Why Do You Think DCFs Choose Your DC?

[daycarediva]

-education/experience
-policies-firm on illness/behavior
-developmentally appropriate/play based
-farm to table as much as possible, organic
-I don't take infants
-my space/equipment, I have been told it's nicer than any center 'classroom' in our area (I have only seen a handful)
-reliability/stability -most of my business is word of mouth

[Controlled Chaos]

- I have a teaching license, not an early ed degree but parents like to see that I was a "real" teacher (their words not mine) before daycare.
- I have a curriculum for prek that I document well
- price: cheaper than a prek at a center but more expensive than any other fcc around here
- marketing: I am really good at showing what we do here. I have a solid website, active FB presence and text parents pics of kids. So they see what they are paying for.
- Referrals: I am friendly and outgoing. Parents feel comfortable with me.
Food - mostly organic, nothing processed, lots of fresh produce, some from our garden.

[Pestle]

-Reasonable hours for parents who work a typical 8-5 job
-Safe and spacious areas for learning and play. I put my degree and six years of practice in design to work when I set this house up!
-A small, well-curated collection of toys. Not the massive pile of broken, grimy plastic toys at most family day cares.
-A back yard set up for creative play and exploration.
-A policy handbook that address concerns first-time parents didn't know they would have (sick policy, discipline, emergency plans, etc.)
-An emphasis on teaching independence and personal care for toddlers; they are here to learn through doing, not just be lectured or corralled.

[Pestle]

Oh, and it's not a Christian day care. I have a degree in theology and we do Montessori religious instruction for our own child, but we don't have any religious content in the day care. I have an atheist family and a Jewish family, and here in the middle of the Bible belt, they must find it hard to find a family day care provider who won't proselytize to their kids. Most of the Craigslist postings I see advertise Christian care. I believe that religion is too important and too nuanced for anybody but the family to take the lead in passing it along.