So Sad, What Am I Doing Wrong?

[DaveA]

Really like the redone basement space. Couple of quick things:

In the pics you have a light out. Is it the bulb or the fixture? Not a big deal but it would add more light and make the space more inviting.

Also you mentioned a musty smell- is the basement totally finished or does it have an unfinished part? Is the unfinished part open to the finished part? Does the smell come from one area? Getting a dehumidifier and opening a window regularly or running a vent fan will help greatly. If it's persistent you may have do stuff like clean carpets/ seal floors/ paint walls.

Good Luck- the first kids are always the hardest to get, but you'll get there.

[BabyMonkeys]

The changes you have made so far are great I would bring out a few more toys for the interviews though, just so the parents can see a sample of what you have.

I understand the comment on "where you want your baby to be raised", I completely agree, some parents may be offended by it though.

I 2nd the damp rid comment too. I love that stuff!

[MommyMuffin]

So I did start showing the basement and I could tell parents loved it. I filled the spots I wanted to.

But I don't use the downstairs! In the morning we play with toys upstairs, eat breakfast and then do circle time at the kitchen table. Then we go for a walk outside, come back and do another project or I take out a bin of dolls or other bin of toys that I pull out sometimes, then we eat lunch, read stories and nap, snack, free play.

I don't want to be downstairs. I could tell it really helped sell parents on my daycare though.

Now that I have clients, what do I do? Just leave it like it is downstairs? I would like to keep big toys down there and perhaps once a day go down and play for a little bit, but not much.

I want to put my adult furniture back in it and make it more like my home. But if that was what my clients wanted.....ugh I'm torn.

It's frustrating, I feel like the parents don't understand that looking like a center doesn't mean better.

[Heidi]

So I did start showing the basement and I could tell parents loved it. I filled the spots I wanted to.

But I don't use the downstairs! In the morning we play with toys upstairs, eat breakfast and then do circle time at the kitchen table. Then we go for a walk outside, come back and do another project or I take out a bin of dolls or other bin of toys that I pull out sometimes, then we eat lunch, read stories and nap, snack, free play.

I don't want to be downstairs. I could tell it really helped sell parents on my daycare though.

Now that I have clients, what do I do? Just leave it like it is downstairs? I would like to keep big toys down there and perhaps once a day go down and play for a little bit, but not much.

I want to put my adult furniture back in it and make it more like my home. But if that was what my clients wanted.....ugh I'm torn.

It's frustrating, I feel like the parents don't understand that looking like a center doesn't mean better.

Can you bring the downstairs stuff up, and make the downstairs your space, upstairs daycare?

[Play Care]

Congrats on getting clients!happyface

Give it a little time for families to settle in and then start gradually making the changes you want.

[Unregistered]

The areas are messy because my parents watched kids last night and let them go amuck...but with clean up...which area should I use?
The first one is my basement...just my own kids play area right now. The second picture is my upstairs where I have been interviewing because I wanted a more home based daycare.
I do not have dck otherwise this would have been cleaned up this morning...so please don't hate on the mess

Are your children young? You could take some pics of them while playing?