WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Arlo Messinger never wants to leave.
That, his mother said, is proof positive why the new River Crossing YMCA child care center is perfect for her 3-year-old son.
“He’s been here a little over three weeks and he loves it,” said Lindsey Messinger, of Whitehall, while her son and his older sister played nearby.
“He’s so excited when he knows he’s coming here.
“Arlo’s here from around 7 in the morning until about 4 in the afternoon. This has to be like another home for him. He has to like it, and he does.
"He doesn’t want to leave when it’s time to pick him up.”
Located at the former Gockley Elementary School, the child care center opened in February for children ages 6 weeks through pre-kindergarten, from 6:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“The staff here has been so welcoming from day one. I want that kind of environment for my child.”Lindsey Messinger
The child care center is in partnership with the Whitehall-Coplay School District and is on the school district campus off Mechanicsville Road.
“The staff here has been so welcoming from Day 1,” Messinger said. “I want that kind of environment for my child.”
Director Constance Arnold’s mile-wide smile is a welcome mat, inviting parents in to learn how committed and attentive she and her staff are to every child’s needs.
“I treat each of the children’s needs first; mine are last,” said Arnold, a 30-year veteran of child care who is a mother and grandmother.
“I enjoy caring for the diversity of children, who come from all kinds of backgrounds. I especially enjoy working with the children who have special needs. I call all of them my kids.”
Local child care needs
The Whitehall location is the ninth YMCA-affiliated child care center in the Lehigh Valley.
The center addresses the dearth of child care centers throughout the Lehigh Valley following the shuttering or cutting back of services of such centers following the end of $24 billion in COVID-19 federal funding in September 2023.
One month after federal funding lapsed, four programs in Pennsylvania closed their doors.
“There is a need for more high-quality early childhood education and care for families throughout the Lehigh Valley. We are excited and grateful to partner with the Whitehall School District to bring safe, healthy and positive learning experiences to children and families in this community.”Skylar Lynn, senior director of child development for River Crossing YMCA in the Lehigh Valley
A June 2023 report from the Century Foundation, a progressive think tank, predicted more than 150,000 children in Pennsylvania would lose child care and nearly 2,900 programs would close following the end of funding.
“There is a need for more high-quality early childhood education and care for families throughout the Lehigh Valley,” Skylar Lynn, senior director of child development for River Crossing YMCA in the Lehigh Valley, said in a news release.
“We are excited and grateful to partner with the Whitehall School District to bring safe, healthy and positive learning experiences to children and families in this community.”
The ratio of infants-to-caregivers is 4-to-1. The ratio for both toddlers (2- to 3-years-old) and preschool and pre-K (3-years-old) is 5-to-1.
Parents hand their babies over and go about their day as best they can.
Some of them are newborn. Some may have just spoken their first word or taken their first step. All the children spending perhaps some of their first moments away from the protective eyes and arms of their parents.
And in their hopeful dreams, they long to find just the right caregivers at just the right place.
'That speaks volumes'
Messinger did, feeling the Whitehall child care center was the place for Arlo almost from the very moment she spoke to Arnold.
"When we come to pick him up, he doesn’t want to leave. That speaks volumes.”Lindsey Messinger, mother of Arlo, 3
That sense of comfort given where her son would spend more than eight hours a day was something she did not experience at the previous child care center.
“I just didn't like how they were interacting with my child,” Messenger said. “He was having some behavioral issues, and they didn't seem to be able to accommodate and give him the proper support to help himself regulate his emotions.
“But here, they embraced everything about him. They have been absolutely phenomenal about being patient and working with my child.
“I was a little nervous about how he would handle the transition. But as I said, when we come to pick him up, he doesn’t want to leave. That speaks volumes.”
Information about the center, curriculum and tours can be found on the center’s webpage — www.ymcarivercrossing.org — or by calling 610-439-1431, extension 4109.
A sibling discount of 10% is available for families who need care for more than one child, and financial assistance is available to those who qualify.
