WAY Too Many Daycares

[Blackcat31]

In my county, there is a $100 licensing fee/year-no joke. That's the reason I brought up my frustration with non licensed. I'm not against new providers at all, like you've all pointed out-I'm relatively new myself. In 20 years, I'll get to say I'm experienced-just not there yet. I may be new to daycare, but I'm a mother of four wonderful children and have been working with children all my life. I'm in it for the long haul.

...and that is what will keep you in it. I know some counties are charging for licensing (up to $1000) and I am lucky I live in one that doesn't, however, I do know some counties in MN charge for licensing and for fire marshall inspections and even renewals of licenses.

It is hard and it is worth it. I get frustrated everyday. I laugh at some of the issues some of the posters on this forum have that I never had/have only to wake up two weeks later facing the same problem! It is a weird weird world us child care providers live/work in .....Just when you think you know it all, have seen it all, have done it all, some family comes around and blows that theory outta the water.... so for advice, I can only say to hang in there.....every day is different and things have a weird way of working themselves out. Reputation is sometimes the best advertisement and sometimes we just have to wait it out. Calls seem to come in groups. Crazy busy some years and deadly silent the next. I have no explanation except that it is what it is.

Stress over the things you CAN change and learn to brush off the rest. If you were in my area...I'd be glad to work with you but I think my clients might have a problem with the drive time....

[Country Kids]

sounds like i offended you, you seem defensive. Maybe that would have been the case, but when I was licensed initially, there were only 15 daycares in my neighborhood-not the present 52. (I actually did do my homework), so I don't think it would have been a problem. But thanks for the support....geesh, this thread wasn't intended to be taken the way some of you are reacting. I've just hit a dry spot, and money is tight, and I am in this for the long haul,so whatever I guess. Just looking for some clever advertising ideas, not the static I'm getting.

Are these 52 licensed childcares? If not how did you find out that number? How big of an area are we talking about when you say a neighborhood. I'm actually shocked at that number also! Wow, I panicked when I found out we had 16 in about a 5 mile radius. It is still hard to get kids even with that number I can't imagine 52. I don't think our whole town has that many and we have about 25,000 people,.

[flightlessbird11]

Are these 52 licensed childcares? If not how did you find out that number? How big of an area are we talking about when you say a neighborhood. I'm actually shocked at that number also! Wow, I panicked when I found out we had 16 in about a 5 mile radius. It is still hard to get kids even with that number I can't imagine 52. I don't think our whole town has that many and we have about 25,000 people,.

Yes that's 52 LICENSED daycares within a 2 mile radius from my house. My county has a tool on it's website where you can do a search. These are cold hard facts. And that's 33 new since I was licensed 2 years ago.

[PeanutsGalore]

Yes that's 52 LICENSED daycares within a 2 mile radius from my house. My county has a tool on it's website where you can do a search. These are cold hard facts. And that's 33 new since I was licensed 2 years ago.

Well good lord--no wonder it's hard to drum up business. The fly-by-nights must be offering care for almost free! But like we've all said, this too shall pass. The clients who are attracted to you will be the ones you want, not the ones looking for cheap care.

Just for that different perspective, I'm a SAHM who started this year and almost quit after finding out how hard this is. But I didn't, and I'm raising my rates to attract the quality of client I want. I'm in it for the long haul as well. I've looked into licensing, but I have a small home, so my numbers are limited by the environment whether I'm licensed or not. And the number of kids I can take in without hiring an assistant wouldn't be much more if I were licensed, so I'm not going to spend the money. It just doesn't make sense for me, and I'm sure a lot of people who are just starting up crunch the numbers the same way.

Maybe your license will pay off with the food program? Don't know; just throwing that out there.

[nannyde]

Yes that's 52 LICENSED daycares within a 2 mile radius from my house. My county has a tool on it's website where you can do a search. These are cold hard facts. And that's 33 new since I was licensed 2 years ago.

My state has a locator on it to find child care. With 2.5 miles of my house there are 100 providers that my state KNOWS about. The locator only goes to 100. We allow a provider to have five under five (including her own under five) without registration. That is supposed to change in a couple of years but we shall see.

So there is more likely at least 200 providers within two miles of my home. There are four just on my block.

One of the things you have to understand about doing child care is that the laws are designed to allow such ease of entry into the profession for a REASON. The truth is that there is a market for "fly by night" short term SAHM's. There's value in having providers coming and going doing short term stints and then blowing out of the market.

There are parents that just want inexperienced uneducated and cheap care for long hours with no rules. There are parents who can only afford that. The State knows that. That's why they allow providers into the biz legally or don't pursue ones doing it illegally. It's for the parents who make too much money to get assistance but not enough to pay for child care AND for the parents who just want cheap.

There are WAY more people looking for cheap day care for long hours and no rules than there are people looking for quality they will pay for.

I would LOVE to have your situation of only fifty within two miles. You have it really good. You have to think of it in terms that the first thru fourteenth providers before you would have preferred to not have you enter the market just as you would prefer those that came after you NOT to enter the market.

You have joined a profession with a declaration to be in it for the long haul. My guess is that the thirty five providers after you would say the same thing. If you are really going to make it for the long haul you have to accept that the ease of you entering the profession IS what makes the profession so easily entered for everyone else. When you have a job that can be done by many then many will do it. If you want an exclusive position you can't enter a profession that allows low education, low training, low start up costs, and low experience.

You have to accept that there will always be a ton of competition.

[permanentvacation]

Where I live, us licensed daycare providers can't stand illegal babysitters! We turn them in all the time! They can get a fine of over $1000 and possible jail time if they don't stop babysitting illegally! The last lady I turned in was actually one of my past clients. She got fired from her job and I was nice enough to watch her child for 2 weeks for free while she tried to get a new job. She couldn't get anyone to hire her, so she gave up and I stopped watching her child. Next thing I knew, she was advertising illegal childcare in her home! So, since I had all of her information on my paperwork from her having her child enrolled in my daycare, it was very easy for me to turn her in! Yeah around here, we do have plenty of licensed daycare -and we don't mind competition from legal daycare providers and centers. It's the ones who decide to babysit illegally because no one else will hire them that we can't stand!