Childcare / Daycare Check-in Phone App?

[tinydaycare]

Hi everyone,

I recently was put in charge of the daycare at the baptist church that I am a member of and we're currently using a pencil and paper form to handle checkin and checkout of kids. I don't feel exactly safe doing that and want something better. I did a little research and it seems that the computer systems are hundreds or thousands of dollars and have monthly fees associated with them too. Are there any apps for Android out there that do this kind of thing? I need to be able to checkin and checkout kids - pretty simple.

Thanks!

[daycare]

Originally Posted by tinydaycare

Hi everyone,

I recently was put in charge of the daycare at the baptist church that I am a member of and we're currently using a pencil and paper form to handle checkin and checkout of kids. I don't feel exactly safe doing that and want something better. I did a little research and it seems that the computer systems are hundreds or thousands of dollars and have monthly fees associated with them too. Are there any apps for Android out there that do this kind of thing? I need to be able to checkin and checkout kids - pretty simple.

Thanks!

I am using virtu clock, only been using it a few months and cant say that I do or don't like it. It cost 9.99 a month.

what I don't like is that when parents forget to clock out, I really then don't recall if they were late picking up or not. I am finding that instead of being honest and clocking out, they just say oh i forgot and don't do it.

or those that do forget to clock out, then I have to go back and change it for them.

One thing that I don't like is that a signature in my eyes is worth a million bucks.

when using a pen/paper system a signature from the person picking up can not be duplicated. So there is proof that is the person who did pick up or drop off.

with electronic, I can change anything I want. So it scares me a little that if anything ever went awry, its not fool proof like an old fashion wet signature.

[Annalee]

Licensing requires us to use pen/paper and parents have to use first and last name along with time.... we get wrote up if not in compliance with this..

[tinydaycare]

I used to go to a gym that had a pretty snazzy computer system. We used keyfobs that they scanned, had our pictures in the system etc. It seemed really secure - but those are super expensive. We're a small place (maybe 100 parents) and I want to get it all out of paper. I have to do manual reporting now, people have to show ID. I want to do something simple like register people in a system so when they show up, I look them up and hit a button. Then when they pickup, I hit a button - like my gym used to. Any ideas?

[tinydaycare]

Hi all,

after doing some research I checked out the tadpoles as well as the virtu clock apps. I found one called toddler check that seems to have the features I need. The most important thing for me was to be able to take pictures. If someone comes to pick up their kid, the best way to know it's them is to look at the picture associated with their account. I'm going to try this app out for a little while and see how it works. Was only a buck, so not a big deal. Anyway, thanks everyone!

You might want to check out Tykester since it is free at all the appstores, and doesn't have the monthly charges either. You can take a pic of each child, have all their info their on your phone or Ipad (works on my laptop, too) and just press the little button with a face on it to leave a note and time on when they checked it, or if there is something special they need. The parent sees it on their phone, too (if they download it), so there isn't any question about the time because it keeps a log for you
You can call or text DCMs from this app, too, so you don't have to store parents you don't know in your own address book. Works great for tracking diaper changes.