With 267 6-week- to 12-year-old children enrolled in their day care center, Gregg and Debra Kinney know how important it is for parents to have peace of mind.

The couple have owned Kids 'R' Kids Quality Learning Center in Bradenton for five years, and they've had Web cameras in the facility since Day One.

"It's just another tool. It's a peace of mind for their parents," said Gregg Kinney.

Wherever they are, as long as they have a computer and an Internet connection, parents of Kids 'R' Kids charges can see their children in action. They can access their child's room (there's a camera in every classroom) and the center's cafe by entering their center ID, user ID and password at www.watchmegrow.com.

WatchMeGrow has installed Internet viewing systems in child care centers since 1996. It now has close to 200 systems in facilities across the country, said John Lewison, general manager of WatchMeGrow.

Day care owners like the Kinneys have the system installed primarily because they want to show parents the quality of care they provide, Lewison said. "They have such confidence in programs in their center, and they want parents to be able to look in at any time and feel connected."

Some centers use the system as a marketing tool. Parents call WatchMeGrow and ask where they can find child care centers with WatchMeGrow systems in them, Lewison said, so the systems also help increase centers' enrollments.

And in southwest Florida, home to people from all over the country, it's something that kids' relatives, even if they don't live here, can use to watch the kids grow. Kinney said he knows of a charge's grandparent in London who regularly logs in to watch what's going on at Kids 'R' Kids.

As far as Lewison knows, there's never been a case of unauthorized viewing from the WatchMeGrow Web site.

As for the Kinneys, they get their peace of mind by being at the center instead of logging in to it from outside locations. They don't use the Webcams to watch over their employees, Kinney said; they don't have any reason to. Employees know they're on camera, but it's something that they don't even think about because it's so routine, he said.

What parents see on watchmegrow.com, the couple see on monitors in their lobby. The server there has crashed a time or two, but it's something that rarely happens, Kinney said. When it does, it's up again within a day.

"We want to help educational facilities run more smoothly," Lewison said, "and I think we're doing that."

Tiffany St. Martin, features writer, can be reached at 745-7080, Ext. 2035, or tstmartin@HeraldToday.com