All in the family

Daughter takes over daycare center from her mother
KateLynn Slaamot
NLJ Correspondent
 
It started out as a way to be home with her children and provide a safe place for other children, but Myra Gunnink’s home-based business soon grew into a welcoming child care center.  
Gunnink first opened her home in 2000 as the base for a small day care that hosted about 10 children. Her daughters, Amanda Dixon and Cindy Rogers, were in middle school at the time and helped their mother with the kids. One of their jobs included riding home from school on the bus with the children to make sure they arrived safely, according to Gunnink. Such care for the children’s well-being was important to her, she said. 
Gunnink and her daughters often worked together to take care of the day care children. Gunnink said they all got along, and her daughters “always did what mother said.” Dixon has now served as director for about four years, and she took over as owner on Jan. 2 of this year. 
“Now she (Dixon) just doesn’t have to do what I say,” Gunnink said. 
In 2012, the day care was moved across the street to a different building, where Little Ones Family Childcare is still located. Gunnink said that the move allowed her to accommodate more kids, because the day care had grown to about 30 children. The facility offers preschool, meals, quiet time, free play and more.
“The main thing is quality of care,” Gunnink said, noting that she follows state rules and regulations for day care facilities. 
Gunnink’s business is small, and she wants it to stay that way to promote a more close-knit relationship with individual children and their parents. Gunnink even knows some of the grandparents of the kids in her care, and this familiarity is due to the size of the facility, she said. She interacts with the families of the children and even spends some holidays with them. Gunnink also said she believes in maintaining healthy communications with the parents and assuring them the best and safest care for their kids. 
“They’re having fun while they’re learning,” Gunnink said about the children she has taken care of. Gunnink said she focuses on teaching the children to be kind, considerate and forgiving to others. Education is also stressed, and Gunnink said the day care tries to prepare the kids for kindergarten as much as they can. 
According to Dixon, her role didn’t change much after the transition of ownership, but the torch has now officially been passed from her mother, who now only visits the facility to see the kids. 
“I love the kids,” said Dixon, noting that the day care really does have a “family atmosphere.” She feels connected to the children and to the community, she said. Dixon said that she has learned the significance of children’s education and their relationships with adults and other kids. 
Personal connection with the kids and their families is a common sentiment expressed by both Gunnink and Dixon. Gunnink said she loves seeing the children grow up. She has taken care of many children from their infant years until they head off to kindergarten, and she greatly enjoys the day care graduation parties they have with the kids. She also maintains those relationships, even attending some high school graduations of her past day care students. Some of her past charges even call her when they have children of their own. 
Dixon loves the day care and the children in it, she said, and she can’t imagine being anywhere else. She hopes that the business stays in the family, with even one of her own kids possibly taking it over someday, she said. 
Dixon also credits her staff – Cindy Rogers, Natasha Townsend and Robin Larson – with the day care’s success. 
“We’ll keep coming back, no matter what,” Dixon said.