Sponsored Story:
The Children’s Playroom:
Where Creative Play Means Fun!
For many parents, child care is a year-round requirement. It’s a place parents hope their children learn something while providing a space for them to just be a kids a little longer. With more teaching standards for traditional day cares, along with their limited schedules, you may wonder if there are places where kids can simply be kids. The Children’s Playroom, a drop-in child-care facility with locations in Belle Meade and Brentwood, fulfills this need for families.
Open seven days a week year round, The Children’s Playroom allows and encourages children’s curiosity. What’s more, the likelihood of the facility closing for a day is low, even in the case of bad weather. Monica Barnes, director and caregiver at the Belle Meade location, says they’ve closed perhaps three times in her 16 years at the facility.
Like all licensed child-care facilities, The Children’s Playroom meets all the requirements for background checks, medical reports and references for all of their caregivers. Furthermore, unlike a typical day care, The Children’s Playroom is required to have more caregivers on site and often faces more regulations. The staff at The Children’s Playroom wouldn’t have it any other way. They love their children and their families.
The Children’s Playroom Experience
When children walk through the door, caregivers invite them to join in a full day of fun activities. However, if children prefer to do their own thing, they can have fun in the open play areas with basketball, iPads, music and tons of toys.
Children ages 5 and older can choose to go to a separate video area with Xbox 360 consoles and games as well as an air hockey table. In addition, little ones ages 2 and younger have their own play areas with the goal of engaging them to do what they do best — play creatively while unleashing their wonderful imaginations.
Quality Caregivers
The caregivers at The Children’s Playroom greatly enhance the unique setting. From caring for infants to tutoring, the staff does a lot more than typical day-care employees. The flexible setting does much to attract quality caregivers. For instance, Barnes was in need of a place where she could bring her youngest child with her to work. The Children’s Playroom allows its caregivers’ kids to attend free of charge. It was an attractive option Barnes couldn’t refuse.
Barnes thought she would eventually move on, but 16 years later she’s still there. Her love of the kids, their parents and the facilities’ owners makes it hard for her to consider another job. Even though the facility is centered around play, she says one of her favorite activities is “Circle Time,” during which she sits with the children to help them learn shapes, colors and numbers along with other activities.
Dawn Santana, on the other hand, originally took the job as a part-time opportunity and is now the director and a caregiver at the Brentwood location. One of the attractions to the position for her is that she gets to be “a stable, happy, positive influence” for the children. In addition, she says she also loves playing and dancing with them throughout the day. Her favorite part of working at The Children’s Playroom is taking care of children whose parents used to be under her care as well. Santana says it makes the facility feel like an extension of her family. She says she loves “to hear the stories of family vacations, new siblings being born, new pets and tons more,” adding that “it’s a job like no other.”
THE CHILDREN’S PLAYROOM LOCATIONS
5133 Harding Pike
Nashville, TN 37205
615-353-4900
— and —
330 Franklin Road
Brentwood, TN 37027
615-371-5279
For hours, registration and more info, visit thechildrensplayroom.com.