Having Children While Running a Daycare

[dan18ny]

Hey guys! My wife just started running her daycare last week and she loves it!!!

We are a couple in our 20's with a 10 month old and we plan to have more children of our own. We are going to start trying soon (happyface) and we want to plan ahead.

My question is for those who have had children while running their daycare. How did you go about running your business while still having children (while pregnant and after giving birth)? We are trying to avoid closing the daycare for too long for in fear of losing DCK(s). Did you hire someone? Tips?

Thanks!!

[Thriftylady]

Well I would try to hold it off for awhile until I got some families settled in. And, remember that your own children will count in the ratios, so the more you have the less DCK you can have. Generally it is best to try to avoid a ton of time off at first, because families need someone reliable. Consider if you and your wife both worked outside the home, and you needed care for your child. If you think of it that way, you may have an understanding of how you need to do things. I am by no means saying you can't have more children, but I would get established first.

[Gemma]

When I got pregnant with my first, I too, thought I could have my kids while running the daycare. It all seemed easy enough, but it did not work out that way for me! I ended up closing for maternity at the end of my seventh month of pregnancy (drs expected me to deliver early) and I reopened 8yrs and 3 kids later::
...I started thinking while on maternity leave, even though I took good care of dcks, I could not bare the thought of treating my own, as part of the same bunch KWIM?

...but just because I couldn't make it work, doesn't mean you guys wont (I know many providers on here that are doing just that), so good luck to you!happyface

[mamamanda]

It can definitely work, but you'll need some assistance with the transition. I was very sick during the first half of my pregnancy & was able to hire an older lady from church to help out a few hours a day. She helped with dcks, house work, meal prep, sometimes even just letting me rest for an hour. A true life saver. Are you I a position where you can hire an assistant to help out during pregnancy & maternity leave should the need arise? Ideally, if you can take 2 weeks off for maternity leave & then hire someone who fits with your program to run things for an additional few weeks after that could be a positive option for you. I did child care all through pregnancy, but I took an extended maternity leave b/c I was burnt out if I'm being honest. Hopefully she won't feel that way since you're just starting out, but having someone to help out even a few hours a week can be amazing! Started childcare again with my baby being 6 months & I absolutely love it! Its a great fit for our family so it can definitely be done, but I strongly suggest lining up someone to help along the way.

[cuphalfful04]

My last 3 kids were born while doing daycare. However, for two of them, I closed for one year afterward. For the other one, I only had 2 weeks off after birth. Each situation had its own unique issues . The ones that had me that whole year to themselves had a harder time with other kids in their home. Even though they had siblings, they did react differently to the dcks. The one who was "born" into it, actually did very well. I actually did better too. It wasn't hard to just jump right into our routine versus starting a whole new set of kids, parents and routines after a year. The only issue I had with her was that ,as a nursed baby, she refused to nurse when dcks were around. Even as a small infant. She wanted to be involved in everything. We compensated with long , binge nursing during naptime, early morning feeding and nighttime nursing. I felt like I didn't have much time to myself,(or for my other kids) , due to this hectic schedule, but it was only for the first year. Honestly, I found both ways of having children and running a day care had its challenges and benefits so whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll make it work. Good luck

[cuphalfful04]

Oh and as for actually running a daycare while pregnant, she will need some help, especially the beginning and end of the pregnancy . You're so tired, hormones are all over and all you want to do is sleep or nest. My dh worked nights so when he'd wake up, I would get a nice 2 hour break and it really helped get through the day.

[finsup]

I was pregnant and had my daughter while doing daycare. I'm pregnant again now For me, I make it work. My daughter is only 10 months so families are familiar with it . I am absolutely tired and did switch my hours to monday-thursday this time around (hardly impacted any families) so that helped. It also left Fridays as a day to schedule appointments etc. Last time I only took two weeks off after the birth and will do the same this time. I remind families to have back up though and will try to help find someone if I can. The fact that its going to be a c section (medically nessacary) does make that easier. But yeah, just tell families as far in advance as you can about appointments etc and hopefully they will all understand!

[daycare]

I have never done it, but one thing you should know about hiring someone is that you will need to purchase workers comp. insurance which I know a lot about. I have 3-4 people that work with me year-round.

Some times it feels like it's not worth the extra help when you take into consideration all the money that goes out.

I have been very lucky that I have had very little staff turn over, my employees have been with me for 3+ years when i expand some time ago.

Best of luck to you, hope that everything works out for you

[permanentvacation]

Personally, I went into labor in the middle of the daycare day. So I called my substitute over. I drove myself, my friend/daycare parent who happened to come to daycare early that day, and both of our young daughters to my doctor's office. I gave birth in the doctor's office and spent that night in the hospital. They sent me home the next day and the following morning, I was up at 6:30 doing daycare.

However, most people have a substitute work for them for a couple of weeks.

[Martha Stewart]

I had a high risk pregnancy with my last (#4) and had to use a sub frequently. When I got to the point where i had a sub daily, I closed up shop for maternity leave. I took 6 weeks off after the birth - so a total of 10 weeks. I was able to retain all but one family.

Early in my pregnancy I contacted other providers I knew and asked about their availability for short term care for some of my families. It worked out really well for me.

[Shell]

I was pregnant with my second and I had to shorten my hours.
I was working 730 to 6 with morning (all day) sickness, and had to cut back to 8 to 5. That worked out much better, and I wound up losing one dcb, but it was so worth it to have shorter hours.

I was fine all the way through, and worked up until 41 weeks pregnant when I was finally induced. I was supposed to take 2 weeks off, but a family talked me into only one week. That was a mistake, because it really wasn't fair of them to ask that of me- I would never do that again.

Anyway, my mom helped me for about two weeks after with the dc kids. It worked out just fine, and I only wound up losing about a weeks pay.

My only advice is have your wife do what she thinks is right and don't let the parents guilt her/you into staying open if she feels she needs a day off, or if she needs more time. Make sure to put your family first, and don't feel guilty about it! I should have termed the family I had because my health and wellness was never their priority and they didn't have backup care.

[Annalee]

Hey guys! My wife just started running her daycare last week and she loves it!!!

We are a couple in our 20's with a 10 month old and we plan to have more children of our own. We are going to start trying soon (happyface) and we want to plan ahead.

My question is for those who have had children while running their daycare. How did you go about running your business while still having children (while pregnant and after giving birth)? We are trying to avoid closing the daycare for too long for in fear of losing DCK(s). Did you hire someone? Tips?

Thanks!!

I have had 2 children while working in child care...I told my clients from the beginning of each pregnancy that I would be closed 7 days from the time I had each child with pay. I work with an assistant so coming back to work was not a huge issue. I had fairly easy pregnancies so everything went well. The first baby I closed from Friday to Friday, the next from Wed to Wed....No one said anything to my face anyway and I got paid???

[dan18ny]

Thanks guys for the feedback! My wife and I read through all the replies. You guys are great!

[Crazy8]

I had 2 of my 3 kids while running my daycare. I had a backup available if needed but I never ended up using her. I had a scheduled induction with one and went into labor on a friday night with the other so sub wasn't needed. I closed for 2 weeks for each one. I didn't really need any help afterwards, by 2 weeks post partum I was fine. Parents knew we'd take it easy towards the end of the pregnancy and in the first few weeks back and I made sure I didn't have any young infants in care later in my pregnancies so I was fine to handle it myself but having a backup/sub available is a great idea.