Ideas To Give My DC A Competitive "Edge"

[ardeur]

For cloth diapers I only buy solid colors and assign each child their own color so there's no sharing. I use large wet bags for the soiled diapers and wash separately.

[Michael]

I am a parent. Recently there was a thread on greener/waste free daycare's that was very appealing to me.

Is this the thread? https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17343

[ardeur]

I already have a screen-free home and electronics-free toys but we do have plastic still. It wouldn't be difficult to move more in that direction. We also use things like unpaper cloth towels and such. I make lots of things from scratch and use nontoxic cleaning supplies around the home.

[Sherrihoos]

I don't charge for holiday weeks such as a week at Christmas, two weeks at Christmas and a spring break week. It is a common practice on this thread to charge for all holidays and personal vacation days but personally I feel like that is taking advantage of people. I do charge a pretty high rate of 35-40 dollars a day and take summer off as I have teacher kids. I also don't charge registration fees. That is ridiculous. This is my edge in the competition. Childcare is a huge expensive for families.

[daycarediva]

I don't charge for holiday weeks such as a week at Christmas, two weeks at Christmas and a spring break week. It is a common practice on this thread to charge for all holidays and personal vacation days but personally I feel like that is taking advantage of people. I do charge a pretty high rate of 35-40 dollars a day and take summer off as I have teacher kids. I also don't charge registration fees. That is ridiculous. This is my edge in the competition. Childcare is a huge expensive for families.

I charge registration fees and don't think it's ridiculous at all. If a family backs out, I have to start the process over. If a family leaves during the trial, I don't reuse that child's supplies and have to purchase new ones.

CHILDREN are a huge expense for families, childcare is the tip of the iceberg.

[Annalee]

I charge 52 weeks a year which covers all personal, vacation, professional, emergency days. While this may be a negative to some clients, it is NOT the defining point of my program. I also close earlier than any child care in my area at 4:30. A clean, well-balanced activity, communicable, nurturing, safe, dependable environment goes a long way. Sure, there are clients that do not want/need my services and as long as there are 12 clients that want my services I am good. Even if there wasn't 12, I would rather have openings than to have clients I had to negotiate what was important to me with. I do NOT negotiate the 52 weeks pay or ANYTHING else. If a client wants your services they will do what it takes to meet your expectations/guidelines. It is all about finding the right fit.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I charge 52 weeks a year which covers all personal, vacation, professional, emergency days. While this may be a negative to some clients, it is NOT the defining point of my program. I also close earlier than any child care in my area at 4:30. A clean, well-balanced activity, communicable, nurturing, safe, dependable environment goes a long way. Sure, there are clients that do not want/need my services and as long as there are 12 clients that want my services I am good. Even if there wasn't 12, I would rather have openings than to have clients I had to negotiate what was important to me with. I do NOT negotiate the 52 weeks pay or ANYTHING else. If a client wants your services they will do what it takes to meet your expectations/guidelines. It is all about finding the right fit.

Exactly.

I do permit ONE free week for their own vacation usage (to be taken outside of our holiday closures). However, they must give written notice at least 2 weeks in advance. I usually have only about 3-4 people do this per year. :: So, not many.

[renodeb]

I think cloth diapers sound like a lot of work to me considering its for a group setting. Other than that it sounds like you have a pretty good handle on it. I agree with others, a good set up speaks volumes.
Deb

[Josiegirl]

Will you be offering care to all ages? Each client will have different needs and things they're looking for in a daycare. It'll be hard to please everyone without running yourself into the ground or compromising your own values and beliefs.

I think if I were still at the age of looking for quality childcare, these are the things that would matter to me:
Beyond the basics of caring for children which is showing love and kindness, offering stability, security and safety I would look for........
1)seeing a real connection between provider and dcks/dcfs, such as getting parents involved in the dc and community
2)lots of different hands-on experiences with play, sensory, music and dance, open-ended art, plenty of opportunities to use tools such as scissors, science related exploration such as gardening and insects, mud play
3)lots of cuddling and stories
4)conversation with the kiddos, done with lots of respect and not just telling them how it is
5)excellent communication opportunities such as willing to shoot me emails if pick up and drop off times are chaotic, newsletters, daily notes conferences offered
6)Willing to work with me on issues, patience and understanding

I wouldn't have cared about cloth diapers and organic food. But I would want lots of fruits and veggies in my child's diet, no juice, not a lot of crap such as boxed mac and cheese or fish sticks.
If you're trying to think outside the box, what about having professionals come in and speak with the children? Veterinarians, nurses, dental hygienists, teachers, firefighters and policemen, etc. Teach the dcks yoga. Or a little sign language or Spanish? Have a kick-a$$ play room or backyard set-up. Or Waldorf inspired?

Just some thoughts off the top of my head. I guess what I'm trying to say is all your potential dcfs will be looking for different things and you need to decide what will work within your finances, energy level and time frame.
Good luck!!!

[Max]

If you're trying to think outside the box, what about having professionals come in and speak with the children? Veterinarians, nurses, dental hygienists, teachers, firefighters and policemen, etc. Teach the dcks yoga. Or a little sign language or Spanish? Have a kick-a$$ play room or backyard set-up. Or Waldorf inspired?

I love the idea of having professionals come in!! That would be so cool, and probably pretty easy if you have a parent in one of those occupations

If you didn't personally know someone in one of those occupations, how would you go about getting someone to come in?