Childcare is hard for many parents get lined up for their young kids, especially in a town as small as Strathmore. With places like Fueling Brains Academy, Toddle Inn Daycare Society, and Strathmore CORE being full to the brim with children and anyone new having to be wait-listed, it makes parents frustrated and panic if they can't find a spot open for their young ones. 

Kids Connection is a small Alberta family-owned business that started their first daycare in High River 6 years ago, and in the last year there have been plans for them to open up a facility in Strathmore. Many parents who have been waitlisted sensed a feeling of relief when they heard of this but since the facility has yet to be fully constructed, the start date for when they have planned to open has been pushed back numerous times, leaving some parents scrambling on where to put their kids with September being right around the corner. 

StrathmoreNow talked with one local mom, who wishes to remain anonymous, and said that she has a daughter that is starting Kindergarten come September and registered her at Kids Connection for before and after school care, but since the start date has been pushed back again, she has to cut back her hours at work to be able to pick her up. 

"With the cost of living now, not having childcare and not having them open when they said that they were going to be open, I may have to potentially work four days a week because I have no where to put my daughter. That has been a tough struggle and with losing money now because I have to leave at 2:30 everyday to pick her up or if it's not me it's her dad." 

The local mom said that it has been a not so wonderful journey to try and find childcare and scramble over the last two months. Her fiancé is also needing to work longer and crazier hours to accommodate her bringing in less but with the prices of everything on the rise and no childcare, they have no other option.

Director of Kids Connection Strathmore Abbie Gibson explained that it is quite hard at the moment to give a construction update. Gibson said that she had talked with the construction guys a week previous and they said they couldn't give a definite timeline because they do not know themselves as to when it will be finished. 

"They are hopeful to have everything done by the end of September-ish and then we would have to do our part. We probably won't be able to take in kids until mid-October. We really appreciate everyone's patience and everything, because we were told a few different timelines and they have been pushed back due to construction. We really are trying to push them along."

Gibson said that the construction company is hired on by the owner of the building and that Kids Connection is just leasing the space and there is not a lot that they can do at the moment except keep pushing them along. 

"We keep checking in with the construction company and asking for updates weekly but they have not been able to tell us too much. We really are trying to push them along. We were told that we were going to have it in June, then July, then August, and now they are saying September. We are just waiting for the drywall and the electrical to be finished."

The local mom works at a childcare centre herself and she says that she has witnessed firsthand how difficult it is for some parents, so she believes Strathmore needs more childcare centres. Knowing she isn't alone in her struggles, she hopes a solution comes soon for her and all other parents struggling with finding childcare.

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