5 ms·

If your company is going to provide on-site care, their are really good reasons to make sure its a separate area with its own access doors and strict instructio

If your company is going to provide on-site care, their are really good reasons to make sure its a separate area with its own access doors and strict instructions on whose allowed into the area. Kid's at people's desks is a terrible idea, and frankly deprives the child of valuable play learning time with other children. Webcams should be sufficient for parents. Some small things to think about: 1) custody disputes are a pain in the butt and you are now part of it 2) going on the theme, who picks up the kid is actually more complicated than just the employee who drops the kid off (come in early with Mom, but get picked up by grandparent to be with other kids is not uncommon) - get this crap in writing 3) get the food correct for the children - you need to feed them - you are now running a restaurant 4) Lysol - wholesale purchases 5) Make sure you follow all codes and do the required number of fire, tornado, etc. drills 6) Read the Early Head Start and Head Start staffing guidelines as many places require you meet those. Also note, those flexible Silicon Valley hours are going to be amazingly fun with staffing requirements. 7) Security camera setup with DVRs - should go just fine with the webcams 8) Be a nice employer and do the assessment tests for your staff 9) know the facility requirements in detail. If you spend the time and money on setup, you will have an amazing workplace. If you half-ass it, you will be sued a lot.

j_s 10y ago
Thanks for the details; it makes sense to do this well or not at all. You should move the last line of your comment to the top as the perfect TL;DR: If you spend the time and money on setup, you will have an amazing workplace. If you half-ass it, you will be sued a lot.
- protomyth 10y ago
  Yeah, that would be a TL;DR although I just hit the major points, the devil (and several bureaucrats) are in the details. I did "data consulting" for the predecessor research program to Early Head Start called CCDP when I was first out of college and it turned into knowing every regulation and rule. Its amazing how computer people become domain experts. I should add that the Denver II screening is now free and you should check with the state your in to find out what child assessment tools you need to teach your child care staff to administer. We used LAP and E-LAP which were pretty easy and focused on what play activities the staff should do with the children.
VLM 10y ago
10) Food Allergies and allergies in general are huge fun. So some kid with a peanut allergy in the day care means no peanut butter sandwiches in the employee cafeteria on the other side of the building. 11) Sometimes kids or parents aren't compatible with day care staff or management or policies, and that's OK when day care management and your management don't report to the same guy and you're not under the same roof, but it gets stressful when you're all one big family. Much like having a company bank or a company store sounds really nice until you look at some historical issues... Now you have employees complaining to their supervisor because the kids aren't getting enough zoo field trips, etc.
andyana 10y ago
> 3) get the food correct for the children - you need to feed them - you are now running a restaurant Or don't provide food and have the parents bring the kid in with a lunchbox.
- protomyth 10y ago
  Good luck with that. You might want to check the state regs and know that accepting parent food gets you into a whole realm of problems dealing with allergies. Its actually simpler to do it yourself.
  - pavel_lishin 10y ago
    Our daycare in New York City which provides care for kids from 4 months old to kindergarten age, requires parents to bring their own food in.
    - protomyth 10y ago
      Interesting, I could never figure out how it would work, but we were rural, low income. What did they put on for restrictions? Was there a form? Out of curiosity did they post any information online?
      - pavel_lishin 10y ago
        I'm not sure what being rural and low-income has to do with it; can you expand on that? They have a parent manual online - we also have a hard copy - which includes a section on food. I've copied their instructions: https://gist.github.com/pavellishin/69b9dabdd3a9ae8ecd0dce461e19affd https://gist.github.com/pavellishin/69b9dabdd3a9ae8ecd0dce46... (I think there's a typo there - I believe that "because we do have a commercial kitchen" should be "because we do NOT have a commercial kitchen".) I'm going to include the list of forbidden foods here. I'm surprised that carrots and grapes are forbidden; I don't know what sort of hazard carrots present. > NUTS of any kind. This includes nuts in cereal or baked goods. > PEANUT BUTTER, in any form > RAW CARROTS, in any form > HOT DOGS/SAUSAGES link style or cut in circles. They will be served only if diced. > POPCORN, CHIPS, SODA, CANDY, and PRETZELS are never served (except at parties). > FRESH GRAPES are never served. In fruit cocktail, you must remove or cut the grapes. > HARD BOILED EGGS are served only if they are peeled and cut into quarters. > FRESH FRUIT must be peeled, pitted, and cut. One exception: bananas. > CHERRY TOMATOES will be served only if they are quartered. > OLIVES will be served only if pitted and halved. > SEAFOOD is a common allergen. If there is anyone in a class that has this allergy you may be > asked not to bring seafood. > MEAT or CHICKEN must be removed from the bone.
st3v3r 10y ago
"Kid's at people's desks is a terrible idea" I really, really hope those are just terrible stock photos.
- pavel_lishin 10y ago
  Yeah. I stayed home from work a few weeks ago to take care of our six month old, as her daycare was closed. I told work that I would be OOO, but would work if possible. Not possible. Kids require a lot of attention, and a lot of care. Maybe when she's older, and can entertain herself, but there is zero chance of me getting work done if I'm also taking care of her, and maybe a 10% chance if other peoples' kids running around.
  - soperj 10y ago
    6 months old, should have had time during naps?
    - pavel_lishin 10y ago
      Which ones? Her first 30 minute one, her second hour-long one, or her third 30 minute one? I suppose, if I didn't need to do things like make and eat lunch, or use the bathroom.
    - dougk16 10y ago
      Strictly speaking yes you typically have several hours of "free" time each day while your child naps. The issue (assuming a creative job like a developer) is you have no idea how long you have, or how well they'll sleep, so basically it's very hard to get into the zone with the randomly timed ticking time bomb sleeping in the next room. :)
      - JoeAltmaier 10y ago
        Further, if you don't sleep when the child is sleeping, then when will you sleep? The best thing to do when the child is napping, is to nap.
justinlardinois 10y ago
Are there companies in the business of managing on-site child care? It seems like setting up your own program is tough even for a large corporation.
- protomyth 10y ago
  Yes, there are companies that do the service. Bright Horizons is one http://solutionsatwork.brighthorizons.com/corporate-child-care/employer-sponsored-child-care http://solutionsatwork.brighthorizons.com/corporate-child-ca... (this does constitute and endorsement).

j_s 10y ago

Thanks for the details; it makes sense to do this well or not at all. You should move the last line of your comment to the top as the perfect TL;DR: If you spend the time and money on setup, you will have an amazing workplace. If you half-ass it, you will be sued a lot.

protomyth 10y ago
Yeah, that would be a TL;DR although I just hit the major points, the devil (and several bureaucrats) are in the details. I did "data consulting" for the predecessor research program to Early Head Start called CCDP when I was first out of college and it turned into knowing every regulation and rule. Its amazing how computer people become domain experts. I should add that the Denver II screening is now free and you should check with the state your in to find out what child assessment tools you need to teach your child care staff to administer. We used LAP and E-LAP which were pretty easy and focused on what play activities the staff should do with the children.

VLM 10y ago

10) Food Allergies and allergies in general are huge fun. So some kid with a peanut allergy in the day care means no peanut butter sandwiches in the employee cafeteria on the other side of the building. 11) Sometimes kids or parents aren't compatible with day care staff or management or policies, and that's OK when day care management and your management don't report to the same guy and you're not under the same roof, but it gets stressful when you're all one big family. Much like having a company bank or a company store sounds really nice until you look at some historical issues... Now you have employees complaining to their supervisor because the kids aren't getting enough zoo field trips, etc.

andyana 10y ago

> 3) get the food correct for the children - you need to feed them - you are now running a restaurant Or don't provide food and have the parents bring the kid in with a lunchbox.

protomyth 10y ago
Good luck with that. You might want to check the state regs and know that accepting parent food gets you into a whole realm of problems dealing with allergies. Its actually simpler to do it yourself.
- pavel_lishin 10y ago
  Our daycare in New York City which provides care for kids from 4 months old to kindergarten age, requires parents to bring their own food in.
  - protomyth 10y ago
    Interesting, I could never figure out how it would work, but we were rural, low income. What did they put on for restrictions? Was there a form? Out of curiosity did they post any information online?
    - pavel_lishin 10y ago
      I'm not sure what being rural and low-income has to do with it; can you expand on that? They have a parent manual online - we also have a hard copy - which includes a section on food. I've copied their instructions: https://gist.github.com/pavellishin/69b9dabdd3a9ae8ecd0dce461e19affd https://gist.github.com/pavellishin/69b9dabdd3a9ae8ecd0dce46... (I think there's a typo there - I believe that "because we do have a commercial kitchen" should be "because we do NOT have a commercial kitchen".) I'm going to include the list of forbidden foods here. I'm surprised that carrots and grapes are forbidden; I don't know what sort of hazard carrots present. > NUTS of any kind. This includes nuts in cereal or baked goods. > PEANUT BUTTER, in any form > RAW CARROTS, in any form > HOT DOGS/SAUSAGES link style or cut in circles. They will be served only if diced. > POPCORN, CHIPS, SODA, CANDY, and PRETZELS are never served (except at parties). > FRESH GRAPES are never served. In fruit cocktail, you must remove or cut the grapes. > HARD BOILED EGGS are served only if they are peeled and cut into quarters. > FRESH FRUIT must be peeled, pitted, and cut. One exception: bananas. > CHERRY TOMATOES will be served only if they are quartered. > OLIVES will be served only if pitted and halved. > SEAFOOD is a common allergen. If there is anyone in a class that has this allergy you may be > asked not to bring seafood. > MEAT or CHICKEN must be removed from the bone.

st3v3r 10y ago

"Kid's at people's desks is a terrible idea" I really, really hope those are just terrible stock photos.

pavel_lishin 10y ago
Yeah. I stayed home from work a few weeks ago to take care of our six month old, as her daycare was closed. I told work that I would be OOO, but would work if possible. Not possible. Kids require a lot of attention, and a lot of care. Maybe when she's older, and can entertain herself, but there is zero chance of me getting work done if I'm also taking care of her, and maybe a 10% chance if other peoples' kids running around.
- soperj 10y ago
  6 months old, should have had time during naps?
  - pavel_lishin 10y ago
    Which ones? Her first 30 minute one, her second hour-long one, or her third 30 minute one? I suppose, if I didn't need to do things like make and eat lunch, or use the bathroom.
  - dougk16 10y ago
    Strictly speaking yes you typically have several hours of "free" time each day while your child naps. The issue (assuming a creative job like a developer) is you have no idea how long you have, or how well they'll sleep, so basically it's very hard to get into the zone with the randomly timed ticking time bomb sleeping in the next room. :)
    - JoeAltmaier 10y ago
      Further, if you don't sleep when the child is sleeping, then when will you sleep? The best thing to do when the child is napping, is to nap.

justinlardinois 10y ago

Are there companies in the business of managing on-site child care? It seems like setting up your own program is tough even for a large corporation.

protomyth 10y ago
Yes, there are companies that do the service. Bright Horizons is one http://solutionsatwork.brighthorizons.com/corporate-child-care/employer-sponsored-child-care http://solutionsatwork.brighthorizons.com/corporate-child-ca... (this does constitute and endorsement).