Daycare Center

[awestbrook713]

So heres a question for all of you. Do you prefer the at home daycares you are running now or if you had the chance would you open a bigger center. I like working from home but feel held back because I see daycare setups and wish I had the space to do this. I live in a trailor and use my main rooms for daycare but its also my main living space so I don't have much room for big toys or different stations.

I just signed up for pinterest and am looking through the pictures and see all these setups and just would love to be able to do something like that.

Anyone else feel this way?

[2ndFamilyDC]

I have never wanted to have my daycare anywhere but in my home. But I wish I had one level to use just for my daycare, giving me more room to set it up like I wish I could.

[AnneCordelia]

I would never want to work anywhere but home. I love the family feel, I love the small ratios, I love how homey it is. I just wish I had more space too.

[awestbrook713]

I guess what it all comes done to for me is wanting more space too. Unfortunately I will never have that. We plan on buying a bigger house this year or the next but it still won't have that much space that I could devote a room to daycare. Guess I will just work with what I have.

[Cat Herder]

You could not MAKE me work in a center again. If I would not send my own child there, I don't feel comfortable working there.

Now, there are exceptions to every rule. There are some Classical Schools and Family run "centers" I would have given anything to have had access to for my kids as Pre-schoolers.

I am generally speaking of large Chain Type centers, from birth-12, with a new provider being whisked in and out, every few hours, as ratios go up and down.

The turnover is atrocious and the kids names have to be taped across their backs constantly. If they don't even know their names just IMAGINE what else they don't know about your child.

It is really difficult to start up a large center without buying a "Chain" type franchise. That is why I decided not to, at all.

[Christian Mother]

Oh no. I love having my daycare in my home. Part of the reason I chose to be a home daycare was so I could also take care of my family while being at home. There is so much more benefit to being home then running a center. At least that is what I think. I do see a lot of diff. ways a home daycare has set up and I would love to have the room to do that. We are upside down in our house due to the economy and housing. If we ever where able to short sale our house I'd love to find a home that had dedicated space for a daycare. Maybe a down stairs basement converted into everything I'd need like a little kitchen and a full bathroom. One bedroom down there that can be used for the baby's to sleep in. That would be on my wish list. But what I have now works really well for me.

[awestbrook713]

I had thought about having a full basement put in when we go for a new house but I am right next to the river and in a flood zone. I'm in NY and 2006 we had such a bad flood the river reached the skirting around my house, so I am not sure a basement would be a good idea.

[mismatchedsocks]

Im the odd ball. After 11 years of it in my home, I am ready for a change. When I graduate with bachelors I will be looking for a center. HOWEVER, it will be a family style center. Small ratios, mixed ages, couches, plants, etc. Home feel, group center. I found the perfect building that looks like a home but it is not zoned for daycare right now, Im working on it!

[awestbrook713]

good luck lilrugrats, I wish you all the best!

[cheerfuldom]

most centers are scary. the ratio you have to have to pay employees and the overhead is crazy. One of my friends had 30 3 and 4 years olds in her class. she was supposed to have an aide but many times was there alone. I have a 3 year old....I would NEVER send her to be a part of a class with 30 kids.

[awestbrook713]

I have never used a center but I can believe they are scary, but so are in home babysitters, I have had to many bad experiences. My oldest was watched by a woman I went to church with. I was pregnant with my 2nd child and came to pick up my son, I was going on maternity leave soon anyways but he never returned to her due to how I found him. She had a closed in porch and some how my 3 yr old son was out in it by him self pinned behind a cabinet crying for help he was sweaty, snot running down his face and exhausted, I don't know how long he was there but it wasn't for only a moment like she said. She was to busy taking care of her 30 yr old infant still living with her while my child suffered, I'm sorry if I sound bitter but I have never wanted to physically hurt someone as much as I did that day.

My babysitter after that one was a family friend and watched my boys cousin too. She ended up calling me just before I went on maternity leave to tell me she was going to rehab because she had a problem with alcohol. As far as I know she checked herself in and checked her self out same day and frequents the bars every weekend. I currently watch her children.

Centers may be scary but home providers can be just as scary. I hold myself mainly responsible for these mistakes because I am my childrens protector and sending them to unlicensed care will never happen again. This is why I am home taking care of my children, I just can't trust anyone else.

wow totally off topic but I needed that.

[cheerfuldom]

I agree, home daycares can be scary too and that is why I stay at home with my own kids. There are pros and cons to each type of setup. The cons for any situation for me far outweigh any pros and that is why I have found a way to stay with my own kids during the day.

[small_steps]

I come from a center. Before I opened my home daycare I was a Center Director for a large church in town. It was hard but mostly because we had a board that was over the daycare and none of them knew a lick about childcare! :P But I would eventually like to open a center, mainly because our town has a lack of good quality centers. It's very stressful, turnover is bad for teachers, and it's a lot more parents to track down for tuition payments. I feel like the need is there and someone needs to put a great center in our town. I have had several parents suggest that i open a center but right now I can't afford it. I really miss being around other adults I think, and when I ran the other center at least I got out of the house daily. I do miss socializing withe the outside world.
Right now I have a 2 year old and when he gets in school maybe I will look more into it. I also just had my garage converted into my "dayca". Everything will happen in there so I do not have to share our living space with daycare. I should be able to move in there next week. That will make a huge difference to me I think.
If I do open one it will be small (around 30-40 kid capacity). The more kids...the more parents .
If your new house has a garage you could always convert it like I did. My parents will even have their own door to enter when they get here.

[beachgrl]

I love having it in my home right now, but we got a large fixer up house on forclosure and was a great deal! I was able to turn my dining room (large walk through into kitchen area and can see the whole space from the kitchen as well as a doorway directly to main hall and bathroom/changing area and laundry room is across from my bathroom as well. I also have my office and extra book storage in my large foyer area which is off from the hallway) into a large dedicated daycare room and set up centers in it!

We also have a small living room right off our kitchen at the other end that we use primarily and another large room near it that is our family/play/game/music room...so we have tons of space and that is all the downstairs, all our bedrooms and two more baths and another office area are all upstairs, which is great for my hubby because he works nights right now and needs to sleep in the day. With his fan on up there, he never even hears us .

I have thought about doing a larger center but still smaller than the chain centers if that makes sense. There was and still is a "home" that is for rent for whatever but has been two daycares already and is set up that way near our local school on main road in town but the owners want way too much rent for the space to make it work which is why the other dacyares couldn't make it and why it is still for rent! I have thought about doing it in another home where I could use the entire space and therefore have a commercial center if and when I get extra funds to do so...but we also have a large open building on our property that we use for storage/etc right now and it would take work but have also thought about putting a floor in it and finishing off the walls/electric and putting a bathroom in it on down the road to have a separate bigger building space to use away from the home but not sure if we would be able to do that with the zoning, etc or not but may find out on down the road when I am ready to expand.

All that being said, i love being home and having it the way it is right now, I think that is part of why my families picked me because it is "home like" smaller setting and not like the larger chain centers.

[snbauser]

I love having it at my house but after 8 1/2 years I am ready for my house back. I am currently looking for a location to open a small center with another provider. We are looking to keep the ratio's low and the environment as "homey" as possible.