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While the struggle of school-aged children has been well-documented during the pandemic, daycare providers have faced different challenges.
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Richmond daycares supporting parents of young children
By Hannah Scott, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Published 3:38 PDT, Mon August 31, 2020
Last Updated: 2:13 PDT, Wed May 12, 2021
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Kids across Canada are preparing to return to school with a host of changes and new safety protocols. But preschool and daycare operators face different challenges, including younger children who require more physical care.
Enrolment has been one major difference between daycare and school-aged children. While school-aged children can only opt out of a return to school through distance learning, homeschooling or temporary transition learning, parents of younger children can choose to keep their children at home while still paying daycare fees.
That’s been the case at Little Wings Daycare, located near Vancouver International Airport. After reopening in May, more children have returned each month according to director Lisa Dunkley. As of Sept. 1, all spaces are full—although some parents are hesitant to send their children right away.
“We expect this might change once parents see how it works with children returning to school classrooms,” says Dunkley.
At Steveston’s Sandcastle Park Children’s Centre, which remained open during the pandemic, there are still some spaces left due to parents dropping out or changing from full-time to part-time care. Children of essential workers have been welcomed throughout the summer, although staff have only received one inquiry according to the school’s Elaine Lam.
Physical distancing can be a challenging concept for younger children to grasp, but is being encouraged where possible. Other precautions include frequent hand washing and asking parents to monitor for symptoms. Adults must drop off and pick up children outside the classroom.
Both Little Wings and Sandcastle Park said if someone tested positive for COVID-19, they would report to health authorities and follow guidance which could include temporary closure, deep cleaning, and testing of staff.
But some things have remained the same: there are waiting lists at childcare facilities due to a low capacity compared to the number of children in need.
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