to adjust your goal then now may be the time. If you believe that your original goal or objective is still valid (parent cooperative) and your business plan, then the parents that need extended hours of operation may need to find alternative care arrangements.

Personally I believe in your case that to have an active on-going conversation with the parents involved and to understand their needs or wants concerning extended care hours would be critical. If it is the desire of a few of the parents that have a need for work or travel time then another solution or care situation may be best to meet their individual needs.

Thoughtful communication with parents and rethinking your organizational goal is critical at this point.

18 months: 5 mornings of 2.5 hours or less is sufficient for individual or peer playing. Adults could conduct drama, storytelling w puppets.
19--24 months: 5 mornings of 3-4 hours of social play, storytelling, drama, Music Movement program, and table manipulative activities, painting and coloring
24--36 months: 5 mornings of 4 + hours , with breaks

I feel that children at that young age are so different in what they can handle and their level of coping it would be hard to say generally,however there remains the question of what they are doing during the time they are away. So if your program is offering a balanced diet of activities for the children,then adding one more morning should not be aq real concern.

I have worked at the Center for 25 years and have two daughters who have attended from infancy through Kindergarten. Our center provides care for children 6 weeks to 13 years old and is open monday through friday from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. For my children this was a very positive experience provided I limited their days to no more than 8 hours and I was aware of their need to have occassional "vacations" from group care where we would take time off or they would spend the day with Grandma. I feel it is important to consider each child and family situation individually but I would also be interested in research that discusses "how much of quality group care is too much?" I often times discuss with families about child behaviors that could be a result of too much group care and the need for children to have a break just as adults need a vacation every once in a while. I think this is an important topic and look forward to reading others views. In my experience I see many families who need or choose full time care for their children and would like to see more research done on its contributions to the future. In my case I am very proud of my daughter who is now 19 and attends a good college and loves to learn which we attribute to her "good beginning that never ends".

The length of time you spend with the children depends on whether it is for formal or informal learning. Formal learning should be five days per week and at least five to six hours per day. But this time includes independent playtime, lunch, nap after lunch and outdoor play. The children are not structured into a rigid program but encouraged to learn socialization skills with each other and adults, colors, shapes, days of the week, etc.

The research that i have read states that it is not nesssesarily the hours spent on long day care which is detremental or not for chidlren but the type and quality of the care. Children are best cared for in small groups with a primary carer who can have an intimate realtionship with the child and their family.

i cannot respond to the research part of the query-however from my own experience (and that has been in the eastern end of Asia (Israel) and the western end ((Taiwan) as a parent -the five days was fine for my children and for my own sanity-however, for me it was always important to make sure that the program met the needs of my child-my older child was a very active and busy child, yet could spend an hour with little figures, he was not interested and not able to sit with a pencil-my second was a child who loved to talk and be with friends and could write the letter "A" the mulitude of times requested by her teachers (on Guam) in a setting similar to the one you describe
i am not sure that these comments help-my answer is that there is no real answer-culture, parental desire, community pressure, expectations, needs etc...