Community and Child Care
A Few Thoughts about RCs and Childcare
Sometimes in Launch Point child care is brought up by a new family looking to connect. With that said, currently about 10% of our RCs offer some form of childcare. While we admit it is not our position and or desire to find/implement a “one size fits all” solution, we can offer ideas that might be implementable by you in your RCs if it is relevant to your community.
Hiring a Babysitter: This is perhaps the most straightforward approach to the subject. If an RC has enough children by multiple couples, it might be easiest to just hire out the service. Costs can be carried by the families with children, or the RC group, if so desired, could kick in a few dollars as well. The sitter could be hired for the weekly group, or just once a month.
Childcare from Within - Families: Another option is to have childcare provided on a rotating basis by a couple within the RC who already have young children. Week 1 is the Jones family, week 2, the Smiths, etc. This way there are no costs involved, and everyone gets to share the load. In some cases, others in the RC who do not have children, might be willing to be added to the rotation to help in the administration of childcare.
Childcare from Within - Teenager: Another practical option is to have a teenager/teenagers help with the childcare. Each group would need to take care to insure that there isn’t an “expectation” that a teen would want to do it, or that they would do it for free. Also, each family would need to be comfortable with a teenager watching their children, which they might not.
Childcare by Parents while in Group: Often by default, childcare by group happens when the children are just brought to the group with no one other than the mother or father of the children taking care of them. This might work if there is only one or two children, but in reality, this often leads to a little one crawling or wobbling around the RC and being a cute distraction. In many cases this is not a problem, but it can be. By default, the group is involved simply because of proximity, and the cute kid is hard to ignore.
No Child Care Option: This option represents 90% of our current RC’s. Each family is required to make arrangements for themselves. A way of helping these families might be in having a few babysitters on speed dial that an RC leader might recommend.
Regardless of your group’s preference, this is a topic that is worth discussing, and being very upfront with new families about appropriate expectations. We want to be as accommodating as possible, within reason, knowing that each group has its own values and considerations.