So Sad, What Am I Doing Wrong?

[Snowmom]

From the way you were talking, I was expecting the downstairs space to look horrid. I think it looks homey and nice.
But, neither space looks like a daycare space to me.
All I focus on is the big TV's.
If it were me, I'd set up the basement as my prime space. Apply for some grant money if it's available in your state. Go to USDA and get some free materials sent to you. They have some cute posters in their 'my plate' shipments.
Go to the dollar store and get some alphabet borders, etc.
One thing I do is keep my kids projects (daycare and my own) and put them in a three ring binder to show our projects as a group during an interview.
Inform them that you also use your upstairs space (if you will and for what purpose).
One thing I can recommend for smells is essential oils. I diffuse air purifying oils in my home- I also disclose that I do, if that's important to you. My home always smells lemon clean.
Good luck!

[Annalee]

In my state, the shift has been so overwhelming toward academics that even as a home child care, clients still want that added assurance their child will learn and that seems to be VISUAL. They feel they have to see it in order for it to happen. Not saying I agree, but it is what it is. Like other posters, I think designating a space and making it look more preschool oriented would be nice. I have had daycare in my living room and now have a large room with kitchen and bathroom for my daycare, and there will always be those that want to enroll and those that don't no matter if daycare is in the middle of your home or not.....to each their own I say Good luck to you!

[Thriftylady]

I am having issues also, but in my small town part of my issue is even getting calls. After that having people who want to pay for childcare is the number 2 issue. I have a small home also, I have made one of our bedrooms into a play room, so parents can see the shelves with all the bins of toys and such. Would that be something you can do? Or could you move your living space into the basement and move your daycare space upstairs?

[e.j.]

Both rooms look great but I agree with the others who suggested you set up a day care area in the basement. Based on feedback from parents who have interviewed and signed on with me, I would say that having a dedicated space for day care can make all the difference between getting families or not. It seems to be a real selling point in my area, anyway. It wouldn't cost too much to put some colorful decorations on the walls - posters with the alphabet, numbers, shapes, colors, etc might help. A small, inexpensive table the kids could sit at and do puzzles, art work, etc would be good, too. Anything that looks as though you're serious about doing child care vs. babysitting seems to get noticed and can be what makes parents choose you over someone else.

[Baby Beluga]

Do you have a website or Facebook page? Another idea is to take photos of your space as it would be used when children are present, post those on your website or FB page where parents can view them. Do you have young children of your own or have friends/family that do? Taking pictures of the children (no faces) doing activities and posting them may help parents to visualize their child's day with you as well.

[mommiebookworm]

I agree with using the basement. For wall decor, you can find cute printables on Pinterest and put them in a dollar tree frame. I would get rid of the tv. Have you tried Damp Rid? I use it in my basement and took care of the musty smell. It's not too expensive either. Maybe put in something with brighter colors.

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

oh and Dollar Tree has wall stuff! But don't overdo it either There is a fine line in there.

[Laurel]

I think either space would work. They both are very attractive rooms. I wouldn't worry about having a t.v. in the room at all. My parents didn't care about that. After all, it was my home. I told them I didn't have the t.v. on very much when the children were there but we did watch it sometimes. (horrors!)

I don't necessarily agree with most everyone else. I didn't want my home to look like a preschool. I am retired but did it for 20 years. I didn't do centers at all but we did a lot of educational activities. I didn't have the alphabet up or anything like that. I did use the family room exclusively for daycare though and it isn't as big as your rooms. I did have parents say that they liked that. Then we had a living room for our own family.

In the 'play room' as I called it I had one recliner adult chair but it was wide. It held me and one child. That's it. A sofa did not work. No matter how much I tried it always got climbed on so I took it out. One child at a time could sit with me or two children on the recliner (leather which was childproof). I had one of those molded plastic type climber/kiddie slides in the room also. Then other things like a play kitchen and I rotated larger things like that in and out. They mostly sat on the floor. (carpeted)

I explained to parents on the tour that we mostly played in the playroom but we moved to the dining room for group activities like arts and crafts and to give us a change of scenery sometimes. We also ate in the dining room.

They could see the outdoor play area from the playroom. It was my fenced in side yard that was accessible by a sliding glass door in the playroom.

Even though you have a lot of toys to rotate, is it possible you don't have enough out while you are doing an interview? Maybe put more out so they see you have a nice assortment.

What I did during interviews is show a stack of about 20 pictures of my dc kids doing things. This was really a big hit. I realize you don't have any yet but maybe you could photograph your children doing things the daycare children might do or even some pics of various things like arts and crafts you plan on doing. You could use a binder with page protectors giving ideas on what you plan on doing with the children. For example, I had pics of the kids cooking, doing watercolors, counting, outside at the water table, reading on my lap, doing musical instruments, cutting with scissors, playing with playdough, playing with magnetic letters, etc.

I also gave them a general rundown of what a typical day might be like.

There are clients who really want a 'school' atmosphere but there are also a lot who don't.

Laurel

[nothingwithoutjoy]

I have a different opinion than many of the posts. I hear you saying you want it to be a home, not a center-in-a-home, and that you're showing the living room, because that is where you'd like to be. I think you will be happier being where you want to be. I, too, use my living space, and keep it homey. One of the things I like best about family child care is being home (and for the kids to have that, too). I like to sit on my couch and have access to my kitchen and have the kids be a part of home life. I wouldn't want to be shut up in a basement room all day.

This is what I would do to attract the clients who will appreciate your goals:

I agree with previous posters who suggest baking when visitors arrive. Makes a huge difference and definitely says "home."

When I look at your room, it seems to be set up for tv watching. I'd remove the tv, but probably that would not fit with your family's priorities (I'm guessing based on your photos). If you don't want to remove it, I'd suggest finding a way to camouflage it during the day. Both to send a different message to visitors, and to avoid the kids asking for tv all day long. I bet there'd be some cheap ideas on pinterest for hiding your tv. (Ooh--I just had to take a look after saying that. There are tons here. And this one gave me an idea: maybe you could cover it with something that goes behind your couch in the evenings that you would want to use with the kids: a flannel board (for you to use for circle times, not for them to use), a giant canvas they had painted (paint over a cheap thrift-store piece of art)...I don't know. There must be a good idea out there somewhere! I would also turn the rocker to face the couches so the room doesn't call out "we watch tv here!" but instead suggests conversation.

I would not add anything "school-y" to your space. But I would make a few changes to make it say "children welcomed here." Perhaps some cheerful pillows on the couch (super-cheap and adorable options at IKEA. Or have you seen ones where a parent embroiders their kids' drawing onto a simple white pillow cover?) Maybe some pillows along the floor by the bricks, to soften that space and make it a bit safer looking. (They don't have to live there on the weekends.) I'd arrange the toys on the shelves in the most aesthetically-pleasing, inviting way (I prefer gorgeous toys placed in the open with space around them to ugly toys hidden away in bins. I'd go through your toys in the basement and bring up all the most gorgeous options to start with.) I'd use your coffee table as a place to set up an inviting invitation to play. (Each morning, I have some play invitation on my coffee table: right now it's cuisenaire rods displayed in a sectioned tray. Even grown-ups play when they sit in my house, it's so tempting.) I'd display some kid art in frames or great photos of kids at play on your walls (your own kids). If it's possible to find a place for your kid bookshelf nearer to your couch, I'd do that (that's a "book-reading center," but in a home version). I agree about creating "centers" to a degree--not just like they'd be done in schools, but in ways that make sense incorporated into your home. For example, my play kitchen is in my kitchen, so kids "cook" where I do. Will kids do art in your kitchen? I'd have it arranged so it's clear that'll happen, and include that in your tour (even if it's not in the open; you could have a kitchen cabinet filled with art supplies and show that as you tour).

And even though it's hard when you aren't finding kids as fast as you'd like, stay confident in your beliefs and choices. That will attract the families who are likely to share them.

Good luck!

[MommyMuffin]

Thanks for the input everyone. I worked really hard today to make the space downstairs better. I still have some things to do but other than that I don't think I'm going to do much else. I tried to move the big brown chair but couldn't get it through the stairways. I'm not sure how I got it down there!!

I was thinking I am going to show parents both upstairs and downstairs. And then I will see how the days flow and decide where I want to spend my time.

I only want 2 - 3 dcks, infants and toddlers. So if parents aren't liking what I've offered...now I've created both enviroments! hahah

I like my upstairs the way it is. There are low shelves with toys and books for my kids and dcks. Yet I can have people over without having kid posters on the wall ect.

Of course I want to make a little money but a lot of the reason is because I love kids and I only have 1 staying home with me in the fall.

Just for the record...my kids watch cartoons off netflx in the morning and sometimes a movie at bedtime. We don't even have cable.

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

It looks good happyface and I like the big chair. I have a big chair in my playroom- Mrs Steinel's chair I can cuddle a baby or read a book.

Good luck getting your first kidlet- that always seems the hardest!

[Josiegirl]

You've already made some nice improvements!! Having a daycare in your home is an ever-changing environment; we're always discovering things that work or don't work.
Are the interviewees saying anything in particular, giving you a platform to grab ideas from?

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

if you are only looking for 2 or 3 infants/ toddlers I would so play up small group size!
Nurse looking to care for infants and toddlers in a home setting with a small group size. Make up flyers for the library, doctor's offices (Obgyn/ pediatricians) If you can take state the WIC office.

Some "key phrases"- developmental appropriate activities, age appropriate toys, when describing food (esp infant) that I provide as much organic and local food as possible. I find that parents really do want the lingo even if that may not mean what they think it means.

[MommyMuffin]

MrsSteinel'sHouse awesome ideas!! Thanks!!

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

This is from an email to a mom trying to make a decision on care-

I can say what I have to offer-
small group size. Maximum of 6 but 3 days only 4 are here. Only one other child still in diapers. Babies get held and loved on. They do not have to cry and cry before I can get to them.

Babies have their own equipment (high chair, crib, pack and play etc) and toys. I keep baby toys separate for them. They are sanitized and put back for that baby. I also train the older kids the proper way to "love baby" we only kiss the top of the head.

food- I provide organic cereal and baby food. Once they are on table food I buy fresh and local whenever possible. I buy organic when it is possible (cereal, flour, spaghetti sauce etc)

We do not watch tv. We are too busy playing.
Play is the most important thing that we can do during the day. The kids are provided many different opportunities to explore. I try to find opportunities to incorporate skills and concepts into hands on play.

Literature is very important in our world. We read daily and to infants toddlers that tends to be the same book many times in one day! Right now I have one stuck on Llama Llama books and I read them multiple times in a day. Kids that hear more words do better in school. Kids in my care tend to have awesome vocabularies.

Art- That was my major and I have a love for doing art with kids. Generally by a year they are painting and playing in playdoh.

Outside- I am big on outside daily. I know this time of the year that is a little harder but we do tend to make it out even if it is on the patio for a bit. My kids know how to splash in puddle, the joy of playing in the rain, the love of snow!, how to dig in the dirt and play with worms. We grow a garden every year and the kids love eating peas, peppers and cherry tomatoes straight out of the garden- as well as strawberries and blueberries. We go for walks in the neighborhood. The kids love picking up newspapers for my elderly neighbors and running them up to their doors. In the spring there are days that we move out onto the patio and spend most of the day out there.

Schedule- There are certain things in our schedule that must be kept on time but my kids get to play until they are done. We have longer time to explore. We do not have to do what I have planned for the day but where the day leads us with the children's interests- and boy do they have ideas! Nap time is every day from 12 -3. Now babies totally dictate their schedule. Generally though it does fall into a pattern of morning nap and afternoon nap with play and eating in between.

Some other things- I use washclothes to wash faces and hands. When the kids are using the bathroom they dry hands on washclothes that are then placed to be washed. I can't imagine cleaning kids with papertowels! I use sleepsacks for infants- no blankets for naps until after a year. I keep an emergency bag in case we would have to evacuate. I am planned and prepared if there was an emergency and I would end up with children here at the house past pick up. I have over 3 days of food and water for everyone that would be here.

Training- I had over 40 hours of training last year. I am a professional child care provider. This is the main reason I keep my licensing. Myself, my husband, and my daughter all have CPR, first aid and the mandatory 6 hours for all providers. All adults in my household are fingerprinted and background checked.

lastly- I have a home environment. If a kid is tired they get snuggled. We eat home cooked meals, sing songs, and play in a home. They become part of my life and are loved on when they are here.

Anyway, let me know if you want to come up and see what I have to offer. I know it is a BIG decision where you want your baby to be raised. I had to make that decision with my daughter.

Mary Beth aka Mrs. Steinel's House

I don't have a flyer on this computer- but when I do "flyers" I do tri fold brochures. I think they look more professional, especially in offices.