Child Care Reflections

Archive for the ‘My Story’ Category

Promoting your website so parents can find your daycare online can be a challenge.  The internet is constantly growing and competition can be fierce!  So how do you promote your website so parents can find you online?  One simple answer: Search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is the leading way to promote a website, but how do you go about performing SEO?  Ask anyone and they’ll say link building!   One great and affordable way of building links is by signing up at a business web directory!  Directory submission is a  affordable search engine optimization (SEO) method and is the SEO method of choice for thousands of internet business owners around the U.S.   Here are some benefits to link building using a business web directory:

1. Major search engines use directories to find your website!  With new websites popping up daily, a great way to get listed in google is to get a link in a web directory. When google crawls the directory, your daycare website will be found and soon parents will find you!

2. Related to #1 are search engine “bots” and link building using web directories will increase your changes of having search engine robots crawling your site too.

3. As SEO experts will tell you, link popularity is the #1 way to increase visibility to your business website.

4. Great directories like jasminedirectory.com offer 100% SEO friendlybusiness listings that keyword target your daycare website.  Keyword targeting increases the relevancy of your directory submissions and builds confidence in your website by the search engines.

5. Lastly, along with keyword targeting, business web directory listings also build up your brand name. When used in conjunction with keyword-focused anchor text during the directory submission process, you’re effectively getting keyword targeting, link building and brand name building by submitting your link in a business directory.

Check out Jasminedirectory.com because they offer 100% SEO friendly links with W3 css and HTML validation, automatic thumbnails and allow you to submit up to 5 deep URLs. They are a great way to promote your business and your website to bring in parenting seeking child care every day!

When looking for a child care provider for your child:

Parents should consider asking the following questions:

Don’t hesitate to ask these questions and others you deem important!  It’s your job to find a child care provider that both your child will feel comfortable in and so will you.

Taylor started the Goddard School on Bethelview Rd in Cumming today. It’s seem like a great day care. Taylor went to the doctor on Friday due to a light grade fever and the doctor prescribed some antibiotics for a slight ear infection. Taylor’s stool was brick red as a side effect from the antibiotic. Goddard called me immediately when they noticed this, there was nothing wrong but it was good to know they care!

The school is also a lot cleaner than the one Taylor went to last week. Of course, it’s very new so we’ll see if they keep it that way! However, when I picked her up to feed her via her g-tube, she was in a circle with the other toddlers enjoying a pow wow with the teacher. I never saw anything like this in her prior daycare. I’m pretty sure they just watched her at the other school and didn’t try to really teach her anything. Not that she’s going to be a rocket scientist by attending Goddard, but I know they’re working with her to be a proper young lady and have good manners. That’s a starting point, right?

My wife Trina is going to be away for awhile. At first I had her dad watch Taylor, but after about 3 weeks I had enough of that! Nothing against the guy, but he spoils Taylor waaaay too much. I’m not the most disciplined parent, but I don’t want Taylor to think she can do anything she wants, its not healthy.

I spend last Monday looking for a good day care or child development center. I went to 5 daycare centers around my area (Cumming, GA). I won’t mention any names, but WOW. I basically found out there’s two types of child day care centers. Serious ones who care about the well being of your child and others who are struggling just to get by and basically charge less to get customers.

The pricing ranged from $135 per week to $219 per week. I really wanted to get her into the Day care right next to my work, since she has the feeding tube and if they had a problem I would be right next door. I think I will mention their name, Discovery Point. They were so rude! I got there about 8am in the morning. I asked to speak with someone to enroll my little girl. I had brought Taylor with me, because I had no choice. They said no-one was around to speak with me. I came back about 1-1/2 hours later, when they said someone would be there who could discuss the matter with me. This time I think there was a manager, but the first thing she said was, “Can your daughter hear?”. I said, “she can hear just a well as you or me as long as she has her Cochlear implant turned on”. I then told her a little bit about Taylor and she cringed! She basically went on to say she would have to speak with the manager about enrolling my child and the manager would call this afternoon, no matter what. He NEVER called! I finally called them back and she said, “they didn’t feel comfortable looking after Taylor”. She’s just a little girl!!! She’s not some kind of monster! I told them I would take care of feeding and other than the g-tube there is nothing medically wrong with her.

I got the run around at two other day care centers in Cumming! One just made excuses, they’re full they said, and other one said they needed a doctors note. Out of the 5 child day care centers I visited, only two would take my daughter.

I put her in one of the two, one was more convenient for me, but it smelled! The owner said they were remodeling but I didn’t see any signs of remodeling and the kids were just sitting around! The teacher was holding one of the children and when the owner asked her for the daily activities sheet, she just kind of looked at her and cocked her head!

All I can say is WOW what a difference between day care centers. I want the best for my little girl and the Goddard school said they would take her with a note from her doctor. Taylor got an ear infection while attending her first week in day care. I didn’t feel good all week too, her current day care doesn’t seem very clean, but I have to give them credit, they do seem to care about her. The first day I picked her up Taylor was outside and another 2 year old was hitting her and Taylor was crying!

OK, more later. I’ll let you know if Goddard really lets her in! I’m bringing the doctors note on Monday to sign her up.

Good luck with your day care hunt, if you’re currently looking, especially if you have a beautiful, special, little girl like my daughter. It’s tougher than you think!

My daughter was almost completely deaf until the last couple of months. She might have been born deaf because of her genetic defect Noonan’s Syndrome or it might have been caused by her chemotherapy. It could have been both reasons, but it doesn’t matter the cause; she couldn’t hear.

In December of 2009, she had a cochlear implant in her left ear. So, as far as hearing is concerned, her comprehension is only a month or two old! Last week I took her to speak therapy, it’s funny it’s call speak therapy when she can’t speak! Anyway, the therapist and I basically play with Taylor and use sounds during play to promote comprehension and hopefully sounds from Taylor to match our own.

Near the end of the session we were playing with cows and saying moo, moo. We’d put the cows in a pen with fake hay and say moo, moo. We’d kiss two cows together and say moo, moo. Taylor loved the play, of course, and at the very end of the play, she said in a ever so light manner mooooo. The therapist gave me a big high five and I felt like the luckiest dad alive! It was truly wonderful to hear my daughter speak the word moo. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re daughter has been deaf her whole life, it’s amazing!

As I look back on all the troubles my daughter and my family have experienced in the last 2-1/2 years, it only makes my love for her and my wife stronger. My daughter was born with JMML which stands for Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia. She was also born with a genetic heart defect and a birth defect called Noonan’s Syndrome. She has a feeding tube called a G-tube and she’s never ate a meal through her mouth, ever! Her mom and I use a feeding pump 4 times a day to feed her. She had open heart surgery when she was only a year old! They took her spleen out when she was about 6 months old (she had extreme thrombocytopenia). I daughter is also completely deaf. She now has a cochlear implant in her right hear and now has “mechanical” hearing.

I thank god every day for my daughter. She’s absolutely wonderful. Even with all her problems, she’s an absolute joy and whenever I’m sad, I just think of her smile (she’s smiles constantly) and I feel happy.

Happy New Year and god bless you all!

Hi, my name is Tim.

I started ChildCareReflections.com to helps Parents to discuss all their child care needs and questions and help explain my experience with child care.  I have a beautiful 2yr daughter named Taylor who was born with JMML.  JMML stands for Juvenile MyloMonocytic Leukemia and can be very bad.  I’m happy to report Taylor has currently stopped her chemotherapy and is doing very good!!  She also has other problems and child care has been a special case for her.  She says home with her loving mom, while I’m at work.  I wish I could be her primary care giver, but someone has to bring home the bacon, as they say.

I’d like to welcome everyone to ChildCareReflections.com and welcome all stories, questions and feedback you have about my daughter Taylor and your child care experiences.