GB2409663A

GB2409663A - Child care management diary

Info

Publication number: GB2409663A
Application number: GB0408024A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Emily Jallat
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-01-03
Filing date: 2004-04-02
Publication date: 2005-07-06
Also published as: GB0400071D0; GB0408024D0

Abstract

The child minder diary comprises a pre-printed booklet with two or more sections: the first section A is for a parent to record information about the child and the second section (B, page 4) is for a child minder to record the child's daily activities, achievements and new preferences. Preferably the information section records eating and sleeping habits and details of classes, playgroups and useful contacts. The activities section may list tasks or activities for the child minder to carry out. Photographs, tickets and other memorabilia may be included in the activities section. An additional section may be provided with stickers awarded to the child for good performance. The diary may be in loose leaf format. A computer disk or other electronic or optical medium may be included so that the diary may be loaded onto a computer or printed out.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO

CHILD CARE MANAGEMENT

This invention relates to improvements in child care management, and specifically to a method for structuring child care and a diary for facilitating it.

Many first time mothers who have recently returned to work are concerned at the level of care when leaving their child with a 'stranger' for the first time. This is an issue that affects all families where both parents choose to work - a scenario that is becoming more and more the rule rather than the exception.

A child mincer diary in accordance with the invention comprises a preprinted booklet having two or more sections, of which a first or information section is arranged for information about a child to be entered by a parent, and an activities section is arranged normally for a carer, though of course this could be by a parent him or herself, to record the child's activities, achievements and/or new preferences as a permanent record.

Typically the information section may also provide for information about the child's . eating and sleeping habits or requirements to be recorded. In addition it will normally... . include areas for entering information about contact people and their telephone numbers e.

in case of difficulty or an emergency, as well as regular classes, playgroups and activities. ::::.

The activities section is preferably set out so that the parent can additionally enter a.

programme of activities or tasks for the carer to carry out during his or her absence These not only act to set out a structured programme for the caret, but also, once completed, act as a check that each has been carried out as it is filled in by the caret.

An further, 'achievements' section may be provided in which photographs, entry tickets to attractions and other memorabilia can be attached, or for examples of the child's own work to be included. The child mincer diary, as sold, may include good behaviour or performance stickers which can be awarded by the carer as a reward for the child who gains additional enjoyment in sticking them into the book.

Proper use of the child mincer diary in accordance with the invention assists the parents to ensure that their carer or nanny is as accountable as possible to any OFSTED approved care However it also lends itself to new parents in structuring the care of their children if they wish to use it themselves. Additionally, it can be used by the social services as a means of helping less successful mothers to improve their child caring skills.

The child mincer diary will contribute to improved care for the following reasons: - It helps to ease the burden by encouraging quality child care.

- It is also a nice keepsake Reading back through daily experiences of your child gives one the feeling of really being part of his/her life.

- It may also help an absent father to keep up with his child's development if he often returns late from work or travels a lot.

- When the child is old enough the parent and child can share these memories together.

The invention will now be described specifically and with reference to the accompanying example.

::::.

The child mincer diary shown in the example has three distinct sections . ..

- a first or information section, marked A; - a second or activities section, marked B. and .

- a third or achievements section, marked C . . :.

The child mincer diary comprises a structured journal style notebook to facilitate the communication between parent(s) and home based child cater (e.g. nanny, childminder).

It begins with the 'information' section (Section A) for the parent to describe the child in care and outline some important notes to help the carer (e.g. meal times, emergency contact details, doctor's name), as well as regular classes, playgroups and activities.

A second, 'activities' section (Section B) of the child mincer diary follows in the form of a series of activities to be carried out with space for 'daily reports' for the child carer to fill in The third 'achievements' section (Section C) provides space for entry tickets, souvenirs or the child's own work to be stuck into the diary. It can also provide for rewards stickers to be stuck in by the child for particularly good behaviour.

It thus assists home based child carer in planning her day and makes them accountable by asking them to fill in prepared entries and to write a daily report It is easy to use and purposeful and facilitates communication between the parent and the carer.

From a safety point of view, it makes sure that the carer has emergency contact information in one, safe, logical, place, and knows where to find them.

It can also be used as a 'hand over' when there is a change in child carer (e g. nanny to grandparents).

Later it can become a nice keepsake for the mother and the child- years of joy reading back through some memorable experiences In the attached example, it shows 'Daily reports example for the 0-2yr age group'. A . finished such diary may have pictures photographs or diagrams to make it more .

interesting and attractive both to a carer and a child. :e - -

Although an economy version may be bound, it may potentially be made in binder format This would enable one to: . .. .e

- Write extra sections that could be added such as 'tips on nutrition' and 'fun activities to play with a 2 year old' for the less experienced child carer (I have many more ideas here) - Add daily reports that are age and/or type of carer relevant.

- Supply blank pages so that tickets and other flat collectibles (e.g. a leaf from the park) can be stuck.

- Make photo holder pages - Put address pages for names and address of local child care groups, friends, family - Supply stickers that the child can put in for good behaviour - Adapt it for children of different ages and families with more than one child - Illustrate it to make it a nice keepsake Adapt it for evening and nighttime babysitting Adapt it for parental care.

The sections are self-explanatory, and some items may be added or left out to suit the particular circumstances, provided that the general structure is followed Throughout this specification, the person who is principally looking after the child during its waking hours is referred to as the 'cater'. Naturally, if a parent chooses to look after his or her child, this in no way alters the spirit ofthe invention.

EXAMPLE ease ë e . eeee e ë.. e e .. c.

The Achievement sections Favourite foods - 8 pages, 1st page with text and title at the top, lined pages. Here is the text: These are my favourite foods and how to prepare them.

Favounte Dames - 8 pages, 1st page with text and title at the top, lined pages. Here is the text: These are my favourite games, jokes and activities.

Special Moments - 8 pages, 1st page with text and tale at the top, lined pages. Here is the text: These are the moments that were special for us, my firsts and funny things I say and do Keepsakes - 8 pages, 1 st page with text and title at the top, blank pages. Here is the text: These are my art works, photos, tickets, special things I made and flat collectables.

Stickers - 3 pages with stickers :'. a: :e ë se

Claims

1. A child mincer diary comprising a pre-printed booklet having two or more sections, of which a first or information section is arranged for information about a child to be entered by a parent, and an activities section is arranged for a cater to record the child's daily activities, achievements or new preferences

2. A child mincer diary as claimed in claim 1 in which the information section provides for information about the child's eating and sleeping habits or requirements and details of any classes, visits or playgroups to be recorded for the career's attention

3 A child mincer diary as claimed in claim I or claim 2 in which the information section provides for information about contact people and their telephone numbers to be entered so that the cater knows whom to contact in case of difficulty or an emergency.

4 A child mincer diary as claimed in any preceding claim in which the activities section is set out so that the parent can enter a programme of activities or tasks for the . e.

carer to carry out during the absence of the parent. :.

5. A child mincer diary as claimed in any preceding claim in which the activities section is also arranged to enable the cater to enter a record of what the child has done during the parent's absence and any other appropriate observations. .. -

6 A child mincer diary as claimed in any preceding claim in which the activities.. ë

section contains milestone and achievement data as a guide and as an aide memoire both for the parents and for the carer.

7. A child mincer diary as claimed in any preceding claim comprising an additional achievements section in which photographs, entry tickets to attractions and other memorabilia can be attached, or for examples of the child's own work to be included.

8. A child mincer diary as claimed in any preceding claim comprising an additional section with good performance or achievement stickers that can be awarded to the child in appropriate circumstances

9. A child mincer diary as claimed in any preceding claim in loose-leaf format so that additional sections or pages can be added later as the child grows up.

10. A computer disc or other electronic or optical medium containing a program to enable the child mincer diary in accordance with any preceding claim to be used when loaded onto a computer or to be printed out either wholly or partially 11 A child mincer diary as claimed in any preceding claim substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figures. .- . :. e ë.. . .e .. ..