Mt. Pleasant Childcare Center plans June opening

MT. PLEASANT — The Mt. Pleasant Childcare Center is set to open its doors in mid-June. They have already opened up their registration since March and are still accepting applications.

Director Amy McLaughlin is excited to welcome area children when the center opens its doors.

McLaughlin aims to nurture, educate and ensure safe play for the kids under her care. She is looking forward to being able to teach children through play and to better all of those under her care.

“Our philosophy is to provide safe, nurturing and fun care for the kids,” McLaughlin said. “Safety always has to come first because kids who do not feel safe do not thrive and learn. So, they have to know that they’re safe with us to play, nurture them, and have fun.”

They plan to nurture children by recognizing that everyone makes mistakes and to teach them to do better next time. These lessons come via play.

“Kids learn how to manage their emotions, to be patient, and how to interact with others. So the philosophy is going to be: All kids make mistakes and as adults it’s our job to give them tools to do better the next time,” McLaughlin said.

The child care center will be able to service around 68 kids. The center aims to provide child care services for years in the community. They currently have 40 registered for the center, and they will provide services for children aged 6-weeks to 4 years old.

The center is funded by fees charged to parents and donations from local businesses. The center will charge staggered rates depending on the age of the child per week. They will charge $175 per week for infants, $165 per week for children age 2, $155 for 3-year-olds, and $145 for 4-year-olds.

The child care center is aimed at helping families go back to work and not have to worry or stress about child care, which has been a reality for many in the community.

The child care center comes as Mt. Pleasant faces the immense need for support for working parents.

According to statistics provided by the center, Mt. Pleasant has about 1,041 children under the age of 12 and only 201 registered child care seats. Mt. Pleasant has seen about a 51 percent decrease in available child care in the past five years.

“If you can’t find child care for your kids, both parents are not going to be able to work so that impacts families and their economic situation, and employers because they have less workforce,” McLaughlin said.

The child care center, which will find its home in the recently closed Family Video building, was announced in the fall of last year as the Chamber realized that working families are in need of child care and support in Mt. Pleasant, especially since the only registered child care center in Mt. Pleasant “The Owl’s Nest” closed in 2011. Construction for the project is on schedule meaning that the they are on goal to open mid-June.

The project was spearheaded by the Mt. Pleasant Chamber of Commerce when they discovered that many mothers were staying out of the workforce due to a lack of child care in the area.

The center will be here to help the community grow economically and to get people back to work.

If you are interested in applying for child care or employment at the center visit their Indeed.com website or call the Chamber of Commerce for more info.