With baby-sitters in short supply and family members growing more geographically isolated from one another, finding child care on date night isn't as easy as it used to be, said Shelley Ealy, owner of the new KidsPark drop-in child care center on Gunbarrel Road.
She developed the idea for the center while trying to find someone to take care of her three young children so she could spend time with her husband. She began her search with traditional day care centers, but they didn't fit her needs as a stay-at-home mom because membership plans forced her to pay for time she didn't need, she said.
"I don't have a need for a 40-hour per week child care system, I just wanted someone every once in a while," she said.
After doing some research, she decided to start a KidsPark franchise, part of a nationwide system of drop-in child care centers for parents with a need for flexible child care, and the only one of its kind in Chattanooga.
"The biggest strength is you can just drop by with no reservation, if parents decide they want to go on a date, then we're open until midnight on Friday and Saturday," she said.
In response to questions about "leaving children with strangers," KidsPark founder and CEO Debbie Milner takes it head on.
"We've been open over 22 years, with a total of 25,500 families registered in the different cities where we're open," Mrs. Milner said. "We're licensed by the state of Tennessee; everyone has been fingerprinted and their backgrounds are checked; and they've taken classes on child development."
Most of the caregivers at KidsPark Chattanooga have bachelor's degrees in early childhood education, Mrs. Milner said, and Mrs. Ealy has attained her master's degree.
FAST FACTSKidsPark Rates:* One child: $7.50 an hour* Two siblings: $11.50 an hour* Additional siblings: $2 an hourSource: KidsParkKIDSPARK HOURS* Monday through Thursday: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.* Friday: 8 a.m. to midnight* Saturday: 10 a.m. to midnight* Sunday: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.Source: KidsPark
Mrs. Milner said she founded KidsPark in 1988 for the same reason Mrs. Ealy opened the Chattanooga franchise: existing day-care options weren't cutting it. Modern parents need the flexibility of not being tied to a certain schedule or structure, she said.
"We have parents who want to go to school, attend church groups, and they don't need to pay for a month when they only need a few hours to recharge," Mrs. Milner said.
Mrs. Ealy said the world has changed since the early days when large extended families lived next door, allowing relatives to take care of each other's children.
"Parents come in and say, 'Why weren't you here five years ago,' because they moved to Chattanooga and had no family here," Mrs. Ealy said. "And people from big cities love it because they're used to the concept; for them it's ideal."
Tangie Wooden, director of the Chattanooga KidsPark, said that the child care center is about more than a secure space for children to play, there's a learning element to the experience as well.
"A lot of kids are put in front of video games and they don't learn about socialization, but here we like to make a mess, get active and learn creatively," she said. "Even something as simple as a board game that we had when we were a kid, kids today have no concept of that."
KidsPark welcomes children 2 to 12 years old, sends daily progress reports, and offers flexible preschool programs. Children may stay a maximum of seven hours per day and 20 hours per week.