Candyland daycare sees more and more enrollments

BOX ELDER, S.D. (KOTA) - Daycare is usually a booming business, but the pandemic caused some parents to keep their kids at home rather than at a daycare. Candyland Child Development Center opened at the end of August when many families were still unsure of what they would do going into the 2020/2021 school year.

The Box Elder daycare started with 35 children enrolled and a capacity of 140. Now they have around 95 children ranging from one-month-olds to school-age kids. Currently, their infant room is full, and the owners plan to open a second room in a few weeks. Their before and after school programs have also been a huge hit because they transport kids within the Douglas School District. One of Candyland’s owners said they just keep getting busier.

“When we started out the first week we had a lot of parents registered but a lot were kind of unsure with the older kids, what was going on with school, if they were going to keep the younger kids home," said Levi Christman, Candyland Child Development Center co-owner. "Then as it kind of opened up that’s when we started getting a lot more enrollment once they knew what was going on with school and everything.”

The childcare center has a Fall Festival on Saturday, open to the public.

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