Starting In-home Daycare

Hi V.,

Congratulations on choosing one of the hardest but such an important job. I have been doing in home daycare for over 4 years now. I have changed a lot in the way I run my business now from when I started. You will too as you go. When I first started I would charge for half days and full days. Half day for me was literally a half day (5 hours or less). My rate for half day was $15.00 and full day was $25.00. Now I charge a full day price regardless of how long the child is in my care. The reason for this is...it is very hard to fill a spot for someone that is part time in order to stay within your legal number of children. Some daycare providers charge for the whole week regardless whether the child is there...I only charge for the amount of days they are scheduled to be in my care ( EX: if they are to be in my care 3 x a week then that is what I am guaranteed on a weekly basis regardless if they are sick) As far as a contract...yes I would suggest you have one. It is professional and outlines for the parents your policies so they know what you expect from them as your employer. I have never had to use mine in a legal issue but I know of people that have and it has helped. Mine does state a notice that needs to be given for vacations or if they are leaving your care for good. This way you have time to look and can budget. I also suggest having another daycare provider that you can talk to on a constant basis. My previous daycare provider became a very good friend to me when I started. We would talk almost daily and it helped to have someone to vent to, ask questions and relate with. Well these are some of my tips and things that work for me...if there is anything I can answer, let me know.

Good luck and have fun!
M.

I would advise two things V.; 1) Just calla round to a few places describing what you would be looking for and see what they charge and 2) remove any household cleaners that are not non toxic from your home. Begin to think about what items will become tax write offs etc... as a result. There are plenty of books at the library that can help educate you on child development... a bit more info than the common sense practical information we have from raising our own.

Good luck in your decision.
C. W
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Hi V., I feel obligated to mention this since I see it's becoming quite popular when money gets tight to just open your home up and start a daycare business. I have been in the insurance industry for over 20 years and need to advise you of the liability risks that you have if you do this. Most insurance companies will not issue a homeowners/renters policy if there is a daycare in the home although some will offer an endorsement with limited coverage for an extra premium. Also, if you are running a daycare and you have a homeowner claim and they find out you have a daycare, they may deny the claim. You can get a liability policy to cover your daycare, but they are pricey, sometimes $100 or more per month, but you can figure this in your price per child that you charge. No matter how carefully you watch the children in your home, accidents can and do sometimes happen. This leaves you open to unique liability exposures. So please check with your current agent to see if they can help you and take this into consideration before you decide what to do. And mom's that are looking at in-home care for your child, I would ask for proof of liability insurance from the owner to make sure they are covered in the event that something unexpected happens to your child. If you have any questions, let me know! F. www.AgentLady.com

My son attends in-home daycare and she just started. I know my husband and I met with her several times before we gave her a deposit and it is pretty informal. I think you will have to see what you think once you start meeting with families, if you feel an instant connection and trust you'll know. My son's sitter charges $25/day for part time, and $150/week. He usually only goes Mon. - Thurs. but we pay the full $150/wk because we know she could find someone else if we didn't want to pay it, or we can take him on Friday if we need to. We pay if our son is sick, but we don't pay if she or one of her own children are sick and we have to find our own back-up care. Also, she takes two weeks off a year and we do too - both unpaid.

I did a LOT of research and interviewed a lot of people and toured a lot of facilities before I made my decision. I was at the point of thinking I would never find what I was looking for when I found her :0) and I am so pleased (three weeks in). If you want to email me I can give you some tips - what I was looking for as a parent or what turned me off etc. Good luck!

T.