Licenced child care for kids under a year-and-a-half old is now available in Cochrane.
The municipally-operated Cochrane Child Care Centre is the only licenced facility in the Rail Town. It’s opening a new extension to its building on Monday, that was funded by the provincial education ministry.
Child care manager Lora St-Pierre says until now, she and her staff have only been able to accept little ones who were at least 18 months old.
“So it left a lot of families scrambling for child care, especially if they took a one-year or less maternity leave,” she explains. “ They had to rely on babysitters or unlicenced care or family members to take care of their infants. So now we’re able to offer care for children 18 months and under.”
St-Pierre says infant care brings more provincial regulations to a licenced centre, such as a separate sleep room and a kitchen.
She also says that kids over 18 months old all follow the same day care routine, such as snack time, lunch time and rest time.
“So with the infant room, we schedule the day around the infant,” St-Pierre says. “ We’re working closely with the parents to figure out their natural shythm. So what time do they typically eat? What time do they typically sleep? And the day is set up around them.”
Four of the ten infant spaces are already filled.