CHALLENGE
The demand for and expectations to core welfare services in Denmark is greater than ever before. Denmark’s public sector must make a better effort. Today, day care in Denmark no longer focuses only on minding children and developing their social skills. The parents’ needs for personalisation and safety must also be met.

FINDINGS
A large part of our children’s lives takes place in day care, but we only have limited information about what our children do and what they learn while they are there.

Our primary contact with day care is when we drop off the children and collect them. But the staff is often stressed in these situations because of the many children and the amount of information to be given and received.

The primary task of day care employees and management is minding and helping the children develop. This is where the focus is and the professionalism is high. However, there is only limited focus on servicing parents and on communication.

SOLUTION
The ‘Ready, Steady, Go’ concept aims at getting children and parents ready to start in day care. When the child is accepted by a day care centre the parents receive a suitcase with information about rules and daily activities. The suitcase symbolizes the journey which the child and its parents will take through the world of day care; the contents of the suitcase give parents insight into the cultural rules and codes that can be invisible and can lead to misunderstandings later on during the child’s time in day care.

The ‘PULSE’ concept comprises a number of individual communicative features to inform parents about the social and practical activities that occur during the day in day care. The various features meet the needs of parents for a more coherent, dynamic flow of information.

Design 1508 A/S
Customer Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority
Project partner Copenhagen Living Lab