Why Do Daycare? How Long Have You Done It? Why Close?

[DaisyMamma]

I see a lot of posts of new providers opening and other providers closing and I'm just curious.
Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
Why did you open your daycare?
How long have you been doing daycare?
How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
why did you, or will you, close?

At my daycare I make significantly more then I ever did working outside the home. I can't ever see closing down.

[littlemissmuffet]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
No, I have maybe 10 more years left in me before I change careers (I'll be about 40 by then).

Why did you open your daycare?
I opened my daycare so that when I eventually had kids I could be home with them. Ironically, I would never put my own child in daycare.

How long have you been doing daycare?
About 10 years.

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
Again, about 10 more years, if that. I want to be home with/for my own kiddo until they are well into their elementary school years.

why did you, or will you, close?
I will close because the longer I do daycare, the more I notice that parenting style these days are really quite difficult for me to accept and work with. I love everything about my job but the parents.

[Blackcat31]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?

I plan on doing this until I am dead or win the lottery.
Which ever comes first.

Why did you open your daycare?

Because my own DS was a rage baby and he had been kicked out of two child cares (one center/one family care) before he was a year old.

How long have you been doing daycare?

I have been in the ECE field for 25+ years but have been doing family child care for 20 yrs

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?

Until I am dead. Because I am good at it.

I also cannot see myself working FOR someone else and not being the one in charge. Once you get that kind of control over your life/income/career, it is hard to let it go.

why did you, or will you, close?

I would consider closing if parents continue on this downward slide of allowing children to set the rules and be in charge and have zero boundaries.

However, that issue hasn't found it's way inside my child care yet (only outside so far) so I think I am good for now.

[Brooksie]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
Probably not. I'm hoping to be able to go back to school eventually. But it was almost impossible in my previous situation.

Why did you open your daycare?
I opened my day care bc before I was a single mother who stayed home during the day with my daughter and then worked nights and weekends in a very busy restaurant. I was absolutely exhausted all the time and wasn't able to enjoy the time I had with my child. With the day care I can stay at home with her doing everything I was before, but I get paid for it and my nights are open for me to relax and recharge for the next day. I actually made more money in the restaurants but it wasn't going to get me any where.

How long have you been doing daycare?
I just opened in September.

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
I plan on doing it for at least the next 5 years. At that point, once my daughter is in school, I'm hoping to go back to college.

[BumbleBee]

I see a lot of posts of new providers opening and other providers closing and I'm just curious.
Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?

That is my plan but I am only 27, single & no children of my own so things could change

Why did you open your daycare?

I have worked in 3 centers and nannied for 3 families. At the centers I didn't like how rigid it was; the cliques with the teachers; the ever changing policies from the boss; and the lack of empathy & compassion towards the kids. Though not all centers are like that. As for the nanny jobs-2 were great (1 family moved cross country & the other I finished college and moved away from that area.) The 3rd one was horrific.

How long have you been doing daycare?

2 months as a home daycare. 10 years in child care

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?

Until God leads me down another path, if that's his plan for me.

why did you, or will you, close?

See above

At my daycare I make significantly more then I ever did working outside the home. I can't ever see closing down.

Great questions!

[sharlan]

I see a lot of posts of new providers opening and other providers closing and I'm just curious.
Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire? IMHO, I am retired.
Why did you open your daycare?I couldn't function as a working mother. My job and children were both suffering, one had to give.
How long have you been doing daycare?In all honesty, I've had someone else's baby on my hip since I was 13, so 45 yrs. Daycare - 28 yrs
How long do you plan to do daycare? Until I can't do it anymore.Why?Because I enjoy it.
why did you, or will you, close?I did close for 5 yrs after one of my kids made a horrible, false accusation to his parents.

At my daycare I make significantly more then I ever did working outside the home. I can't ever see closing down.

I make far less today that when I quit work 28 yrs ago.

[Childminder]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire? Til death do we part.
Why did you open your daycare? Natural evolution, started very early and just had that "knack" for watching children.
How long have you been doing daycare? 47 years
How long do you plan to do daycare? Til death. Why? Can't retire unless I do continue since our world was financially destroyed in 2008.
why did you, or will you, close? I would if I was gifted with enough money to live comfortably.

[Lyss]

I see a lot of posts of new providers opening and other providers closing and I'm just curious.
Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
Why did you open your daycare?
How long have you been doing daycare?
How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
why did you, or will you, close?

At my daycare I make significantly more then I ever did working outside the home. I can't ever see closing down.

I'm relatively new to operating my own home daycare but I've been working in centers since I was 16 and I helped a home daycare provider as her sub and pt assistant for over 5 years. I have a degree in ECE and take many hours of training each year.

Honestly I never really planned to do in home care. I was planning to become a center director (I was asst director for the last few years i worked there) but I just got fed up with the politics, drama, and the way most were ran and two years ago stepped away. Then a year later I had my DD (our happy 'accident' ) and I decided to open mine as I wanted to be with her instead of paying for daycare that I was more than qualified to provide. I now have a prek program and am comfortable in my numbers. Of course I'm still just learning the ropes and have tweaked a lot of things! I love this board for all the advice and support!

I'm not sure how long I plan to do this, if I'll be a lifer or not. I really enjoy it, I like watching the kids become their own little person and I do plan at least 6 years, maybe longer. For me a big part of it depends on my husband's job, whether he will stay put or move onto a different location. He's a park ranger and can move between parks if he chooses, currently he works at one of the largest/busiest parks in our state and loves it but i know he wants to move away from the large park down the road (no time soon most likely though) and honestly starting this business was hard, i don't know if I want to go through all that again if we ever relocate! !

[crazydaycarelady]

I have been doing dc for 21 years. At first I was just going to do it until my own kids got in school.

Then when they all got in school I didn't want them to be latch-key kids, plus since they no longer counted in my ratios, the money was finally pretty good.

When they got to be teenagers I definately didn't want them home alone afterschool - I was a teen once and that is when I did ALL the stuff I wasn't supposed to do!

Now they have all recently moved out but when I think of getting a job outside the home I would be taking a HUGE paycut.

At this point I plan on doing this until I have grandbabies and then I will quit this and just enjoy them!

[laundrymom]

I see a lot of posts of new providers opening and other providers closing and I'm just curious.
Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
Why did you open your daycare?
How long have you been doing daycare?
How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
why did you, or will you, close?

At my daycare I make significantly more then I ever did working outside the home. I can't ever see closing down.

I'm a lifer. I've always wanted to do this. I've been open since '87. I'll do daycare until my hubs retires. About 25 more years.

[cheerfuldom]

I see a lot of posts of new providers opening and other providers closing and I'm just curious.
Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
Why did you open your daycare?
How long have you been doing daycare?
How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
why did you, or will you, close?

At my daycare I make significantly more then I ever did working outside the home. I can't ever see closing down.

I hope I am not doing daycare until I retire! I opened my daycare because I had three home providers bail on me before my first was supposed to start daycare. I am going on 6 years of daycare and plan to do this only as long as I have to....basically till I can get at least 3 of my 4 kids off to school and find another way to make ends meet. It works for now and I am good at it but its certainly not my dream job. I was so close to closing permanently and then found out I am expecting surprise baby number 4.

[mom2many]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?

Yes, I cannot imagine myself in another career.

Why did you open your daycare?

I started my business, so I could stay home with my son and help our family out financially.

How long have you been doing daycare?

I've been doing it for 26 years

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?

I will continue doing daycare until we move to a less expensive area and we can live on my hubby's pension alone...probably won't happen for another 15 years! I don't plan to retire any time soon!

I love what I do and find it rewarding, so unless we win the lottery, I'm content and happy working! I enjoy running my business out of my home and not having a grueling commute or having the fear of being laid off!

Why did you, or will you, close?

I would close my daycare if the State of CA made it undesirable to continue. Many changes have taken place since I began and some for the best. However, I agree with Black cat and I would consider closing if parents and the State continue on this downward slide of allowing children to set the rules and be in charge and have zero boundaries.

[HappyHearts]

Why did you open your daycare?
I worked at a large commercial center for 2 years, then quit because I didn't agree with how the children were being treated. I wasn't planning on working anymore. I worked as a credit manager prior to that for 10 years.

After 2 weeks of staying home and enjoying it, I had several calls from some of the parents of the 2 year olds that I use to care for at the center, asking if I would care for their kids because they didn't want to go to daycare without me there anymore. That was a tough decision. I have no children of my own and my house was far from childproof or kid friendly. After discussing it with my husband and meeting with all the parents. We all agreed. I applied for my childcare license and the rest is history.

My first 6 children came from the center as 2 year olds and they all stayed with me until kindergarten. By the way, I am still in contact with all of them and their parents, and have attended all of their high school graduations. The very best group of kids and parents I have ever had.

How long have you been doing daycare?
Spent 2 years at a large center, and this month will be 20 years in the same location running my home childcare.

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
I always planned on doing this until I physically can't do it anymore. I love what I do, and have been very proud of my program, and all I have learned and continue learning throughout the years. It would be hard for me to give up.

why did you, or will you, close?
I'm not sure if I would ever close indefinitely. I don't plan on ever working outside the home or any other job. I love what I do. All I ever wanted since I was a little girl was to work with children. It's hard to get kids here now, because of the economy, and all the sahm's that are now watching everyone's kids for really cheap. If I ever quit, it would only be because I don't plan on working anymore.

I kind of fell into this career and have enjoyed every second of it. The only real reason I would quit is if I just couldn't get kids. I am a dog trainer and compete and show my dogs in many venues, and also have certified therapy dogs that do visits at the hospitals and nursing homes, so I have plenty to do on my off hours. So, at the times I don't have many kids, I take advantage of that and enjoy my hobbies even more.

Honestly speaking, I don't think I would ever close unless I lost all my daycare kids, and spent too many months without enrolling any more.

[Soccermom]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?

No. I plan on returning back to work when my kids are ready.

Why did you open your daycare?

To be able to stay at home with my children and still pay bills

How long have you been doing daycare?

Almost 10 years but took 1 year off to just be a SAHM.

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?

I will be closing in a year or so..I am not taking on any new DCKS so as my current SA DCKS age out, my numbers will diminish. I will give the other DCPS lots of time to find other care as well.
I am closing because as much as I love kids, I am done. I look forward to being a SAHM for a bit before returning back into the workforce once I feel my Children are ready for me to do that. I am slowly cutting back on bills and trying to pay things off in order to be able to afford a year or two of just being a SAMH. I look forward to it!

why did you, or will you, close?

I will be closing because it is getting harder and harder to please DCPS and DCKS. They just want more, more and more and I am terrible at saying No so I often give in. It is exhausting and I feel like at the end of the day I can hardly stand to spend time with my own children because I am spent from caring for everyone else's.

[countrymom]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
I'm not sure, my house is paid off in 4 yrs, but then my odd will start university and then every 2 yrs I will have a child enter higher education, till all 4 make me go broke. But probably.

Why did you open your daycare?
It started off that I wanted to make some fun money, but as I had more kids and they wanted to join a million activities I started to do it seriously. Also, I didn't want my kids to come home to an empty house, and the 5th child (my dh) is clueless so it was easier for me to stay home. Also, I grew up where my mother was always home too.

How long have you been doing daycare?
10 yrs

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
same as question 1

why did you, or will you, close?
unless I die or also win the lottery, that would be the only reason.