By KRISTI ALBERTSON / Daily Inter Lake

It's a painful experience for many parents the first time they leave their child with a day-care provider. Even if parents are convinced their child will be safe and happy, walking out the door without that small hand in theirs is emotional.

As a mother of three, Tanasha Young Bird understands how hard it is for parents to leave their kids in day care. That's what prompted her to open the Kinder Cottage, which may be the Flathead Valley's only day care with a video observation system.

Parents can check on their children from work, from home or anywhere else with an Internet connection. With cameras in the nursery, classroom, playroom and backyard, it's easy for Mom and Dad to keep track of what their kids are doing throughout the day.

"I had [my husband] build what would make me feel comfortable if my kids were at day care," said Young Bird, who opened the Kinder Cottage in Marion in August.

"Parents miss out on so much when their kids are at day care," she added. "And you just miss them during the day."

The camera system is carefully monitored to ensure the children's safety, said Holly O'Dell, who runs Wee Cam Care, the Web-based video observation system the Kinder Cottage uses.

Parents are given a user name and password that will allow them to access the cameras on the Kinder Cottage's secure Web site. Each parent has his or her own user name, and each must sign a contract agreeing never to give out that user name or password.

When parents drop their children off at the day care, they check in at a touch screen in the Kinder Cottage's entry way. This ensures that only parents with children at the day care on a particular day can access the cameras that day, Young Bird said.

The system also includes an online message center, O'Dell said. Sometimes Young Bird is busy with a child and can't answer the phone right away; if that's the case, a parent can send her an instant message online. All the messages are saved, O'Dell said.

"It's a real communication tool between the provider and the parent," she said. "It's kind of a nice way to record some of that."

The camera footage also will be saved. Young Bird said she hopes to keep archives for up to three years.

Keeping video records is good for tracking behavior issues, she added. It's also a safety feature - for the children and for the Kinder Cottage.

"It's like the ultimate open door, check out what we're doing all day long policy," Young Bird said.

Day cares with camera systems are unusual in Montana. Young Bird said she's aware of only two others in the state. High-tech day cares are becoming more common in other areas around the country, however.

"It's very interesting to see us creeping up to the rest of the world in terms of what parents expect in more urban areas," said Susan Christofferson, executive director of the Nurturing Center in Kalispell, which makes referrals to day cares across the valley.

Local parents don't seem to expect the same high-tech features from Flathead day cares, Christofferson said.

"I've never had parents ask us, do you have a place where I can monitor my child?" she said. "That doesn't mean parents don't value that, but here especially, it seems parents tend to rely more on their relationship with the child-care professional."

Building relationships with parents is essential for day-care providers, Young Bird agreed.

She values building trust with the parents who leave their children in her care.

The cameras can increase parents' peace of mind until that trust is established, she said.

"From a parent, to take your child to day care, you're trusting your first impression," she said. "I think the [cameras] make them feel more comfortable until that trust is built up."

Parents know they can review the archived footage any time, she said, which adds a level of accountability and reassurance.

Having cameras also makes good business sense, O'Dell said.

"We're protecting our assets," she said. "Every business has cameras in it. Why not us?"

And at a time when abuse and inappropriate behavior are coming to light at several day cares across the country, Young Bird believes the security her cameras provide is more important than ever.

"If we can get this in more day cares, I think day care would be a better situation," she said.

"I read about facilities all over" with providers abusing children, she added. "I thought, oh, how devastating. Anything I can do to safeguard, to make parents feel better in general."

Christofferson said she thinks the Kinder Cottage cameras may go a long way toward helping parents feel better about leaving their children with a child-care provider.

"When I left my daughter [at day care] 34 years ago, I just drove around the block crying. It takes a lot to reassure a parent that their child is OK," she said. "While I don't think this is necessarily going to be the rule of thumb in our community … I can certainly see the enhancement."

On the Web:

www.thekindercottagemt.com

www.weecamcare.com

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.

Open house

The Kinder Cottage is hosting an open house for parents, child-care providers and all others interested in learning about the day care's video observation system from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 6.

For further information, call Tanasha Young Bird at 854-2259.