A new website that allows parents to post anonymous comments about daycare centres and elementary schools is getting a thumbs down from educators and child-care advocates.

The Shorty List allows parents to post anonymous comments about daycare centres and elementary schools. (iStock)The Shorty List is currently collecting comments from parents in the Vancouver area and will launch a full version in mid-October. Its founder plans to set up similar sites in other major Canadian cities, including Calgary and Toronto.

"I found with two small kids I went through the process of looking for daycare and preschools for them, and also right now I'm on the search for elementary schools for them. I just found it was very difficult to find information about any of these facilities," said Karen Young Chester, the mother of two young children.

The Vancouver woman spoke with friends and neighbours about local facilities, but felt an online presence would bring a lot more information from a more diverse range of sources.

"I was looking for more anecdotal information, parents' perceptions about, and past experiences with their children going to a particular school or daycare and I found that my most valuable source of information would be just chatting with my friends or just talking to people in the neighbourhood. And I want to bring that experience online because there are only so many people you can talk to on the street."

'We are definitely not going to be posting any reviews with serious allegations at the criminal level.'—Karen Young Chester, founder of The Shorty List

Chester admits the anonymous nature of the site could lead to abuse, so she's established some strict rules, and every post will be reviewed before it appears online.

"We are definitely not going to be posting any reviews with serious allegations at the criminal level, anything like that. That's absolutely prohibited," she said.

The site will also bar posters from naming specific individuals.

Anonymity an issue

The president of the Canadian Childcare Federation, a partnership of provincial and territorial organizations, is not enthused with the idea.

Critics of The Shorty List say an anonymous forum is no place to discuss daycare issues. (iStock)"I always have problems with the word anonymous, realizing that not every family is going to be 100 per cent satisfied with any level of child-care service or education," Don Giesbrecht told CBC News.

"Really, it's so important for the issues of quality and for the issues of education and the well-being of children, not just yours but of your neighbours and your friends and your relatives to bring these issues up in an open forum, not an anonymous forum."

Geisbrecht points out that most provinces provide information about licensing issues on their websites. Beyond that ,he says it's more practical to talk to neighbours about their experiences with a particular centre.

"If they're already there what better recommendation for concerns that could be brought forward than to talk to the other parents who have children in that program."

'It's far too important to rely on anonymous postings on a website.'—Sharon Gregson, Vancouver school trustee

Geisbrecht's concerns are echoed by Vancouver school trustee Sharon Gregson, who doesn't think daycares and schools should be subject to postings like restaurant reviews.

"I think that child care is much more important than a plate of pasta. It's far too important to rely on anonymous postings on a website."

Chester told CBC News she agrees with Gregson's concerns and points out the website won't include any sort of ranking system.

"If you're talking about something as important as a daycare or a school, there's so much more complexities involved. I don't think that you can reduce a description of a school to a rating like five stars or seven out of 10," she told CBC News.