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

[Daycarelady1979]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
I'm really not sure. Depends on the day you ask me...some days I feel like I could do it forever & other days I just want to call it quits.

Why did you open your daycare?
I was new to the area & had a 10 month old son...I wanted to earn an income but I didn't want someone else to raise my child. I was only going to do it until he went to Kindergarten, but things were going so well...business was good & the income was great, so I kept at it!

How long have you been doing daycare?
This December will be 9 years.

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
I'm not sure about that either...
My little one who was once 10 months old is now in 4th grade, but a few months ago we received another blessing. So now we have a little one who is 7 months old & I feel like I owe it to him to work from home while he is growing up, just like I did for his brother. I will definitely do daycare until he goes to Kindergarten. After that...who knows?

Why did you, or will you, close?
I will close when I'm ready...I feel like I will just "know" when it's time.
Or whenever we move out of this house/town.
Or if I become independently wealthy.
Whichever comes first ::

[DCMom]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
When I first started, that wasn't the plan. Now, 23 years later, it is.

Why did you open your daycare?
I originally started 'babysitting' a few neighborhood kids because I wanted to be home with my own two boys. Five years into it, I got pregnant with my third child (an oops...but the best thing ever ) and I realized that I had found a career. We built a bigger house with opening a licensed daycare in mind.

How long have you been doing daycare?
I have been doing daycare in one way or another for nearly 24 years.

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
Till I retire ~ whenever that might be.

why did you, or will you, close?
If I won the lottery, I would consider it. Actually, I would probably just keep my very favorite kids and let the rest go
I'm hoping government regulation won't piss me off so much that I quit before I am really ready, !

[DBug]

[QUOTE=DaisyMamma;275314]
Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
Not me

Why did you open your daycare?
To help pay for our first house and be available to my own kids while doing it. I would never want to put my own kids in f/t daycare. IMO, it defeats the purpose of having them in the first place.

How long have you been doing daycare?
Home daycare for 3.5 years, daycare center for one, nannying for a few years in there somewhere, too.

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
If all goes as planned, a few more months!

why did you, or will you, close?
Hubby's got an awesome job, and my jobs have always been disposable. I've never been career-driven and any job I've had has simply been to make ends meet, even though I have 2 degrees and a pretty secure fall-back. This current job (home daycare) has served it's purpose. I think the fact that it takes up so much of our house space is a big reason for why I don't want to continue it any longer than I have to.

/QUOTE]

[Sunshine74]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
Yes, that is the plan. I am now in training to become a director when our center's current director retires.

Why did you open your daycare?
I don't have my own daycare, I work at my family's daycare center. They opened a little more then 27 years ago.

How long have you been doing daycare?
I am already a 'lifer'. I've gone from being attending daycare as a child, to being a "helper" after school on the days my mom was working, to actually working. Officially I have been employed for 11 years.

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
Probably until I can't. Growing up with child care in my life, I've always known that's what I want to do. I work with my mom and one of my sisters, and most of my coworkers are people I've known for many years- a few my whole life.

why did you, or will you, close?
I can't see closing the center unless something happens where we lose all our families or we have to close for some reason. I could say taking a few years off, or cutting back on my hours, when I have a family of my own- but only if we could do it financially.

[AnythingsPossible]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?

Most definately not. Atleast not in my home!

Why did you open your daycare?

I couldn't find daycare for my daughter, and didn't really want to put her in daycare so I started my own.
How long have you been doing daycare?

10.5 years

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?

At the most, another 2 years. I am going to back to school to get my degree and once I have it, I will work out of the home, though for considerably less money, but hopefully more happiness.

Why did you, or will you, close?

So many reasons. My family doesn't enjoy it anymore, I don't enjoy it anymore. I hate being couped up in my house all the time. I am tired of having boogers wiped on my furniture, milked spilled in my dining room, dirty hands using my table/chairs as a napkin, little kids stuff in our home, one area of our house that my family doesn't use at all because it is where daycare stuff is, toys in my yard that my kids are to big for, not being able to go to any of my childrens sports or after school activities, the state coming up with new rules and regulations every year, parents taking advantage of my niceness, no real contact with adults other then when parents pick up and drop off. I could go on...........

[Crazy8]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
Probably, but whether I retire in 2 years or 20 years is really the question.

Why did you open your daycare?
To be home with my daughter and knowing I wanted another child and couldn't afford 2 in daycare on my salary.

How long have you been doing daycare?
11 years

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
Until I can afford not to, no clue when that will be. I won't go out and work for anyone else but I'd give up the daycare if I didn't need the income.

why did you, or will you, close?
see above, when I can afford to not work, which will probably be never but a girl can dream, right??

I don't make more than I did WOTH but the perks of being home are well worth it and if I figured it out on paper I probably do make more with tax deductions, etc.

[Nickel]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
Honestly I'm not sure.

Why did you open your daycare?
I was unhappy with the quality of care in my area. I wanted more for my youngest dd. Financially we would have been okay with just hubbys income but my 2 dds couldn't do activities and we had no extra money. So I opened my home daycare so that I could earn money for the extras and teach my daughter her numbers, letters, colors, etc.

How long have you been doing daycare?
I worked in a center for a year while I was going to college for teaching. I also babysat as a teenager. I opened my home daycare in August this year so 2 months

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
I was thinking until my youngest starts school and then I would go back to work, but I am making about the same as I was working out of the home if you factor in child care, fuel and clothes

why did you, or will you, close?
Idk, I am thinking of growing and having a large family daycare home with assistants, but we will see what the future holds

[Sunchimes]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
I can start drawing my social security in just under 3 years. I'll probably keep doing it because we can't make it on 2 social security checks. I have 2 kids that I really love and it won't be a chore to keep doing it until the youngest goes off to school in 4 years. After that, we'll see. I'd like to leave this town and move back to our hometown, but at the same time, I don't really want to start over with new kids.

Why did you open your daycare?
I've been self employed since 1980, the last business lasted 17 years. Political games cost me my contract and in the space of 3 minutes I went from having a thriving business to nothing. Hubby was already retired, so we took a pretty big hit. Turns out that being self employed for most of your adult life doesn't give you skills for today's job market. I don't know excel, how to operate a multi-line phone, and I'm not bilingual. Oh, and while my business had a retail component, it was a very odd sort of business and didn't translate into normal retail skills. Day care has always been in the back of my mind as my fall back, since I would have to be really hungry to go back to teaching in public schools. I'm not even sure my license is still valid.

How long have you been doing daycare?
20 months

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
I'd like to retire when the current baby goes off to pre-K, but I don't see us being able to do that. The truth is that I'll probably keep doing what I'm doing as long as I'm physically able. It's not a bad way to earn a supplemental income. I'm legally unlicensed, so supplemental is all it can ever be.

why did you, or will you, close?
If I'm physically unable to do it or if we win the lottery or an unknown rich relative leaves us his fortune, I'll quit. Otherwise, I don't see a way out, and I'm not really looking.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?
I just don't know.

Why did you open your daycare?
There was a hiring freeze for teachers and I wanted to use my teaching degree.

How long have you been doing daycare?
7.5 months Preschool (with daycare hours).

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?
When we first thought of it, 5 years. Now, I'd say closer to 10-15. But, that could change as it gets easier with time and I find my groove.

why did you, or will you, close?
The parents really wear me out. I have Asperger's and find the parent interactions that come with this job to be draining. That is definitely what will do it for me in the end.

[MyAngels]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?

Probably

Why did you open your daycare?

Because every day when I dropped my kids off at their daycare I thought "Man, that's the job for me!"

How long have you been doing daycare?

20 years in my home

How long do you plan to do daycare? Probably until I drop dead from exhaustion Why? I don't think I could find another job that pays this well, other than some type of sales. I would seriously starve if I had to try to sell anyone anything.

why did you, or will you, close? I would close if I won that special lottery for all of us who never buy a ticket, or kick the bucket, whichever comes first.

Very interesting to see everyone's different experiences.

[Oneluckymom]

[QUOTE=DaisyMamma;275314]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? I really have no idea. I doubt though I would do it that long, but you never know.
[
B]Why did you open your daycare?[/B] To supplement my husbands salary cut, while he is studying to further his career. Basically I am paying our mortgage right now. But I wanted to stay home too.

How long have you been doing daycare? a little over a year.

How long do you plan to do daycare? Why? I really don't know. I definately cannot quit for another 2 years. But whether I will want to continue when I have an option to quit is still undecided. I may however, decide to keep a few part timers or maybe just do after school care at that point.[B]

[SunshineMama]

Does anyone plan on doing daycare until they retire?

Nope

Why did you open your daycare?

My daughter was the non-napping, high spirited child that went through 2 providers in 5 months. I didnt really have a choice- she wasn't cut out for group care and we couldnt afford a nanny.

How long have you been doing daycare?

2 years.


How long do you plan to do daycare? Why?

Until my youngest is in first grade, or until dh makes enough so i dont have to do it anymore.

why did you, or will you, close?

I dont like the long hours, small pay, and disrespect from parents. The kids are fine, but the parents lack of respect will make me quit.