Families scrambling as Halifax daycare set to close with less than 2 months’ notice
After waiting over 17 months to secure a daycare spot for her two-year-old daughter, Brittany Naugler was devastated to receive news that the Children’s Garden Day Care in Halifax, N.S., would be closing its doors on April 30. Naugler, like many other parents, was completely caught off guard by the announcement and now faces the daunting task of finding alternative child-care options.
With both Naugler and her husband working full time and no nearby family members to help out, the closure of the Children’s Garden has left her in a state of panic. She fears that she may have to leave her job if she cannot find suitable child care for her daughter in time.
The new owners of the daycare, Adnan Masad and Enas Jawad, took over just recently in March and cited the expiration of their lease and the landlord’s decision not to renew it as the reason for the closure. While Masad and Jawad have assured parents that they are in the final stages of negotiations for a new location, many families are left feeling hopeless and uncertain about the future.
Lina Hamid, the NDP MLA for Fairview-Clayton Park, expressed her concern over the closure of child-care spaces in the community, emphasizing the need for more support for both new and existing child-care providers. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development has stated that they are working to find solutions for impacted families and connect them with other programs in the area.
For Alyssa Clayfield, a full-time student and mother of two, the closure of the Children’s Garden has added to her worries. Her 18-month-old daughter had just started attending the daycare, and now Clayfield is scrambling to find a new spot for her before the end of April.
Despite the uncertainty and stress caused by the closure of the Children’s Garden, parents like Naugler and Clayfield remain hopeful that a suitable solution will be found. In the meantime, they continue their search for alternative child-care options in the hopes of securing a spot for their children.
