Professional Providers

[MommyMuffin]

For those of you who have made this a career and plan to work as a home provider until retirement..or such..

I was wondering why you choose to be a provider for many years? I wonder about when your children go to school and you still run your daycare...why...perks..ect.

I'm asking because I see providers who have 10 + years experience and I am in awe. And I wonder if they love it...or dont want to work outside the home and why?
Can it be lucrative in the long run? what about retirement money? Health insurance...
I make more doing daycare then working as a nurse so I'm contemplating just keep doing daycare when my littles are in school but I just am on the fence.

[AmyKidsCo]

Hi Mommy!

I've been in FCC for 20 years. I have a BME and taught music for a couple of years, then decided to "do daycare" (while my husband was in graduate school) until I could get a "real job."

I stayed in it because I like being home, I like being with my children, we couldn't afford to pay for child care after we had our 3rd child, and because I see the benefits for the children I care for and their families.

I used to think I'd stop when my youngest went to school, but he's going into 3rd grade and I have no plans to quit yet. It's actually easier when my own kids aren't home, plus I still like being home, I like being my own boss and setting my own hours, policies, rates, etc. I love being able to wear jeans to work, not having to go out in nasty weather and being able to be outside in nice weather.

Things I don't like are paying self-employment taxes (ouch!), lack of retirement fund, being seen as a "babysitter" and being stuck at home all day every day. But overall the good outweigh the bad.

[Blackcat31]

For those of you who have made this a career and plan to work as a home provider until retirement..or such..

I was wondering why you choose to be a provider for many years?

I did not choose (purposely) to do this.
My child was "that" child (the one vented most about) and I couldn't burden my provider any longer.

I wonder about when your children go to school and you still run your daycare...why...perks..ect.

My kiddos (2 of them) are long gone... they are in their early and mid 20ies Neither live in the same town as I do anymore either..

I'm asking because I see providers who have 10 + years experience and I am in awe. And I wonder if they love it...or dont want to work outside the home and why?

Honestly? I didn't stay in this because I love it. As a matter of fact, it is the LAST thing I wanted to do. I am not the average provider that "just knew I wanted to work with kids since I was a small child etc etc etc etc"
That is NOT me.

I stayed in this because I make good money and I'm good at it. (that sounds conceited but it's true.)
I think because I am not the normal provider ^^^^ it plays a huge role in WHY I am good at it.


Can it be lucrative in the long run? So far for me it has been.

what about retirement money? I just started worrying about that a few years ago and have begun to develop a savings plan... probably should have done it much earlier but it is what it is.

Health insurance... Always bought outside insurance because both DH and I have been self-employed.


I make more doing daycare then working as a nurse so I'm contemplating just keep doing daycare when my littles are in school but I just am on the fence.

(I replied in bold above too)

I have learned to find the joy in my job but I am also one of those people that can find the positives in anything so....

I stay because I make great money and to be totally honest, I am not a good employee.... I am the oldest of 6 kids.... as my mother always said... I was born bossy so I function best when I am in charge.

I am highly motivated (Type A personality) and get flustered by others that drag their feet or don't roll up their sleeves and do what needs to be done so I highly doubt I would be a good employee and I would probably not be a good co-worker either.

Oh, and according to my DH I stay in this field because I am short and I need to work with others who are shorter than I am.

[childcaremom]

I have been doing this for 7 years, off and on.

I did it initially to be home with my oldest. Then I closed down when I expanded my own family (backwards for many here, I know, ).

Eventually I needed to work again and chose daycare again for many reasons but mostly:
*couldn't afford childcare for my own children
*enjoyed being home for my own kids (they are all now school aged but I like being here if needed for sick days, off school days, so there is someone for them to come home to, etc)
*make more money doing this than working outside the home

Like BC, this isn't/wasn't my calling. I still have dreams that I hope to pursue one day but for now, it works. I enjoy being the boss and making the decisions, I enjoy the children I care for, I am good at my job, I enjoy learning and improving as I go.

The downfalls are similar to those already mentioned but mostly being stuck at home. Long days (if I can't find clients with decent hours), demanding parents (I'm getting better at weeding out the ones I can't work with) and limited interaction with other adults.

I actually find this job MUCH easier now that my own children are all in school. So much easier.

[midaycare]

I've only been doing this a year and a half, but I want to continue for a long, long time.

I didn't start doing daycare until my DS was in full-time kindergarten, so I never had him home with me. He remembers what is was like when I worked outside the home, and going to daycare and staying after school until I could pick him up. He prefers this much better, even though he knows he doesn't always get my full and undivided attention.

I get insurance and retirement through dh, otherwise I would definitely be looking for a job with those benefits. I started daycare as a way to "Dave Ramsey" - pay off our debt and our house. I ended up loving it.

[MarinaVanessa]

If I have any say in it I hope to do daycare until retirement as well. Originally I didn't even think about child care as an option. It just sort never occurred to me. I had been a babysitter and nanny in my early years, through high school and after college but I would do it because I liked the kids and mostly did it after college for people I knew or people that knew me would tell their friends etc. It wasn't until my own daughter was going into Kinder that the idea even got brought up, by my own wonderful family child care provider no less. She's a veteran, going on 20 years, and she was so happy doing it.

It gave me the opportunity to be home with my daughter too and I can definitely make more money doing this than I can doing something else. It gave my family the opportunity to grow also, staying home and taking care of our own kids meant we weren't going to spend that extra money on daycare ourselves. We now have 3 kids and a 4th on the way, if I worked out of my home I'd have to bring in $45k a year at a lousy desk job and I'd only be bringing in $10k of it home after paying for childcare. I'd rather stay home, not pay for child care and still bring in $25k a year.

Once my kids are all older than 10 they don't count in my ratios so I can be bringing in $50k or more a year.

I put aside 10% of everything that I make from daycare for retirement which is about $850 a year per daycare child and my husband works for the county and has really good health insurance so we are all on his plan.

I definitely plan on doing this for a very, very long time.

[midaycare]

I should add about being "lucrative" - I think that really depends on your state and area. For example, I can only have 6 kids, but other states allow 10 (Blackcat, maybe this is you?) Some are 5. Some are unregistered and have maybe 3 or 4, if true state allows it.

It also depends on your area. I can charge $160 a week, but in the larger cities you can charge $225 easily.

[Blackcat31]

I should add about being "lucrative" - I think that really depends on your state and area. For example, I can only have 6 kids, but other states allow 10 (Blackcat, maybe this is you?) Some are 5. Some are unregistered and have maybe 3 or 4, if true state allows it.

It also depends on your area. I can charge $160 a week, but in the larger cities you can charge $225 easily.

This is true and important.

Yes, my state allows 10-14 kids depending on ages/assistants/helpers etc..

[jenboo]

I am currently working outside of the house because we moved to a new state and it will be a couple years until we have another house. I plan on opening up another home daycare once we have a house. Our first baby is due in Oct.
I have a bachelor's degree in child and family development. I picked this as a career, not to stay home with my, at the time, future children.
I worked at a home daycare while in college and loved it. I then worked in a few different centers. I liked the idea of making my own rules, focusing on the children (centers seem to be money hungry) and I love the idea of working for myself.
This is my career choice. Soon Dh and I will start a retirement fund (mutual funds and what not). Ive never had a job that had provided insurance. I've either had my own or have been on dh's.
I was open for 1.5 years before we moved. This is my career choice. It's what I went to college for.

[NoMoreJuice!]

What you get out of this career depends on what you put into it, I believe. I take as many courses and trainings as I can get my hands on. I'm obsessed with multiple intelligences and learning styles. I'm finishing coursework to obtain my CDA right now, then plan to finish up my associates. This is what I want to do forever, so I'm giving it all I've got! Not gonna lie, sometimes the kids are giant vacuums ****ing the life out of me, but I try to find the positive. I love staying home, being my own boss (priceless!), the flexibility, controlling the schedule, and so much more.

As far as finances, I have my own SEP IRA that I dump 25% of my AGI into, and we've made enough to be almost totally debt free. Health insurance is expensive, paying an employee is crazy expensive, food is expensive, but I'm still making more at the end of the day than people who have master's degrees like my brother in law.

Long story short, this is my 6th year and I'm not stopping anytime soon. My hubby and I are childless by choice, and have many plans for retirement in our mid or late forties.

[Annalee]

For those of you who have made this a career and plan to work as a home provider until retirement..or such..

I was wondering why you choose to be a provider for many years? I wonder about when your children go to school and you still run your daycare...why...perks..ect.I was always the cousin that kept the smaller cousins growing up then started going to clients homes after high school...moved onto a child care center where I worked for 3 LONNNNNGGGG years which I hated because I had so many ideas and I hated being disrespected....part of the problem was that I am head-strong when I believe in something and partly because my boss was a young whippersnapper that only wanted money....The day she came in and RIPPED my dck's pics off the wall and told me they were bunches of SCRAP, I QUIT...came home crying......then my dad encouraged me to start my own FCC which I did....didn't have my own kids till years later and here I still am...over 20 years later.

I'm asking because I see providers who have 10 + years experience and I am in awe. And I wonder if they love it...or dont want to work outside the home and why?I do LOVE my job...The state/QRIS part has been a DAGGER at times but I LOVE my job and have rolled with changes to where I can manage....
Can it be lucrative in the long run? what about retirement money? Health insurance..My hubby carries our insurance through his employment....
I make more doing daycare then working as a nurse so I'm contemplating just keep doing daycare when my littles are in school but I just am on the fence.

Even if I was half full of children, I will make more than I would anywhere else...plus I can set my hours/pay/vacations/holidays/professional days, etc. and STILL GET PAID 52 weeks a year....I can pick which kids I want to work with and what I want to do on any given day!

I have an AS degree in Early Childhood, CDA in Family Child Care along with other professional accomplishments, so YES, I am in for the long haul. My brother says he is glad I am because I could NOT work for anyone else. :: Granted, some clients do not appreciate my laid out plan of how my child care program will run, but as long as I can find 12 clients that will follow the rules, I am good with that

[Play Care]

I started my own child care after a bad day care experience with my oldest daughter. She was 5 months old when I started. She just turned 10 in June...::

My reasons for staying are similar to Black cat's though I did have preschool teaching experience prior to having kids. I am fortunate to be in an area where child care is in high demand. This is not the case everywhere and if I struggled to be full or keep good clients then I would have to move on. While I do now love what I do, the main reason I love it is because it pays well.

Why I stay:

Not having to scramble for every single school holiday, vacation, teacher in-service and snow day. I've maintained for years that once kids get to school it gets WORSE in terms of all the time they get off, especially in elementary when they need someone home with them...

With that - not having to pay for before/after care or over the summer care. My kids are older, but not old enough to be home alone all day. We do send them to camps in the summer, but not every week and we don't *have* to. Since I'm the reason we don't have to pay out, I add this savings to my salary

The job is actually easier when my kids are at school during the day:: Guess whose kids gave me the hardest time?! When my own kids are at school, my program runs more like the preschool I like it to be. But I still get to be here when the bus pulls up at 3:00 and I'm so excited to see them. In this case absence does make the heart grow fonder::

The money and tax bennies. I LOVE getting tax deductions for home improvements that I'd have to do anyway

Not having to leave the house when the weather is bad. Being able to be outside in nice weather.

Being my own boss! Not having to compete with co-workers for time off, being able to decide what my hours are, etc.

I will say that the one reason this career is feasible for me is because DH is professionally employed (high school teacher in a strong teacher union state) So we have his excellent health and retirement benefits, and he has a steady pay check and opportunities for over time through coaching, tutoring, committees, etc. I have a Roth IRA that we contribute to each year. I see a lot of providers with DH's whose work is sporadic or shift work and it seems so much more difficult (ie: money is tight, no one has the steady bennies, or hubs is always home during day care and complaining about the noise, the kids, etc)

[DaveA]

I'm at 20+ years between centers and home daycare- 9 years home daycare. Childcare is kind of a family business- my Mom owned a center for years. I worked there before/ after school, summers, days I didn't have classes while in high school and college. I originally planned to go into Law Enforcement (people laugh when they find out my degree's in Criminal Justice) but jacked up a knee right before graduation. While working there rehabbing my knee I decided I liked doing it and went back to get the ECE hours I needed. As to why I do it- I enjoy it and am darn good at it (Like BC I know that sounds conceited but it's the best way I can describe it.)

I had opened the home daycare with the intent of going back to centers once my youngest hit Kindergarten- she just turned 10. I realized I'm just not a great employee. If I ever go back to centers I need to do one extreme or the other: either run the thing or be the building "Grandma" who just sits in an infant room with the babies and keeps to themselves.

As to being lucrative and the $ side of things, it can be. Insurance we've always done through a private policy or my wife's work. Retirement we handle ourselves. Depends on your definition of lucrative I guess. I could set up my program differently and make more money, but I like the way I've set it up. It suits my personality and the needs of my family better.

Will I be doing this at 60 (41 now)? Probably no. I am in a bit of a different situation in that I have a growing craft business I enjoy just as much as this. As much as I enjoy childcare, I don't do it because I like kids. I do it because it puts $ in my family's bank account and gives me the flexibility I want. The day it makes more financial success to be a fulltime bladesmith (probably in the next few years) DCPs get a "I'm closing" notice. That being said it's been a great career and I wouldn't think twice about recommending to someone I thought could do it well.

[rosieteddy]

I just retired (at 61 after a heart attack in Feb)I ran my daycare for 30 yrs.My children grew up in it and my 2 grandsons attended.Sure at times it drove me crazy ,long hours dealing with being my own boss.I had a great contract and made a decent living.We put monet away every year for retirement and when my husband was laid off I was able to cover the health insurance and bills.Luckily he had just been called back to work when I became ill .I do miss some of it even now.After all those years I am finding it hard to fill my days.I had hoped to work until 65 and see my group through until then.

[Annalee]

(I replied in bold above too)

I have learned to find the joy in my job but I am also one of those people that can find the positives in anything so....

I stay because I make great money and to be totally honest, I am not a good employee.... I am the oldest of 6 kids.... as my mother always said... I was born bossy so I function best when I am in charge.

I am highly motivated (Type A personality) and get flustered by others that drag their feet or don't roll up their sleeves and do what needs to be done so I highly doubt I would be a good employee and I would probably not be a good co-worker either.

Oh, and according to my DH I stay in this field because I am short and I need to work with others who are shorter than I am.

BC, I don't feel you are conceited at all, but I think as providers move along and experience so much that we become confident in our practices....so YES, we become GOOD at it. Also, my brother tells me I am a TYPE A personality, too. He says this carries good qualities because I can get things done and done right but he also says the bad quality is that most TYPE A personalities are so high strung and full of adrenilin that we die early of stroke or heart attack I told him THANKS FOR THE INFO BUDDY!