Helping Young Children, Educators and Parents Rebound from Pandemic Disruptions

COVID-19 has reinforced the understanding that early childhood education and socialization are critical to lifelong development, while also highlighting that it is nearly impossible to properly offer early childhood education in a remote environment. The unique constraints posed by the pandemic required the unique solutions offered by HiMama, a B Corp. certified provider of software to childcare centers in the U.S. and Canada. With over 50,000 reviews and an average 4.9 rating in the App Store, HiMama is the most reviewed and highest-rated app that is used by more than 10,000 childcare centers in Canada and the US, with more than one million parents on the platform.

The affordable education software solutions offered by HiMama have helped childcare centers track children’s attendance and developmental skills and progress and plan programs, going a long way to ensuring that education and socialization for young children could continue despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic. They also compiled a comprehensive set of resources like virtual and hybrid activities, webinars featuring industry experts, and digital forums that become all the more critical support systems for educators and center administrators as they sought to navigate the unprecedented challenges that came with the pandemic. 

The financial impact of the pandemic-related closures to childcare centers was stark, and HiMama has played a meaningful role in helping childcare centers return to operation quickly by introducing new features like health screening, temperature checks, and contactless drop-off and pick-up. Their innovative payment processing technology, workforce management, and compliance technology also generated meaningful cost efficiencies while enabling educators to spend less time on manual paperwork and more time focusing on children. 

There is a clear acknowledgment from the early childhood education community that there is much work to be done to make up for lost time. The Institute for Child Preparedness notes that when comparing childhood cognitive scores from 2020-2021 compared to 2011-2019, children born during the pandemic have a large reduction in verbal, motor, and cognitive abilities. Going forward, it will be vital for parents, caregivers, and childcare professionals to ensure support for the ‘pandemic children’ and provide them with access to additional resources and opportunities to help accelerate their development. HiMama will be there to support early childhood educators with the affordable tools and resources they need to provide a loving, vibrant educational and social environment for children and families.