What would you want for your child's daycare? (day care, house)

[regarese]

I'm not posting this for an advertisement, I'm posting for suggestions. I'm opening a family daycare in my home after my 2nd baby is born this summer. I will be taking full time toddlers up to 1-5 years old. No infants right now because I will have my newborn there. What kinds of activities and other things would you want for your child or for you as the parent for that matter? My daughter is in a family daycare now, but I'm pretty laid back so my expectations might be different from some other parents. My hours are going to be 7am to 5:30pm. I'm going to offer breakfast, lunch and snacks as well as the option for the parents to drop their kids off in their pajamas (I know how hard it is to get them up and dressed somedays when you need to early and they want to sleep). We have a big yard, and lots of toys. There will be reading, arts & crafts, maybe some baking fun. I'm looking to see what other parents want/expect for their kids. Thanks for any input.

Also-I'm going to be breastfeeding my baby-of course discreetly when children are there. Is this an issue for parents?

[nic529]

Congratulations on your new addition!

I'd like to offer a couple of thoughts being that I just came back to work in September, and was at home running daycare in my home for the last 5 years.

I don't think you will have any issues with breastfeeding - I think most people are open to that.

7 - 5:30 is a long day. Just prepare yourself for that. By the time everyone leaves you may not have any energy left for your own family - I experienced some of this myself.

How many kids are you planning to take? 1 - 5 is a very wide range and it will be difficult to be able to do arts and crafts, nap, etc. You may want to think about narrowing that age range down a bit - trust me on that.

4 + 5 years olds need to have a more structured environment....8 am they arrive, play for an hour, then snack, play for 45 mins, then arts and crafts, play for 45 mins lunch, then nap, wake up time should be quiet like a 1/2 hr show or something, then snack time, then play, maybe another arts and craft or something - talk about the weather, do ABC's etc - then its time to go home. It is very important at this age to keep them busy or you will have unhappy kids! Can you imagine doing all of this while trying to take care of an infant and a couple of toddlers?

I personally feel that 4 and 5 year olds should be in preschool....but that is just my opinion. They need more then what a traditional babysitter can offer.

Toddlers play and sing and just have a lot of fun - most of the time. If your house is baby proofed, you will be having fun with them. That is what I found anyway.

Older toddlers - around age 3 - just want to help. They will also need to be able to have some arts and crafts and stories and letters etc....but will not be as demanding as the 4 and 5's.

Just some advice from my experiences. I fell in love with all my "kids". They were a part of my family - I hope your experience with this is a good one.

[regarese]

Thank you so much NIC-that's exactly what I was looking for! Ideally-I would like 2-3 year olds and will be taking a maximum of 4 of them. I was including the "older" kids b/c I know at my daughter's daycare there are a couple kids there when they're not in pre-school so I didn't want to have to turn a parent away because one of their kids is over 3. My house is babyproofed-I have a 2 year old. You're right that 7-5:30 is a long day. I used to work as a camp counselor and had similar hours with almost 20 kids in my group. 5 might feel like a vacation after that. LOL. I have a wonderful husband though who doesn't mind crock pot and quick meals during the week and who will likely ban me from our kids when he gets home from work b/c he will be jealous that I've been with them all day. I'm expecting it to be an adjustment, but the opportunity it provides me to stay home with my girls is too good to pass up. Thanks again for the tips.

[nic529]

I understand completely - and that opportunity kept me home with my kids until my youngest went to kindergarten. It was great.....and the love you get from the other kids is wonderful. I loved doing it...but I did get burnt out. I miss all my kids very much. But the time came for me to have some adult conversation! Barney can only take you so far!

My suggestions would be to try and keep your kids as close in age as possible, and have fun. If I did run into problems it was mostly with parents....not their kids. People don't want to pay - or don't take care of behavioral issues - or not send enough supplies etc.

Oh - and I would - just another suggestion- not offer breakfast. Your going to run yourself down very quickly. Let them get their own kids dressed and fed before they come to you. Once in a while is one thing...but trust me.....people take advantage of us who want to be helpful!

[regarese]

Thanks. The parents are what I'm more worried about-more than actually caring for the kids. Some were awful with the camp kids I had. LOL. I had a kid call me a F'N B**** one time and his father asked me what I did-like it was my fault. LOL. Hopefully, that won't happen with a 2 year old. I'm not big on confrontation, but I'm trying to motivate myself to be like my daughter's present daycare provider. She is a wonderful woman who absolutely loves the kid, but she will cut you off if you don't pay her on time. LOL. She is very good at stressing to the parents that while she loves the kids, this is her business and just like we expect to get paid on time, so does she-which is only right. Same goes with her enforcement of her sick policy, late pick up, etc. She's all cookies and Wiggles with the kids, but ALL business with the parents. I'm hopeful that I'll get a thicker backbone by the summer

[nic529]

Sounds like you have a great role model for this. I also had to be very strict with kids being sick, and late pick ups, and non payment. And I live in a "rich" town so to speak. Just remember - just because they like you and want you to take care of their kids doesn't mean you have to take them - if you get a bad feeling or something just doesn't sit right...tell them your full or something. Remember...these kids will now be affecting your kids. You'll do fine! You'll be great!

[hrjersey]

My daughter is in a regular day care setting. THis is her third one... The first one was an emergency and so I was paying ALOT. Kindercare. The second was part time and close to home. Goddard. Now she is Full time in a place that I could afford. YMCA.

Here is what I would look for in any care setting.

1. Excellent communication. My daughter just turned 3. Because she is potty training they give her full access to the bathroom...problem is I never know what she did because they don't keep track. This is a bigger problem then you would think.

2. Hygiene (really #1). For a child that is potty training in my opinion someone needs to be with them in the bathroom. Make sure they wipe, flush and wash. This doesn't happen at the Y. It did at the other schools. They actually had a very rigid schedule that the kids had to "try" to go and someone was with them.

3. Organized play. Too much unsupervised time gives children time to get into trouble. Even in a home environment. You will be by yourself, preparing meals, changing diapers etc. Toddlers need to have tasks and a referee. Obviously this is easier with 5 children.

4. I like when there is a daily written plan of activities. This helps me to reinforce what is happening at day care. I'm a teacher so I believe that having plans like this week we focused on the letter "B" and do activities that start with b's. Bears, bees, build, butter, bells.

Questions I would ask an in-home provider are:

1. Do you have a back-up? If your daughter gets sick and needs to go to the Pediatrician what plan do you have for the kids.

2. What is your rule about caring for sick kids?

Good luck...I know I couldn't do it.

[regarese]

Thank you HRJERSEY. That helps a lot too. I hear what you're saying about communication. When I was looking for daycare, that's what I liked about the facility type setting was that they logged all the diaper changes and such. My daughter's family care provider does not do that. I thought that I would have some sort of logging system for the parents.

I will be registering with the state so I will have a substitute/backup caregiver who will come to my home in the case where I might have to take a "sick day". I also will have my sick child policy spelled out in my contract and it will be reviewed with the parents during the interview process. If it's just a cold I'm figuring the child can come, but if there is a fever, diarhea, vomitting, then they'll have to make other arrangements. That is what the rule is with my daughter's provider and it seems to work out well.

I'm also planning on providing monthly calendars to the parents with the daily menus and plans for activities on it. I think I will need this organization more than anybody to keep my day flowing. As a parent, I wouldn't mind knowing either what my daughter was eating at lunch everyday without having to specifically ask all the time.

Thanks so much for your input.