Infant Only Care?

[ncjaneausten]

Hi! I'm a new member and I've been reading through all the great threads here. I'm hoping some of you can help me with some questions.

I've worked as a nanny before and would like to get back into childcare. I love the baby stage and want to care for one (possibly two) infants in my home. I DON'T want to work as a nanny in someone's home and I don't want to care for more than one or two babies or care for other ages.

Has anyone here done this or do you know of any providers who have done this? It seems like I'd kind of be in a non category - not really a nanny since I wouldn't come to your house but not really a home daycare provider since I wouldn't have a group of kids. (My own kids are grown up).

I have no idea what kind of rates to charge. The top centers near me charge $1500 for infants with a ratio of 7 or 8 babies to 2 workers. Nanny rates seem to be about $12 to $15 an hour.

Home daycares that advertise on Craigslist seem to be all over the place! From $100 to $250 a week. I did see a website for one provider who lives near me and her rate is $200 a week.

I'd love to hear any advice!

[MNMum]

I've considered doing this as well. Maybe once my own children are beyond their infant/toddler years. I could easily be a feeder for the expensive childcare centers in my town. Most do not have infant programs, but start at 16 mos. I figure I would charge what the centers cost. Most of my "clients" would be younger siblings of currently enrolled children, so the parents would be used to paying this amount. I think they charge around $250/wk. I would have to always keep 2 infants to make myself profitable.

For you, I would base it on current home daycare prices, but shoot high. Towards the $250 range. I would advertise as doing care for only 1-2 infants. But also, keep in mind that you may have to have some overlap, because there would be nearly yearly turnover. I would explain that clearly to parents in the interview that you only plan to keep 2 infants at a time, however, there may be 3 infants on occasion when an infant is nearing "graduation".

[cheerfuldom]

A friend of mine does this and has great success. She keeps up to 6 infants (some are part timers to stay within ratio of 1 to 4) and when they turn 2, they go to a larger daycare in the neighborhood or some other daycare. I thought more parents would have a hard time with the transition....long term care is not possible there. But she is almost always full. Infants spots are hard to find, she charges on the high end, all of her toys and such are age appropriate and people like that there are not preschoolers or school agers that might run over the babies. all in all, she is very successful at it and has that rare personality that LOVES babies. i dont think you will have a hard time at all finding a demand for it.

i heard of another lady that does this and she provides all sort of special stuff including home made baby food and even baths!

[mbullette]

You are brave!!! I have had no luck with infants and seem to get the screaming and fussy ones. I'm sure you will do great. I know in my area infant spots are very limited.

Good luck!!!!!

[SunnyCaliMom]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and just opened my home daycare in January. I do infant only childcare and LOVE it! I keep my ratio at 2-1, right now I have 1 full time 10 month old, and 2 part timers (8weeks and 4 months). I filled my spots within 2 weeks of advertising on craigslist. I find that my parents loved the fact that I keep my numbers low and that I have babies only. They had no problem paying a little more for that. Here is my website if you'd like to take a look at my setup....www.rightstartinfantcare.com

[butterfly]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and just opened my home daycare in January. I do infant only childcare and LOVE it! I keep my ratio at 2-1, right now I have 1 full time 10 month old, and 2 part timers (8weeks and 4 months). I filled my spots within 2 weeks of advertising on craigslist. I find that my parents loved the fact that I keep my numbers low and that I have babies only. They had no problem paying a little more for that. Here is my website if you'd like to take a look at my setup....www.rightstartinfantcare.com

I like your set up.

[ncjaneausten]

Thanks for the help everyone!

SunnyCaliMom your setup looks fantastic and I love your website!

[SunnyCaliMom]

I like your set up.

Thanks for the help everyone!

SunnyCaliMom your setup looks fantastic and I love your website!

Thank you!