Daycare equipment supports your entire childcare center. Not only does it help your staff deliver the highest-quality care, but it also improves every aspect of your branding.
When you have the latest and greatest daycare equipment on hand, you show visiting and enrolled families that you keep up with modern advancements — and that the way you care for their children isn’t stuck in the past.
2024 will see the popularization of three innovative pieces of daycare equipment. Learn about them now so your center doesn’t get left behind!
How Daycare Equipment Helps Your Branding
Your brand is more than just your logo, business cards, brochures, or website. It’s how well you keep your word — whether you provide families with the high-quality care you promised when they signed your contract.
When families tour your center, they don’t just observe how well-kept your school is or how your teachers interact with children. They also observe your daycare equipment. Is the equipment in good working condition? If not, they won’t trust you to keep their children in good working condition.
Additionally, families weighing multiple childcare options typically award extra points to innovative childcare centers. If your daycare equipment is innovative, families trust that your curriculum is innovative, too — that you keep up with the latest developments in child psychology and pedagogy.
Don’t have time to keep up with every new piece of daycare equipment landing on the market? Don’t worry; we’ve done it for you. Below are the three innovations we’re most excited to see put to good use in 2024.
Disclaimer: We aren’t paid to promote any of the following daycare equipment.
AI Gun Detection
Every day, businesses find new ways to leverage AI. One AI-based innovation that caught our eye is new gun detection technology from PB&J TV.
Gun violence has rattled childcare professionals nationwide. It has also instilled fear among parents, who feel hesitant to drop their children off at school.
PB&J’s gun detection technology delivers the peace of mind your stakeholders need. PB&J’s 24/7 live station monitors your center’s comings and goings to inform your team of threats ahead of time. This extra measure reassures prospective and enrolled families that you take their child’s welfare seriously and that you go above and beyond for the safety of the children in your care.
Nature-Inspired Playgrounds
Nature may not sound like an innovation. However, the consistent use of indoor technology has left many children in need of outdoor experiences, and playground designers are taking notice.
Children spend so much time swimming in indoor pools, jumping on trampolines in indoor parks, and watching TV in the living room. They need to spend time outside to cultivate a connection with the environment.
Natural elements such as wood, water, and sand provide just that opportunity. When incorporated into playgrounds, these elements also stimulate children’s imaginations and strengthen their motor skills. Plus, they’re affordable and sustainable.
Zono: Disinfecting and Sanitizing Machine
Though not brand new, the Zono is an incredible innovation for supporting classroom health that more childcare centers could benefit from. This disinfecting and sanitizing cabinet is a convenient way for teachers and staff to limit the spread of germs via toys and educational items throughout the day. You can place almost any difficult-to-clean classroom item in the Zono, and it cleans them on its own without interrupting classroom instruction.
The Zono kills over 99% of bacteria and viruses on classroom equipment (see their site for details), not to mention lice and bed bugs. This highly sought-after piece of daycare equipment is especially relevant post-pandemic, and it’s ideal for reducing teacher and student absences. Another bonus: The Zono reduces labor costs associated with disinfecting and sanitizing, providing a great ROI.
How to Take Advantage of Your Daycare Equipment
Modern daycare equipment is fundamental to your business’s success. But that equipment is useless without proper training.
To maximize your investment, teach your staff how to use your new equipment properly. Provide opportunities for ongoing training; for example, physically pasting a QR code on your daycare equipment that directs to training materials allows staff to brush up on their knowledge in real time.
Also, discuss your daycare equipment during tours or in your marketing initiatives to improve enrollment. Explain why you use that piece of equipment and how it benefits the children under your care.
Families want to enroll their children in a center that provides the means for them to stay healthy and safe. Your daycare equipment is one way of demonstrating that you care about every kid who passes through your door.