How Much Of Your Home Do You Show Parents?

[Childminder]

Any part of your home that is approved by licensing to be used regularly for childcare.

[JaydensMommy]

When I intereview parents I show them all the areas the children spend time in. I converted my entire living room and attached office into my daycare. All of the bedrooms are off limits. I also show them the dining area where they eat, backyard and the bathroom that the children use. If I took my child to daycare I would want to see every room that they would be spending time in and would not feel comfortable if I wasn't allowed to see the area they slept in.

[littlemommy]

I show the parents our main play area which is downstairs, the craft room, downstairs bathroom and they see the laundry room as there is no door on it. Only if a parent asks do they ever see my upstairs (other than the kitchen which is off of the daycare entrance). If they ask I show them the upstairs living room (this is where the children have quiet time), the upstairs bathroom and I show them my spare room so they have a sample of where the children sleep. I have play pens in the spare room, my sons room and our room upstairs but I never ever show my son's room or my room...way too personal for me. Besides the fact that I feel it's too personal for me my husband and son would be upset with me if I was showing 'strangers' their bedrooms. Never really had a parent have a problem with it, but they are also made aware right off the bat that the upstairs is only ever used for eating or sleeping. Once the child is enrolled in my care the parents only have access to my front porch anyways...the rest of the house is off limits unless I invite them in.

I try to keep parents on the front porch too. I don't allow shoes on my carpet, and most parents respect that.

[Crystal]

I show the entire downstairs. I don't show upstairs as we do not use it for child care, and in Ca. if you are licensed for 14, you cannot use the upstairs legally, due to fire safety. Aside from intial licensing, licensing doesn't look upstairs at all when they do visits, as it is not used for daycare. Even if I could use upstairs, I wouldn't simply because IF there ever were a fire I could not be certain that I could get upstairs and retrieve a sleeping infant while trying to ensure everyone else is out of the house.

Also, my parents come into my home and walk throught the whole space on a daily basis. They see every area that their child is in every day, so they know that it is a safe environemnt all the time.

I think you have to show the sleeping area to the parent....I would never leave my infant if I could not see where they sleep.....and honestly, if my infant was required to sleep upstairs without close supervision, I wouldn't leave them there at all. I'd be concerned about safety, SIDS, etc.

[littlemommy]

What do you all do for nap time if you have a small home? If you have kids that need to be in a room alone to sleep what do you do?

[e.j.]

My downstairs rooms are licensed (playroom, living room, kitchen/dining area) so those are the only rooms parents see when they come for interviews.

I've had a couple of people ask to see the upstairs but I explain to them that our bedrooms are up there and they are not licensed for day care use. I tell them I keep the kids downstairs, all on one level, for safety reasons (being able to see/hear their kids at all times) and because I feel my family deserves some privacy. For the most part, I haven't had any issues with this, although I had one dcm who used to try to sneak upstairs to take a peek.

[JaydensMommy]

I use my living room as my playroom and the attached office room as the nap room. My home is a single level home but I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving children unattended upstairs on there own. I have doors on the nap room and close them if a child is asleep in there. It's worked out fine.

[nannyde]

My state doesn't license areas. They can go thru your whole house if they like.

[Crazy8]

my playroom is the first room when you walk in so obviously I show that. Sometimes we will sit in there for the interview (usually if its with a toddler we need to contain, LOL), other times we sit in the kitchen. If they are in the kitchen they will also see my family room - its not a room used for daycare, you just can't avoid seeing it, LOL! If I'm interviewing for an infant I will show them the upstairs bedrooms if they'd like. My bedroom is off limits, but I'll just run them down the hall seeing my kids bedrooms as that is where I put the pack n' plays for babies naps. Sometimes my kids rooms are a little messy but oh well, they are kids! Overall though I want them to have a good feeling about my house and that I'm not hiding gun racks or piles of stuff like on hoarders up there. ::

[littlemissmuffet]

I show our whole house, we're very clean and organized and I have nothing to hide. I can see where others are coming from with privacy issues, but it is not a big deal to me at all.

[Abigail]

I will be doing daycare in the lower level of our home only. A separate entrance from the garage will be used as the daycare entrance and they will never even see the main entryway of my home to even see my livingroom and kitchen above. I feel I want privacy, especially with living in a new neighborhood and our first house without any kids of our own yet, we deserve the privacy.

I'm going to explain to the daycare clients park in the third stall and use the side-walking path I'm going to have put in. I will also have a small sign on the front door with my daycare name and "Please use West entrance" so I will not even answer the front door for anyone besides friends/family outside of daycare.

My concern is that my daycare space is all child-size furniture. What can I do to make it more welcoming for adults? I have a rocking chair for me in the living room, but nothing else. (This is all future talk as our house should be purchased in the next 30 days or sooner, our offer was accepted!)

[Blackcat31]

My concern is that my daycare space is all child-size furniture. What can I do to make it more welcoming for adults? I have a rocking chair for me in the living room, but nothing else. (This is all future talk as our house should be purchased in the next 30 days or sooner, our offer was accepted!)

I do not have a single piece of furniture that is adult size. They aren't staying so no need. :: They drop and leave.

I do understand your concern, but honestly, for me it reallly isn't a big deal for that reason. The kids stay, play, live and learn in my space. The parents spent very little time there. In my entry I do have a Little Tikes bench/toy chest that the parents can sit on while dressing or undressing their child at pick up and/or drop off but that's it.

[Unregistered]

My state doesn't license areas. They can go thru your whole house if they like.

Ours too and they do. My licensor even woke up my sleeping son to check out his window to make sure it opened properly.

[Meeko]

Our licensors check the whole house, but they are limited to what they can inspect.

If an area is designated for child care (even if it's just used for napping) they go through every drawer, closet etc.

If part of the home is NOT used for day care, it must be behind a gate or have a lock or a childproof door handle on it. Then the licensor just pops her head in the door to make sure there are no hidden children () and to see if anything screams out danger...like a loaded rifle on your bed or something!

[PitterPatter]

I show the parents our cubby room, restrooms, playroom, infant room, school room, kitchen, and playground. Basically, I show them every room/area their child might be in. Personally, I could never leave my child somewhere that I hadn't thoroughly checked out. I never show the parents our personal bedrooms.

As far as not allowing the parents in your bedroom, if their child is going to be sleeping in your bedroom, I would show them your bedroom. If you want your bedroom to be off limits, I would move the P&P's to a different area of the house that they are welcome to check out.

Out of curiosity, are you registered or licensed? In my state, we can't have children on the second floor unless their are two sets of stairs.

I just wanted to chime in and say part of my daycare is in an upstairs room and the restroom being upstairs as well. I only have 1 set of stairs and I am certified by the state and inspected yearly by the monitor. Lord help me if they change that stair policy to 2, I will be done.