Toddler's Haven

Mc Donald’s provides an alternative place for learning and recreation
for kids   

  By: Gail J. Pelayo

The Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is a relatively new organization in the Philippines that was officially registered last 21 February 1997 in the Securities and Exchange Commission. Directed with the mission to lift kids to a better tomorrow, RMHC supports, finances, and organizes a myriad of projects to provide children, most especially those from indigent families, the resources needed for a healthy and normal childhood.

Among the projects supported by RMHC in the Philippines is the “Bahay Bulilit Day Care Center.” A project entirely different from the original concept of the Ronald McDonald Houses in the United States, it provides a leisurely venue for children not yet enrolled in formal schooling to learn to socialize and interact with children their age.

Alternative Day Care Center

The Bahay Bulilit Day Care Center is a product of a tripartite effort of the local government, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the RMHC. It has been designed as a substitute to xpensive day care centers and allows low-income and indigent families to avail of the benefits day care centers give to children and their families. RMHC provides for the structure or the building, which is the venue for the center’s activities and projects.

If anything, RMHC has successfully materialized the concepts of fun and learning in designing the building. A short trip inside the play school will reveal walls painted with pastel colors, embellished with pictures, pasted with large and illustrated cutouts of numbers, colorful puzzle mats placed on the floor, and plastic tables and chairs in a classroom type arrangement. Outside, the columns of the building is painted with bright shades of yellow and red – the enchanting colors of McDonald’s – that makes it all the more inviting to children. In addition to this is a playground for outdoor recreation, which makes the whole environment conducive for toddlers preparing for formal education. Add to this exciting set-up the playful and sunny disposition of children and you will have a glimpse of how fun-filled the mornings and afternoons of toddlers can be.

The DSWD provides for the manpower needed to supervise the activities of the day care center. The hired social workers are expected to be adept in the facilitation of activities that instill value formation and teach basic social skills. Since the children are in their toddler stages, social workers must also be skillful in dealing with unpredictable mood swings, tantrums, petty fights, and must be able to take care of the hygiene necessities of the children.

The local government where the day care center is situated takes charge of the finances needed to sustain the day care center. So far, the day care centers have received generous amounts of support from the respective local governments where they are under.

There are currently three Bahay Bulilit Day Care Centers situated in the cities of Makati, Quezon City, and Mandaluyong. The first Bahay Bulilit was inaugurated last 20 November 2002 at Barangay East Rembo, C-5, Makati City and the latest bulilit house was opened last 23 November 2003 in Quezon City. Each day care center holds up to about 150 children who are divided according to age bracket. Children as young as two years old up to five years old are accommodated in the center. Parents will have to register their children before they can avail of its services.

There are three sets of classes in one day, each class holding a specific age group and each age group assigned to a particular activity or exercise. However, while there are assigned activities, the day care center allots some time for surprises. The day care center allows companies, organizations or individual donors to sponsor activities for the children just like what happened last December when MC Home Depot treated the children enrolled in the Barangay East Rembo to an unexpected Christmas party.

Pre-school learnings

The pursuit of making a difference in the lives of children and orienting them to a life lived in a more positive perspective has been one of the driving forces behind the unwavering support of the RMHC to the Bahay Bulilit Day Care Center. These goals are not expected to give monumental changes in their lives. But seeing incremental and small improvements in the way the children handle their affairs with their peers and family signals a victorious achievement for the company.

According to Mr. Butch Salaya, Manager of RMHC, they have been hearing pleasant feedback on improvements of the behavior of the children attending classes at the Bahay Bulilit Day Care Center. He recounted stories of how children were able to learn the basics of cleanliness and how to apply it in their own homes, even telling their parents how to go about cleaning their place. The basics of social interactions, which are inherent in the setup of the day care center, have also helped children to act properly especially during formal occasions.

There are so much that children can learn and pick up during their toddler years. What could be better than to make it possible for them to pick up the right values and give them an environment conducive to the development of their young personalities. At the Bahay Bulilit, they are offered more than just learning, they are given playmates too.