Drop In Care Only...

[Lawson2]

Hello!
This is my first time posting a question. Hopefully someone might be able to offer some advice on drop in childcare...
I currently nanny, but my husband and I bought a house that would have the room for me to open a daycare. I am going to finish up the school year with my current family and then hopefully open next year.

My question is: What are your thoughts on offering drop in care only, do you have any advice, did/ or does it work for you?

This is the thing.... I have been doing drop in childcare for 10 years (in the child's home or hotel). I have never had too much of a problem with a child adjusting, not sure if it would be different in my home? I am only looking to make extra spending $, so I am not concerned about a steady income. Another reason drop in childcare is appealing to me, is being able to take time off. I give credit to all of the providers that work long hours and hardly take time off. Even as a nanny, it is very hard for me to take time off and I don't want to have to worry about taking a day off here or there... I would be charging per hour, so there would be no commitment on either end.
I belong to a moms group and work for a company out here doing on call childcare- so I know there is a need. Especially for parents who have nannies who call in, or moms who have appointments, etc...

Daycares in my area charge $7-11 per hour (with the typical signed contract).

I am thinking I would do a scheduled block of hours in the morning for SAHMs at a discounted rate (maybe 9-1, 3 days a week)- so I would have somewhat of a schedule. If anyone wanted additional hours, it would be at a higher hourly rate.

Not sure if it would work, but I would love to try it! I am tired of running around to other people's homes now that I have my little one!

Thanks for any input you may have!

[cheerfuldom]

since you dont have to do anything in particular regarding income, you can set up your daycare any way you want. figure out what days and hours you are willing to do and then put out some feelers for local interest. doing half days, just three days a week, or some other limited time frame is absolutely up to you. mothers day out programs are very popular just about anywhere.

my main concern would be people using your service to send sick children too (who were already told they could not go to the regular daycare). also, having the in and out of new faces all the time could be hard on your own child but it just depends on their personality. lastly, i would recommend doing hours where you would not have to handle nap times as it would be pretty miraculous to have drop in kids nap in your home, especially a group of them. i would also limit children under 1 because they have a hard time with strangers and more than likely, will just cry the whole time and not eat/sleep for you. a part time, moms morning out for toddlers and preschoolers could be fun

[Starburst]

You can also try to work with other local providers and see about subbing for them or if they can refer you or keep your name on file as a possible alternative care option in case they are on vacation, ill, or need a day off for an appointment, to run errands, or personal reason and cannot stay open.

Though you may want to make it clear to the parents (or main provider) if you are willing to take mildly ill children, if they are too sick for school or daycare and you do not have any other kids or have other kids who are also sick- this will also be who would most likely benefit from your drop in care. You may also want to know what is your states regulations about mildly ill care.

Also how many children will you care for at a time? What if you have families who need care on their non-normal drop in days and you are at your capacity?

[canadiancare]

I used to do this type of care when I was in university. We called it short term emergency care. It worked beautifully.

I think if you don't need a set income it is a really good idea and a service niche that may keep you as busy as you want to be.