Parents of young children can soon turn to one more resource when deciding which daycare, preschool or elementary school is best for their family.

The Shorty List is a new website that compiles first-hand reviews of these facilities throughout Metro Vancouver, providing opinions from parents, teachers and staff.

Karen Young Chester came up with the idea for the online resource while researching daycare and preschool options for her three- and four-year-old kids.

"As with most things, I tried to do some research online first, but I couldn't find very much information," she said. "So I thought this would be a really useful website for parents to have to be able to gather information together."

Chester developed her website to provide information to parents of children up to age 12, with the main focus on children who are five or younger. From a drop-down menu, users can choose specific Metro Vancouver municipalities from options that include Anmore, Belcarra, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody.

The Shorty List -- located at www.theshortylist.ca -- is currently accepting anonymous reviews and comments from parents about their experiences with daycares, preschools and elementary schools. All comments will be reviewed before publication on the fully moderated site to ensure they meet a long list of legal regulations. Submissions will be posted in October, when the site is expected to officially launch.

According to the prelaunch site, the best reviews contain answers to typical parent questions. For daycares and preschools, reviews might include information about space, schedule, philosophy, activities, learning materials, discipline, staff-to-child ratios, fees and snacks. For elementary schools, reviewers might write about the school's reputation, extra-curricular activities, facilities and equipment, class size, homework, before- and after-school programs and school fees.

Although comments will be posted anonymously, administrators will be able to track reviewers.

"We are setting up the structure right now that we are going to be taking in information and details from people who are writing reviews, but the postings themselves are going to be anonymous," Chester said.

"We feel like this is the industry standard for most comment and review sites, and it enables people to be honest about what they're saying."

However, some comments might not make the cut.

"We aren't going to be posting serious allegations because we feel that a website is not the appropriate forum for making something like that known to the public," Chester said.

"There are certain governing bodies that are more appropriate for people that have serious problems that they should be going through."

So far, however, the prelaunch site has received a steady number of reviews every day across the Metro Vancouver area, Chester added.

"It sounds like a lot of parents have heard about it and they're very interested in it."

And it's not just parents who are interested.

Wendy Cooper, owner and operator of West Wood Players and James Park Child Care, is also pleased with the initiative.

"I think it's an excellent idea. I think it's really hard for parents to find out about a facility and what it's like. You can do a tour, but it's not the same as talking to a parent who's had long-term experience with the staff and the facility," Cooper said.

"So I think it's a really good way for parents to hear from other parents who have experience in a location ... In my experience in the past 22 years of running a childcare facility, word of mouth is always the best way to have parents come and meet you."

It's also a good idea to include information about elementary schools, Cooper added, especially since many parents now have the option of sending their five-year-olds to full-day kindergarten.

"I think it's really important for parents to maybe make the decision to not put their child in that situation if they don't feel it's as supportive for their child as a childcare setting might be," she said.

"The ratios are much different. The philosophy is much different. The amount of supervision is much different."

Cooper did, however, express concern that most parents who are happy with their child's school or daycare might not take the time to write a positive review.

"I think people are probably more motivated to go on and do a review if they're not happy. It could be difficult sometimes to weed out the parent who is not happy because they didn't pay their bill so that demand was made of them versus the parent who has a legitimate complaint. That's the one caution," Cooper said.

"I guess childcare centres could encourage parents to do that for them, but the one thing I know about working parents is they're pretty stretched. They're not really that motivated to advocate for daycare politically or otherwise. It's a tough one."

- For more information or to post a review to The Shorty List, visit www.theshortylist.ca.