Day Care Supply Store Specializes In Kid Stuff
Lois Richards and Gail Bennasser knew there was an easier way to keep a day care center stocked. The two sisters used to run centers out of their homes until this summer.
“We used to have to run all over, from store to store, to get everything we needed for a home day care - like the outlet covers or drawer latches,” said Richards. “We were getting burned out after seven years of it. But we still wanted to do something in day care.”
So they decided to open a store where providers could do “one-stop shopping.” From crayons and markers to stove knob covers and cabinet locks, L&B Children’s Supplies, 12104 E. Main, stocks everything new day care providers need including activity and safety supplies, books, posters, nap mats and first aid kits.
Richards and Bennasser know the challenge of keeping children’s activities fun and fresh. As a solution, they’ve gathered activity ideas into packets to sell. Packets are designed according to age groups. And they have the supplies on hand for the projects.
The first aid kits caught the eye of one day care provider. Mavis Hogan, who has been licensed for 11 years, said L&B’s kits go beyond what she’s been able to find in stores.
“They’ve got all sorts of Band-Aids in different shapes and sizes, and ipecac syrup and also a thermometer, which normally you can’t find in a kit,” said Hogan, who is the Central Valley representative for the Day Care Association’s governing board.
Richards and Bennasser are targeting newly licensed day care providers in the area. A new group of 60 people attends licensing orientation classes every month at the Day Care Association.
Existing centers already will have most of what L&B offers. But the store does have some things that typically are hard for any providers to find. “Centers are required to have a multicultural area,” said Bennasser. L&B has dolls, puzzles and books that feature a variety of ethnic groups. “That’s what I’ll be going there for,” said Hogan. “You can’t always find those items.”
“The providers we’ve talked to say they should have thought of the idea themselves,” said Bennasser.
“They say they’re grateful to have a place where everything is.”
, DataTimes