Today, The Reflector salutes the real heroes of America: Those brave men and women with the daunting task of monitoring hyperactive children during their waking hours until their parents pick them up at the end of their sugar buzzes, just in time to put them to bed. The Mississippi State University Child Development and Family Studies Center is a 4-year-old facility located at 501 Collegeview St., near Humphrey Coliseum. While the center provides daily care for children ages six weeks to five years, it is not a typical day-care center.
“The children are the sons and daughters of faculty, staff and students,” Julie Dibble, manager of the center, said. “They have priority before we operate to the rest of the community children on the waiting list.”
Why is the community so anxious to send their children to the Child Development Center? According to the center’s philosophy, “it is important to provide an environment that practices respect, consistency and balance when meeting a child’s developmental needs. Each child is unique and special.”
With a wide age range, the center is meticulous in catering to the special needs of the children.
“We have six rooms: an infant room, toddler room, a 2- to 3-year-old class, a 3- to 4-year-old class and a 4- to 5-year-old class,” Dibble said. “We conduct activities that are tailored to their different age groups.”
The room scheme acknowledges the different needs children require at the rapidly changing stages of their early development.
“Most of the parents chose our facility because of our developmentally appropriate practices and they feel that their child’s environmental milestones can be enhanced here,” Dibble said.
However, the children are not the only ones who learn something at the center.
“Our purpose is to serve university lab classes,” Dibble said. “We serve child development and education students. Here, they can apply what they learned in class.”
Even the food lends itself to student contributions.
“We provide two snacks and a noon meal,” Dibble said. “The meals are provided by nutrition and dietetics students.”
When the children are not interacting with MSU students, they are learning from the center’s experienced staff.
“All of our teachers but one have a degree in child development or a similar field,” Dibble said. “And the one that doesn’t have a degree has six years of experience.”
The center’s philosophy states, “We believe that a child thrives when parents and teachers are partners committed to working cooperatively to enhance the child’s development.”
Day-care centers are often perceived as simply baby-sitting posts to drop kids off en route to work, but to Bruce MacFarlane and his son Conner, it offered a chance to become more sociable. Conner attended day-care even when his mother was home during the day.
“One of our main goals was socialization skills,” MacFarlane said. “Conner was an only child at the time and there weren’t any kids his own age in our neighborhood, so we wanted to give him a chance to make some friends that he could relate to.”
Even in an era where scientific studies and surveys influence people’s impressions on effectiveness, the most significant measuring tool of success is found right under their noses, literally.
“One of the parents said everyone, children and teachers, is always wearing a smiling face,” Dibble said. “Some of the children don’t want to leave at the end of the day.”
The MSU Child Development and Family Studies Center is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For waiting list or fee information, call 325-3031.