A Positive Daycare Experience for Children & Parents

The primary goal of The Briar Patch Child Care Centre in Chilliwack is to make the daycare experience a positive one for both the parent(s) and child. We strive to meet this main goal through the following, supporting goals:

• To create a planned environment that is well maintained, attractive, and contains materials that promote social, physical, emotional, cognitive and cultural development.
• To have a clear understanding of the developmental stages (the sequence and tasks of each stage) in order to provide an environment that will meet these intrinsic needs, and allow each child to develop at his/her own pace.
• To provide each child with the freedom to work on self-chosen activities in a variety of settings.
• To model the values of the program in a positive, respectful way.
• To encourage children to make their own choices and solve their own problems, which promotes independent thinking and learning through the joy of self-discovery and self-motivation.
• To encourage children to work out any negative emotions or conflict situations by identifying their feelings and solving their own interpersonal problems through verbalization and communication.
• To encourage children to recognize, verbalize and accept their feelings, both towards themselves and towards others.
• To provide clear, reasonable limits so that discipline ultimately becomes self-discipline, with respect both for the centre rules and for the rights of others.
• To encourage children to become aware of themselves as individuals (positive self-concept) and to become aware of the differences in others (personality differences and cultural awareness).
• To provide an atmosphere that allows for cultural differences, that is androgynous and that reflects a population as diverse as the community we live in. Defining androgyny: Taking the best parts of femininity and masculinity and providing the opportunities for girls and boys to adopt those that interest them and those with which they feel comfortable. (J. Jenkins & P. MacDonald— “Growing up Equal”)
• To recognize that the child is part of a family unit and that the involvement of his/her family gives the child a sense of belonging and security. We encourage parental feedback and are supportive and sympathetic towards family needs or problems.
• To strengthen the bond between parent and child and to reinforce, rather than conflict with, the parental influence.
• To provide quality childcare, enabling the parent(s) to pursue his/her own education and/or career opportunities as well as their own personal goals.