What Home is Best for Daycare?

[FrankGarrett]

I'm searching for a new home and want the ability to run a day care for a couple kids from it.

What should I look for in a home that would make it well suited for day care?

And what should I make sure it doesn't have?

I'm looking at 2 story homes, new construction (2-7 years old).

TIA,
Frank G.

[MommyMuffin]

One thing I really wish that I had was a walk out, it would be so helpful. I have to help the really little ones down the deck stairs and then rush back up for the other one. Really stressful.

When in the kitchen can you see the kids..this is important

[MamaBear]

I would say...

• A house without a pool because you will have a lot of extra work to do to pass your licensing inspection if there is a pool.
• A home near schools (elementary especially)
• A home with a large room to have a play room and another room that is quiet for nap times.
• A house with a big safe backyard is great with very secure private fencing.
• A home in a safe & quiet neighborhood
• A home in a slow traffic area. Our home was on a culdesac & feels very safe for a daycare situation.
• A home that has a good parking situation for your daycare parents to pull up in.

Good luck finding the perfect home to do daycare in

[cheerfuldom]

I vote for a one story with a walk out basement (thats what i have!), fully fenced backyard, bathroom in the basement, walking distance to a park, not on a main road but easy access to main roads

[Sugar Magnolia]

I would say...

• A house without a pool because you will have a lot of extra work to do to pass your licensing inspection if there is a pool.
• A home near schools (elementary especially)
• A home with a large room to have a play room and another room that is quiet for nap times.
• A house with a big safe backyard is great with very secure private fencing.
• A home in a safe & quiet neighborhood
• A home in a slow traffic area. Our home was on a culdesac & feels very safe for a daycare situation.
• A home that has a good parking situation for your daycare parents to pull up in.

Good luck finding the perfect home to do daycare in

Yes! All this! I would just add...one that is big enough where perhaps you can have a "wing" that is dedicated daycare space, separate from you primary living area. And what MamaBear said about being near schools...location location location...the mantra of all real estate purchases.

[BusyBee]

Near schools, but not too close. At least where I live, if you are within a mile, you walk. Can you imagine that every day with a bunch of dckids?

[MamaBear]

I live really close to an elementary school & its the best. Mainly because I can walk my own boys to school with all my daycare toddlers in my big ole' wagon and not have to worry about the liability of driving any of them in the car. I only care for infants & toddlers - no school age... so when someone calls asking if I can do transportation for their kids to the school - I say no way jose! My school age kids are enough for me!

[Crazy8]

all of the above are great suggestions. I am a little sorry I didn't look at split levels a little more when we were moving (I was already doing daycare at the old house and am doing it in the new one). I didn't think I wanted a split level but now I wonder if it would have worked out better for a daycare area. One thing I knew was I did NOT want to run my daycare in my basement - I know others do it but I knew I didn't want to be "stuck" down there all day - so while we were looking for a house with a basement I knew it wasn't for my daycare space (mostly for my own kids junk, LOL!).
Oh, and one thing I LOVE about my house is its on a corner. A corner that has served as a school bus stop for many years!!!

[Abigail]

We just bought a house yesterday for the purpose of opening a daycare in it! I considered a lot of factors prior to even contacting a realtor and had my mental list ready to go.

We wanted to have a separate entrance for daycare because I want my home private still. We wanted to have a lower level that wouldn't transfer sound so loud to the upper level so we didn't want an "open" floorplan when you walk into the lower level. Our daycare space is exclusively for daycare, so it's the entire lower level. We also considered the backyard, it needed to be large enough to have plenty of kids running around and I was concerned for shade, but we do a small tree in the yard. Location was more important for our personal liking, in the end it's our home. We'll find out if it's a good daycare necessity location, but it is within a quiet neighborhood and a park is one block away! It's seriously our DREAM HOME. I can't wait to move in next weekend!

[AnneCordelia]

Here's the list I'd want:

*mainfloor dining/livingrooms to convert to daycare space
*also a den & eat-in kitchen on mainfloor, kitchen in sight of daycare space
*side entrance for the daycare, perhaps in laundry room on main floor? Where I can post daycare related things and keep my main entryway for my family.
*finished basement w/ a bedroom (naproom!)
*4 bedrooms upstairs (so I dont' NEED that basement bedroom for my own kids)
*a walk-out to the backyard from the mainfloor
*in my same neighbourhood so I can still walk to schools, parks, zoo, library, drop-in center and coffee shop.

We're hoping that in another 4 years we'll be in a position to do this!!! There is lots available in my area...one of my good friends runs her daycare from this kind of set-up and it's so awesome.

[Blackcat31]

What works for me is being centrally located. Near the biggest employers in our community and near the college so it is convenient for parents.

I am near two schools but it is not an advantage for me since I do not take school age children any more and when I did, there was no guarantee that they went to that school (we have 6 elementary schools in our community). I also NEVER transported children by vehicle or by foot to school.

In my area, basements are not allowed to be used for childcare. Walk outs would be a maybe if ALL rooms in the basement had two legal exits which would mean egress windows and a whole bunch of complicated measurements for window well heights.

My home is single level, open floor plan with every room just right off the main area so I can see all the kids all the time, an entryway that is separated off from the rest of the house with a half door so all the cold air, dirt and stuff from the outdoors stays outside of our main play are. In that room are cubbies, coathooks, baskets for each child, a bench for parents and a bulletin board for parent announcements etc.

Good luck in your search. I would suggest maybe networking with area providers in your community and ask them what does and doesn't work for them. It seems that every community has different needs and finding out what specific needs are in your community would be a good piece of knowledge to have.

[boysx5]

I would look for a basement with a walk out I have that and love that all my stuff is down there and don't have to look at it at all

[PitterPatter]

I live really close to an elementary school & its the best. Mainly because I can walk my own boys to school with all my daycare toddlers in my big ole' wagon and not have to worry about the liability of driving any of them in the car. I only care for infants & toddlers - no school age... so when someone calls asking if I can do transportation for their kids to the school - I say no way jose! My school age kids are enough for me!

What do you do in the winter? I too have a wagon but in the winter it will tip and dump the kids due to snow.

It is for this reason I changed my hours a couple yrs ago from 7am to 8am. I get back just in time for daycare if I walk fast.

[MamaBear]

What do you do in the winter? I too have a wagon but in the winter it will tip and dump the kids due to snow.

It is for this reason I changed my hours a couple yrs ago from 7am to 8am. I get back just in time for daycare if I walk fast.

I live in Southern California - so Winter time is not a big deal here. If it rains, I bring an umbrella and the wagon has a shade that covers the top and all sides if needed. Its not a Red Flyer type of wagon - Its a 48" long wooden wagon that can fit up to 8 toddlers. Its pretty massive and serves my daycare very well It does great in all kinds of weather

[Sprouts]

large High Ranch

LARGE HIGH RANCH WITH THE DOWNSTAIRS ABOVE GROUND. I hate seeing daycares in basements with those little windows, when I was looking for care for my daughter if I saw that I would immediately know I wouldnt enroll her there. Sorry to offend anyone if I do.