Is There A Market For A 'Nightcare' ?

[hellothere94]

As in a daycare, at night. I'm naturally a night owl due to my circadian rythm being off, so it made me wonder if there is a market for daycares that open at night and close in the morning. Would something like this be lucrative?

I could see a lot of clients being over-night nurses, but I can't think of any other jobs that would require nightcare.
I'm in CA if that makes my question any more answerable.

[Mike]

Lots of jobs are overnight, like shift work at factories, convenience stores, some retail stores are 24/7.....

The main thing that reduces night care need is the fact that there is more often family to take care of the kids. With couples, they rarely both work nights. With single parents, it's usually not as hard to have family who will take them overnight.

There is a market for it, just a question of whether or not in your area.

[Blackcat31]

Depends on your area.

In my area there are many jobs/companies that have evening or overnight shifts.

Those employees that need care usually have family members that pitch in an help or they work opposite shifts of the other parent and don't use or need child care.

However, we did have a center open up that provided care 24 hours a day/7 days a week. It was crazy busy at first but then over time it slowly cinched up it's hours and stopped providing care 24 hours a day and instead just opened early and stayed open late. After a while it ended up being open from 6 AM to 8PM and that was that.

The community simply didn't need the services. One or two kids in attendance didn't cover wages or costs to operate.

The need for night care is dependent on your area.
There will be a "type" of client that needs/uses that type of service so you need to account for that as well.

I would just start asking around. Place an ad on Craig's List or an area FB asking about the community's need or interest. Network with other area programs and child care agencies and ask if they get a lot of calls inquiring about extended hour or over night care.

Learning your community needs is a great way to assess how to meet those needs and it's the first step in any successful business.

[Cat Herder]

The market is generally single parents working 3rd shift jobs. It is financially and operationally unstable, so most night providers wash out in under a year.

(FYI: The majority of regular shift childcare providers wash out in two years so don't be too alarmed. It is an unstable career field in general.)

One big hurdle to night care is that most state regulations say each child must be given their own bed, not a cot, and the provider must be awake at all times.

[Leigh]

For years, I heard complaints about how impossible it is to find overnight care. Whyyyyyy aren't there overnight daycares? Who'll watch my kids? Seriously, I heard from at least 40 people with this complaint at my previous jobs. So, when I opened, I opened for 2nd and 3rd shift care (2 PM-8AM). I had ZERO interest. None. Turns out, those night shifters have family caring for their kids and those who don't have teens or nannies come into their homes to watch the kids. So, I took day shift kids. I've probably had less than 10 requests ever for early evening care, and I've had only 2 for regular overnights.

[Ariana]

In my City of roughly 1 million people there is only one licensed centre that offers 24 hour care. I am not sure there is much demand for it.

I think families and nannies are much more willing to look after kids who are asleep! Lol

[Unregistered]

YES!! even in smaller areas, if you have factories, or nursing homes you most likey will find parents who need care. Im in a smaller city and we have 10-15 kids in night care daily (monday-sunday!)