Birthdays!!

[little rascals]

As you know from my previous post that one on my dayhome kids is having his birthday soon. I won't be attending the birthday party but I wanted to do something special for him. What do you ladies usually do when I comes to birthdays ? Thanks !

[Momof4]

I always celebrate the children's birthdays with balloons and decorations and I buy them a birthday present. It is a tax deduction you know when you buy a gift for the children.

We always have either cupcakes or a cookie tower with a candle on top for the children to blow out too. I let the older children decorate their cupcakes with icing and toppings and I also ask the older children what they would like for their birthday lunch within reason.

I celebrate all the holidays with decorations and crafts. I have two birthdays this week so it's going to be a busy one for us.

[Spixie33]

I usually hang a couple of balloons

Then we usually do cupcakes or banana bread for lunch with a candle for anyone 18 mo + to blow out and we take a picture of it for the parents. Usually I put the bday pics in our next newsletter.

We also usually do a birthday craft. Either cut a birthday cake out of paper and let them paint/decorate it or let them paint a party hat or something like that.

I also buy a gift somewhere around $20 and send it home with the child at the end of day along with a card

[Inspired by Reggio]

Yup - decorations, child is 'king or queen' for the day and gets to pick the meals and any field trip from a 'selection' of choices

I do not do birthday gifts for the children though because I do not want to open a door where parents start sending gifts too thinking it is 'required' or something ... the party and celebration is 'gift' enough IMO.

[mom-in-alberta]

Oooh, I feel a little lame-o now, because we usually just do cupcakes and the birthday song!

[Inspired by Reggio]

Oooh, I feel a little lame-o now, because we usually just do cupcakes and the birthday song!

LOL - not lame kids do not NEED a big ole bash to enjoy their birthday ... I do not go all out in the decorations or anything - couple balloons at the front door and a reusable birthday banner and I bought one of those reusable 'birthday hat crowns' with candles on top that they get to wear if desired - takes me 2 minutes in the morning tops to 'decorate' but the kids love it ... my kids usually help to pick out the menu each Friday anyway so allowing a child to have the 'whole day' to pick is not a biggie and we generally vote on where to go for morning outings so it is specially only in that the birthday kid gets the ONLY vote

So in reality the only 'extra' I do is the decoration of the front door to let everyone know we have a birthday today and helping the kids to make a 'group birthday card' at creative art time one day that week.

I USE to do more ... use to ask parents to give me their 'birth story' upon enrollment with digital copies of photos of their birth and I would create a 'Birthday book' for everyone in the program to be in our book nook to 'celebrate' the kids anytime they showed interest and than I would read the birthday child's story at group time on their actual Birthday and I would create a Happy Birthday bristol board with the Happy Birthday banner across the top and the kids 'birth picture' photo and than daycare parents were supposed to help their kids record 'all the things we love about Birthday Child' on it during arrival or departure the week of their birthday as a keepsake ... however more and more it was ME doing this with their children and it became too much for the 'value' that was returned on it - so I weaned it out of the program over the years.

[Momof4]

I didn't mean to make it sound like we have a big thing. I have definitely toned my birthday celebrations down at daycare too so it's all done after lunch, the treat, the present and that's pretty much it. They have lots of fun the next day after I cut down the balloons and they can play with them, bouncing them up in the air like volleyball around the toyroom. I have fun too!

[mom-in-alberta]

Ever had parents concerned about the balloons?
I haven't, but I just wonder... at a little kids birthday party not too long ago, I overheard a mom telling her 2 year old NOT to play with the balloons. Dad asked why and she was all "WHY?? Do you know how easy it is to choke on a balloon? They pop in their face, and the kids choke!!"
Ummmm.... okay.

[Momof4]

Well, yes I do watch and take a popped balloon and put it in the garbage, but let's be reasonable, are you going to let your child suck on a popped balloon? I would be more concerned about a person with a latex allergy, that could be deadly.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Ya - I explain to parents in my care that I know they are a choking hazard they drill that in at every CPR course ... however in reality so is FOOD and we still feed them we just make sure to properly SUPERVISE them while doing so and put strategies in place to minimize choking risk - aka you sit while you eat, do not talk with food in your mouth and so forth nothing different with any other 'choking hazard' the hazard is not the item but how the item is USED improperly that makes it a risk

I have a bin of 2000 marbles in my program that would likely make all of your hair stand on end watching an 18 month old play with them

I always ask parents before hand when I have changes in clientele if they are ok with them playing 'supervised' with the balloons and explain to them as Momof4 mentioned if they put them anywhere near a mouth the balloon turn would be DONE and if one pops I pick up all the pieces immediately!