Going from Full Time Work to in Home Daycare

Ugh, Jill! (previous responder) Don't pass on free plugs for your home-based business. M. is interested in starting a home-based daycare business and asked opinions on THAT. Please respect the rules of mamasource.com

Best of luck to you on your new endeavor, M.. My advice would be to go easy on yourself at first. I went a little crazy with the transition from full-time office to full-time home, but you'll do great. Choose your daycare families carefully and trust your instincts. Don't let them push you around with late pick-up times, changes to your rules, etc. Be good with their children and they will do everything within their power to keep you as their trusted daycare provider. There are good netwroks af home-based daycare providers in the twin cities area...check into them.

Hi M.

I read the prior response and it's great. A lot of information that you should know about in getting your business up and running. But from another perspective is the mental state you need to be in.
I am an in home provider (very new)and I was a full time working mom before. (I was a child development specialist, and then when my son was born I went to working in a daycare center. My husband's job moved us to MN so that's when I decided to do in home care.) I understand completely what it's like to go from one extreme to another.
In home care is very hard on the psyche. You go from having adult interaction, exercising your brain, and just plain getting out of the house to the same monotonous routine, never leaving the house (especially in the winter), and feeling alone. Not to mention, it's very hard on my son. He likes that he has playmates, but he often wants Mommy to play with him and only him. Not always possible. And there are those "crabby days". Not only are your kids crabby, but all the kids are crabby and that makes you crabby! Those are the down days.
There are upsides, though. Working through the bad days is difficult but it does pay off. I make sure we have lots of activities and I move furniture to give them running room when we can't get out. When I really make sure I am on top of my game, that's when we have a ton of fun! But that just requires you to ALWAYS be on your game.
Childcare is difficult. Like I said it has it's ups & downs. Just be prepared for what will come and work through it. I wasn't prepared and find I'm trying to play catch up with myself. I am very much looking forward to Spring and getting outside!
I hope this doesn't scare you off from daycare. It really is a great way to be with your children and earn a little money. I just wanted to keep it real and let you know what you may start to feel. I don't think it makes you a bad person or provider, it's just the internal struggles you may have during the transition period. One last thing, I will suggest that you keep the age level of your daycare children around your daughter's age. It will help tremendously. Good luck to you and your endeavors. Also with your new baby!

Hi M.!
My name is L. I also have a small in home daycare. I am not yet licensed. I quit my full time job in October and started watching kids in November. I put up fliers all over town. (I live in a tiny town!) I do plan my day out with the daycare kids. Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks all at the same time every day. Nap time at the same time every day..ect.
It really helps getting them into a schedule. I would also recommend having the parents sign a contract with you. How much they pay and on what days. I have had some trouble getting people to pay me and I had them all sign contracts and now they know that there is no getting out of paying me. I have 2 girls. Ages 7 and 4. I watch 5 kids during the day and 2 more after school. I am actually almost making what I was bringing home from my full time job! And I LOVE IT.
Also with me also being new at this keep your receipts. You can write off food, cleaning supplies, electricity, trash..ect on your taxes.

Good Luck M.!
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
L.
A Proud Member of the MOM Team
www.themomteam.com/busymommy

I would start by getting your license/registration with your state. Sometimes that could take a few months. They may require you to take some classes before you are eligible. You may want to think about how you are going to set up / organize you daycare.
I do home daycare and I have a separate room for my daycare kids so my children's toys are kept in their toy room or bedroom. Your children are not going to want to share all their toys with other children especially when they are new.

You are going to want to plan out your hours and a schedule for the children, although a strict schedule is almost impossible to follow with infants and toddlers but something that they kids can depend on each day really works out.

We utilize a lot of activities that are free also. We go the the library for story times, parks, mall when cold to play with other children and to just get out and run around. Depending on the age of children you can get pintables and stuff online for free. I have mostly 2-5 year olds so I purchase a curriculum from chubbiecubbie.com. I think it is awesome, comes with a monthly theme and something to do everyday! And all crafts are already prepared for you. It is only worth to get for 2-5 year olds and if you have about 3 kids...I save my previous ones and reuse them too!

Make sure you get contracts and type up a policies for your business. Start saving ALL RECEIPTS for anything you buy, even for your new baby...all that can be tax deductible. I'm sure that there is more, if you have any other questions, would answer then for you if I can.
Good Luck!

As someone already said get in contact with your county and get your license now. It's a fairly long process and you'll want to get things squared away before you're too far into your pregnancy or have a new baby. Be prepared that it may take some time to get children into your daycare. Parents often look well in advance of when they need care. Most of the children that you will get calls for are infants and if looking after several infants isn't what you're interested in, it will take time to find children. I would also suggest having a maternity leave before starting your daycare. You will have family adjustments with your daughter adding a sibling and if then there are also several other new children wanting mom's attention at the same time, she may have problems. If you plan well, doing daycare while raising you own family can be a real blessing for everyone.