Drop in Child Care

We've used a local drop in child care place and I have to say it's decent but I wouldn't use it on a regular basis or for anything other than an emergency especially if your little ones are very young. Children who are fairly self sufficient should be fine, but one of the most important things for little ones is that they need to feel comfortable with the care provider and they provide a minimum standard of supervision and it's often not the same person when you go. They are a good option, though, in a pinch.

I own a childcare center and I don't see how unless you are overstaffed (which most centers are not willing to be) how it can be safe. For instance there are teacher child ratios to be met to keep children safe and well cared for. With a drop in service unless they have adequate staff it could compromise the safety of the children. I would ask how they anticipate the amount of children attending daily and how they staff. I worked at a center once who tried it and they didn't continue for long for this reason.

I do regular home daycare and I think the drop in care would be a nightmare. I don't see how you could maintain your ratios or have regular income. And unless you have tons of space things like nap time could be difficult.

Are you thinking of doing it out of your home or through a center of some kind? I guess I might not have enough info to make an informed opinion about it, but home daycare with regular kids is hard enough... drop in sounds no fun.

I do not know of any places local but there was a drop in franchise where I lived in Texas called Play Time. I loved it! You had to make reservations for children under 2 to ensure they had staffing covered. Older children could be dropped at any time. You had to have a membership with an annual fee to go there. You also had to provide the shot records, dr's note etc. My children loved it and have asked why we don't do it here. Good luck finding something and post it on here if you do!