“When the kids are outside they outnumber me. There are six of them and one of me,” said home day care provider, Meredith Patterson of Steubenville.

On Thursday, she had seen a black bear in broad daylight at a busy intersection near the Ft. Steuben Mall.

“He was coming out of the woods — that was enough for me. The kids are not going outside to play,” said Patterson.

Over the past couple of weeks bears have been observed right across the Ohio Valley: everywhere from the middle of the street to dog houses.

Patterson said that the parents of the children she cares for support her decision to keep kids indoors.

“They understand. … I don’t want to put them at risk at all. It’s on their mind and my mind. That’s why we’re inside,” she said.

Wildlife experts think it likely that the bears were kicked out of their wooded territory by other bears and will eventually go back to the wild.

Looking after children with developmental delays (e.g. Down’s Syndrome) can be very rewarding.

I’ve just found an article about how to deal with such children which you may find interesting.

Here’s and excerpt:

“Years ago, parents were told to institutionalize children with Down’s Syndrome as infants. Now we know that children with Down’s Syndrome and other developmental delays can have rewarding and full lives with family and friends in their community.

One 19-year-old girl, when asked how she felt about having Down’s Syndrome, replied, “Great, I feel good about myself.” When asked what she thinks people should know about her condition, she said, “The first thing is that I am a human being who has the same feelings as everyone else, but the most important thing is that I like to be treated like every other member of the community.”

Let’s look at one situation you could encounter when a child with a developmental delay comes into your program. Remember that children with developmental delays and Down’s Syndrome have more similarities to other children in your care than differences.”

You can read the whole thing here: Developmental Delays

Talk soon,
Mary Nightingale

P.S. Thousands of future or current home daycare providers just like you have already signed up to my ‘how to start a home daycare’ newsletter. It’s getting a bit overwhelming and I may cap signups soon, but for the time being you can still join. Don’t worry, it’s free. All you have to do is enter your name and e-mail below:

I always like to see a good home daycare success story, and they don’t get much better than Patricia Ingram’s.

In 1986 she decided she’d like to stay at home with her newborn baby, so she opened a home daycare.

Patricia became more and more successful through the years and now owns a chain of centers.

Of course, you don’t have to go as far as Patricia if you don’t want to, but it just shows you what you can do if you put your mind to it.

You can read the full story by following the link below (I’d recommend taking a look, it really is inspiring):

Harrisburg Early Learning Center

Talk soon,
Mary Nightingale

P.S. The Home Daycare Secrets course is coming along really well now. It shouldn’t be too long before it’s ready.

I just found this video online about a daycare center that allows you to watch your child from your computer throughout the day.

I thought it was kinda interesting and that you might like to take a look:

Talk soon,
Mary

P.S. If you want to learn more about starting or improving your own home daycare, why not join my e-mail newsletter by typing in your name and e-mail address below?: