How to get out of day care???

[Unregistered]

I have been providing daycare for 17 years! I have loved it, but realize for health reasons and my own family, it is time to move on. I am just not sure how to do this. Financially I need the income, so how do you plan the closing/ retirement from this line of work?

Any suggestions or anyone in the process of closing?

[jojosmommy]

So, do you have a plan for alternative income?

If so then the only suggestion I have is to provide your families with SOME notice but not too much because I have heard of many families looking for care right away and leaving the provider earlier than she had planned. Maybe someone else can chime in on this part.

[cheerfuldom]

Is it possible to semi retired? make your group smaller, limit your days/hours/services? so you are able to have some income but not having as much as you have now?

[HaveaHoot]

My mother in law did daycare for 20 years and I believe she aged all her kids out and never replaced them and stopped accepting siblings. She slowly ended her daycare and now works with animals and is very happy. She didn't require the income anymore though.

[makap]

I am planning on gradually getting out of doing full-time care within the next 2-3 years. As the children leave my care, I will not be replacing families. I am full right now with 5-7 children each day. Once school starts I will be down to 3 children until October when 2 of my past families who are on my wait list return with their one year olds.

My plan is to "semi retire" from this job after my current little ones go to school. I would like to offer a morning program for 3 year olds who will be going to school shortly. I think that there is a demand for something like this.

I would like to offer a program for a few hours in the morning from 9 until 12 to to teach ABCs and 123s, shapes, colors, explore nature, cook, bake, do crafts etc in a fun semi structured home like setting with friends their own age. This will help to prepare them for school and get them used to being around a group of children the same ages as they are.

Right now parents who want or have their child in a home daycare type setting have their child with a many babies and toddlers. The only way to get their child in a setting such as what I would like to offer would be to put their child in a daycare center and many parents prefer the home like daycare atmosphere.

This is going to be wonderful for all of us! It will great for me as I know I will miss working with children terribly if I were to give it up completely. It is also going to be nice for the rest of my family as there will never be daycare children here while they are home, we can have a wonderful dinner at the end of the day and we will have our home back. Not having toys and highchairs and pnps all over the place is going to be one thing none of us will miss! ::

[AnythingsPossible]

I have been doing daycare for 10 years and have known for the last couple of years that this isn't what I want to do forever, but didn't really have a plan to make that happen. I too can not go without the income.
My plan is to close daycare at the end of 2014. I am currently taking classes to get my AA in Early Childhood, because I do enjoy working with the littles, just not being stuck in the house. I hope to find a job with either a school based preschool, or the state operated preschool system so that I can get benefits. The pay will be less, but we are working on our debt over the next 2 years a well. I think to get out of daycare, you have to have an end game plan. I also am no longer enrolling infants, and if I need to add anyone, will look for someone in my current age group.