How To Pick-Up Your Child From Day-Care...(Version 2.0)

Do you remember when your parents picked you up from day-care (or the sitter's) and all they had to do was sign a chart with their name and time they took you out for the day?  (By take you out - I mean you went home, ate supper, played a bit then went to bed).
Or perhaps they just went up to the teacher and said, "Hi Mrs. George - how are things?  Oh that's wonderful that Alice used the potty today and didn't have any accidents.  Of course we'll see you tomorrow (or Monday) - you take care now!"  Or something like that...
Maybe you have children and you use one of the above methods to take them home from day care.

Well, guess what?  That is SO old school and now known as "Version 1.0 - How to Pick-Up Your Child From Day-Care".

Finland is moving on and up to Version 2.0.
I recently went to day-care to pick up my oldest and they asked me if I had a "takki" (sounded like).
I quickly ran through my Finnish in my head and pointed to my coat and said, "Yes - I have my coat.  Why?"
The teacher shook her head and one of the parents passing by pulled out his keys and there hanging off of them was a dark blue key fob ("electronic key").
I was so confused.

Apparently the Finnish day-care systems are putting this NFC ("Near Field Communication" ?) system on trial and testing things out.
It will become permanent effective April 1st, 2013.

You have to find your child's teacher that's carrying the smart phone with the tag's sensor and press your tag twice onto the phone.  Then your child is removed from the group's attendance for the day.

WHY?

There are multiple reasons and they were confirmed by the teacher I spoke with yesterday:

1. It's not easy to keep track of multiple children leaving at the same time (assuming the parents are on time picking them up).
2. The day-care wants to bill you exact hours for services used so you don't pay too much or too little based on when your child leaves.
3. The day-care can then get more children in each groups and accommodate them with the appropriate amount of staff if they have a record-keeper of how many kids were at day care and when they left.

You only need to check your child OUT with your fob device.

Which hardly seems like the best way to keep track of exact hours used or how many staff members are required for certain times of the day if children arrive late (like mine will today) or show up early.

More than one child in the same day care group?  They'll just add them to the same electronic key!  I'm not sure if there is a limit with how many children you can put onto the same key...but ask your children's teacher if you have any questions about this new system.

Day-cares in Jyv�skyl� and Oulu have this system in place so far and it will possibly spread throughout all of Finland before April 1st.
Currently it's on a trial run so they can get any kinks and problems out before it's a permanent way to pick your child up from day-care.

Don't forget - press it twice.