Thank you everyone. Sometimes I just feel silly even having policies and forms and all. It is uncommon for someone in my area to be unlicensed and yet have those. But I'm not willing to be a door mat, and I want parents to know from the start that I'm a professional and not just somebody who got laid off or fired and decided to do this until I can find a "real" job. Or as a way to just stay home with my kids (since I don't have any kids yet, which is also discouraging
). I do this because I love working with children, teaching them, watching them grow, being a part of shaping their lives, spending time with them. But in order to not get burnt out because of the parents, I need policies and forms to cover my own behind.
Even my own sister thinks it's silly for me to be "so formal" about it. She "babysits" too, as she calls it, but she got lucky because she had a friend looking for childcare and her friend doesn't take advantage of her. Plus her friend has four kids and my sister has three, so she's automatically full with just one family and her own. I don't have friends or know anyone around here, so I have to start from scratch. I've always been in childcare. I started out babysitting as a teenager, moved on to childcare and an after school program, then teaching preschool, then teaching at a home daycare/preschool, provided care in my home for one child, then went to another daycare/preschool after she went to school. Then I got married and moved to a new area 45 minutes away and nobody knows me here. So for me if I'm going to do childcare, I'm going to do it right. And with my experience and training, I don't like it when family or friends call what I do "babysitting". I got paid more as a teenager babysitting!
But to anyone else around here, you either provide "babysitting" or you provide "childcare" if you are licensed. The IRS doesn't care though. To them I am running a business :
:

Even my own sister thinks it's silly for me to be "so formal" about it. She "babysits" too, as she calls it, but she got lucky because she had a friend looking for childcare and her friend doesn't take advantage of her. Plus her friend has four kids and my sister has three, so she's automatically full with just one family and her own. I don't have friends or know anyone around here, so I have to start from scratch. I've always been in childcare. I started out babysitting as a teenager, moved on to childcare and an after school program, then teaching preschool, then teaching at a home daycare/preschool, provided care in my home for one child, then went to another daycare/preschool after she went to school. Then I got married and moved to a new area 45 minutes away and nobody knows me here. So for me if I'm going to do childcare, I'm going to do it right. And with my experience and training, I don't like it when family or friends call what I do "babysitting". I got paid more as a teenager babysitting!


Comment