The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
It's common in today's economy for both parents in a family to go to work each day to make ends meet. For many parents, that means finding a day care for their children is an absolute must. But as local residents have been finding out, vacant spots in day cares are few and far between. "We've had to turn away a lot of (children) because we are full," said Loretta Makela, acting director of the Kiddie Corner Day Care based in Ruth Betts School. "So we do need more spaces or another day care to open." She estimated that about five children have been turned away over the past two weeks, as the day care's 33 spots have been full since the start of the school year. Carol Hydamaka, who operates Best Beginnings Baby and Me out of the Flin Flon Indian-Metis Friendship Centre, also sees a need for more spaces. She said clients have told her that they have difficulty finding room in day cares and often leave their children with babysitters even if it wasn't their preference. "I think it is a big problem," said Hydamaka. Linda Clark, who operates Wee Care Family Day Care out of her home, said she and other home-based day cares can't meet the demand. See 'We've' P.# Con't from P.# "We've had a lot of calls this year for children that we haven't been able to accept," she said. "We could have filled our spots twice over." One of the first questions that Clark and other home-based day care operators used to hear from parents was, "How much do you charge?" Now, Clark said, they're much more concerned about finding a vacant spot than the impact on their pocketbooks. She feels there is a particular need for more infant care in the local area, saying the limited number of spots for infants "fill up very rapidly." Enrollment at the Flin Flon Guidance Nursery is up over last year, though the program is not full, according to Clark, who is a board member. Since the nursery operates morning and afternoon sessions with a break for lunch, it may not meet the needs of many parents. Unlike a lot of local issues, this shortage hasn't been brought to the attention of Flin Flon MLA Gerard Jennissen or, as far as Councillor Tom Therien can recall, Flin Flon City Council. Jennissen said that's not to say there isn't a problem. Funding Earlier this week, the Manitoba government announced $697,000 in new operating grant support for day cares across the province. Facilities in Flin Flon did not share in that money, but for good reason Ñ there were no applications. Jennissen encouraged any interested parties to apply to the province for operating support for day cares, as the government may offer similar funding in the future. The Northern Tykes Day Care in Snow Lake, which did apply for the new round of funding, received $78,000, and Little Dreamers Day Care in The Pas got $27,000.
