Advice for a Beginner

[ebuyske]

Hey, everyone,

I am starting a family in-home daycare in a few months. I will have my own 20-mo-old and 4-mo-old. I need 3 more full time kids. Would it be silly to take on any more kids under two or would it be harder to take older kids and have vast age differences. Right now everyone contacting me has infants and nobody needs care for older kids and I am starting to become worried. Thanks in advance!

[Michael]

Welcome to the forum. The forum gets a little quieter during the weekend.

[Thriftylady]

Welcome to the forum!

Your question is hard to answer because it depends on several factors. One thing would be check to see what ratios you are allowed by the state. Because many states have limits on how many in each age group you can take. Then there are the factors such as what you can handle personally, and what kids you get. Some kiddos are more high maintenance than others. Then you have to figure in clean up time and meal prep there is always some of that during the day, even if you do your major cleaning in your off hours.

For me, five under 2 would be a bit much for me to handle alone, and so since I mostly work alone I wouldn't do it. But each person is different!

[CityGarden]

I like kids in the same age range then you can gear the envioment to just that. In California you can only have 4 children under the age of 2 (including your own) so if you were in CA or a state with the same rule you would only be able to take 2 additional children in that range.

That said there is a provider here who only takes children 0-3 and she adores that age range. Her set up is completely geared toward that. I wanted more of a preschool so I only take 2 year olds and up.

[ebuyske]

Thanks

Thanks for the quick replies! I figured it would kind of just depend on needs, personalities, etc. Inwill definitely confirm what the state allows as I already checked with my insurance company. Thanks again!

[Blackcat31]

Hey, everyone,

I am starting a family in-home daycare in a few months. I will have my own 20-mo-old and 4-mo-old. I need 3 more full time kids. Would it be silly to take on any more kids under two or would it be harder to take older kids and have vast age differences. Right now everyone contacting me has infants and nobody needs care for older kids and I am starting to become worried. Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the quick replies! I figured it would kind of just depend on needs, personalities, etc. Inwill definitely confirm what the state allows as I already checked with my insurance company. Thanks again!

Welcome!

Here are the regs/ratios for your area

https://www.daycare.com/montana/

In-home daycare is a tough job to get into right now so I encourage you to be patient... It does take time to get the word out and fill spaces. It wouldnt hurt to have a backup financial plan too... I think area need is the biggest influence in regards to whether a provider is successful or not.

Hang around and join in the conversations here on the forum... there is lots to learn!