Student Teacher Ratio at Daycare centers

[KatiDYeh]

I am attending school in order to persue my lifelong dream of changing the lives of children in terms of health. I have found that the best way to make the biggest difference is to open a Daycare center focused on children eating food that will help stimulate their bodies in growth and help their minds develop in the healthiest and best way.

While looking at the student Teacher ratio set in place by Georgia law, I thought the student teacher ratio to be too high, and the question 'how are the teachers able to properly care after MY child' came up.

This got me thinking about the center that I plan on opening, and wondered how real parents would feel about a daycare that had less students, smaller class sizes, and a healthier diet for their little loved ones.

[just_lily]

As my experience as a home daycare provider, I have found that although most parents like all of those things in theory, if at the end of the day it costs more than a "traditional" spot, most parents are either unable or unwilling to pay for it.  When I first opened I tried offering exclusively organic food for a small additional fee and had zero interest. 

Good luck!

[elus0814]

I think interest might depend on the area. In a city where some of the parents have two big incomes and only one child there might be lots of interest but in an area of Georgia where incomes are lower and special forms of childcare are not often considered it might be tough to make a living at it. We're moving to central Georgia soon and visits to the area have me thinking childcare like that wouldn't have many parents coming there.

[whatsnextmom]

LOL, well of course parents are going to want a preschool with small numbers and healthy eating habits. I can't think of anyone who doesn't already look for that. I agree with above that in the end, cost is everything. They may love a preschool with 1 to 3 ratio but those can be very expensive. My kids never did daycare but preschool was expensive enough as it was even for just a couple mornings a week.

[Linda on the move]

My kids go to a private school with a very low student teacher ratio. The reason that some of the kids are there is they have mild special needs, are gifted and don't thrive in regular school, or are twice exceptional. If you have a lower ratio, there's a good chance that the people who are willing to pay for that are doing so because their kids are intense. Some kids at our school have a sibling in a cheaper or free school.

I think that a good diet could be a good thing -- lots of those kids do well with a healthy diet.

However, it also means that there are more kids who are already on special diets -- gluten free or no lactose or funky sensory issues so they are super picky or whatever. And any of those things is fine separately, but doing them altogether could be difficult. Our school doesn't do lunch -- the kids must bring their own food, because there really aren't any foods that ALL the kids in the school can/will eat.

[One_Girl]

My dd is school age now and I care more about her being happy and feeling respected than I do about what she eats at daycare.  When she was in preschool I looked for a daycare center that was NAEYC accredited, had educated teachers, followed the NAEYC ratio standards, used a play based curriculum, had family style meals, and didn't use time-out.  I also kept my focus on her being happy then.  Healthy food is nice, but I wouldn't move my child or even pick a daycare just for that. .