Policies & Guidelines

At Giggles, we pride ourselves on providing the best possible environment for your child. Our policies and guidelines are in place to ensure that all children in the center are safe, secure and receive only the highest quality care all while participating in activities that are stimulating and just plain fun!

Cleanliness

Giggles takes great pride in providing a clean environment for your child. We use hospital grade sanitizer on a daily basis to clean all toys and surfaces in the center. We also ask that children use hand sanitizer upon entering and exiting the center. Our staff washes their hands regularly, including before and after meals and after every diaper change. The changing table and potty are sanitized after each use.

Registration

Upon your first visit to Giggles, we ask that you complete the registration form and release form as well as thoroughly read our policies. It is very important for the health and safety of all children at Giggles that you abide by our policies.

• Because Giggles is a drop-in only childcare center, parents must be easily accessible, able to return within 15 minutes and able to be reached by cell phone or pager.
  
  
• Please note that the last drop off time is 9pm Thursday-Saturday.
  
  
• There will be a late fee of $1 every two minutes that a child is picked up after closing.
  
  
• Please be aware that if a child is not picked up 1 hour after closing and we have not made contact with a parent, the police will be alerted. Please be sure to contact us if you will be late.
  
  
• Payment is due when the child is picked up. We accept cash ,master card, visa and amex. We do not accept personal checks.
  
  
• There is a 1 hour minimum charge.
  
  
• Reservations are not required to use Giggles but are encouraged because we cannot accept children once the center is full.
• We only accept children 12 months to 12 years

Meals

Giggles meal and snack times are as follows:

• 10:00 am snack
• 12:00-1:00 Lunch
• 3:00 pm snack
• 5:30-6:30 Dinner

If you would like us to provide a meal for your child we must have your meal order by 11:15 am for lunch and 5:15 pm for dinner.  We do not prepare meals on site and must place your child's order with our total lunch or dinner order for delivery.

Giggles provides healthy and nutritious snacks for all children at no charge. Lunch and dinner will be provided for a charge of $4.00 for each meal from local restaurants. All food served to children is individually portioned either by the company that makes the food or the restaurants that provides the food. Parents are welcome to bring a meal for your child.  If your child is going to be with us during meal time we request that you either bring a meal or purchase one because it is difficult to feed some children and not others.

As many young children are allergic to peanuts, we will never serve any type of peanut products and respectfully ask parents to please not bring any type of peanut products for your child.

Healthy Children

In order to provide a safe and clean environment for all children at Giggles, we ask that you please do not bring an ill child to our center. Giggles reserves the right to refuse ill children and if a staff member notices signs of an ill child, the parent will be called and asked to pick up the child.

The following are guidelines of symptoms of children considered ill:

• A temperature of 100 degrees or higher
• Red, watery eyes (pink eye)
• Undiagnosed rash
• Excessive runny nose/ sneezing
• Excessive cough
• Sore throat

We ask that all children are up to date on their immunizations. Children who have not been immunized will not be accepted into the center.

**We do not administer medication of any kind.**

Personal Belongings

Cubbies are provided for children’s personal belongings such as shoes, diapers or change of clothing. We ask that all children wear socks in the center but not shoes. Please be sure to label sippy cups clearly with your child’s name. We ask that you please not bring any personal toys, with the exception of a special blanket or an animal for naps. We provide plenty of activities for your child.

Clothing

Please be sure to bring a change of clothing for your child.  In the even that a child needs to have his or her clothes changed and does not have a change of clothing with them, we will provide new clothing for the child to wear at a charge for the needed items.  We ask that all children wear socks while in the center. If children arrive to the center without socks, we have socks of various sizes available for purchase.

Potty Training

We will assist in potty training with any child but we need your help. Please bring the necessary supplies (diapers, pull-ups, wipes, change of clothing) and let staff members know where your child is in this process. We will do our best to keep the routine and make sure that the child takes frequent potty breaks. There will be a charge for any diapers provided by Giggles.

Emergency procedures

All staff members are CPR and First Aid certified and trained to handle emergencies. We have all emergency numbers posted and a full stocked first aid kit. Even with all of the safety precautions in place, accidents are possible. Parents will be notified in the event of an accident. Please be advised that in the event of a serious or life threatening emergency, we will notify emergency personel first and parents second.

Discipline Policy

At giggles we promote good behavior through praise, modeling and positive support. In the event that a child displays poor behavior he or she will be corrected first through redirection. We will only use "time-outs" if absolutely necessary. We do reserve the right to refuse admittance to a child whose behavior compromises the safety and well being of other children.

Definition of Drop-in Childcare

A childcare arrangement where care is provided while parents participate in activities that are not employment related, and where parents are easily accessible. Parents must be able to be reached by telephone or pager, and able to return to the facility within 15 minutes.

All of us here at Giggles understand that when you leave your child with us, you are trusting us with the one that means that most to you. We feel honored and privileged by this and promise that we will treat your child as if he or she were our own. Please feel free to speak with us at anytime about any questions or concerns that you may have.