15 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Open A Home Daycare

Hey girl, today let's chat about the top questions you should have answers to before you open a home daycare.

If you want to open a home daycare, bravo!  There are some important questions you should get answered and think hard about before you do though. 

As a home daycare provider for 8 years, these are the things I wish I would have known all about before I opened a home daycare.

Take a hot moment to consider all of these, and it will help you decide if opening a home daycare is the right move for you and your family.

Let's jump into all you need to know about before you open a home daycare.

This is the first and biggest question you should be asking yourself! 

There are many reasons to open a home daycare, but just make sure it is the right move for you.

It is an amazing job and more rewarding to me than I could have ever imagined it to be.

But it is also stressful and exhausting.  You are taking care of someone’s most precious possession!

You should think hard about these qualities and if you have them. 

They will be pushed past the limits constantly.  And for some, that means multiple times a day!

Patience

Organized

Love of kids

Be willing to adjust, constantly

Helpful

Selfless

Multitasker

Creative

This all depends, but you guys, it is NOT free!

In my state, there are courses you need to take and equipment you need to have in place. 

Some equipment may include a fence (not cheap!), safety gates, pack and plays, sleeping mats, strollers, toys, and more.

There is also travel to consider.  If you are going to drive the kids, is your vehicle big enough or do you need to invest in a new one?

I decided not to drive the kids anywhere.  I have 4 kids of my own and most of the time 3 daycare kids.  We don’t have a vehicle that big, nor do we want to buy one either.

Every state in the U.S. has different rules and regulations about everything daycare so make sure you look up what those are.

If you aren’t sure about something, try to contact a daycare center to see if they can direct you to the correct information.

If you are lucky enough to have a space that is just for daycare, good for you!  But this is not most people.

At my house, the daycare kids are on the main level in every single room – the kitchen, bathroom, 3 bedrooms, and living room.

Ultimately, the choice is yours.  However much you choose, stick to it.

The best advice I got about using my house for a home daycare was to have a space that is just for you and your family.  

We picked our finished basement for this.  And I love having that just for us!

I hope you like to clean a lot! 

You will be doing it before the kids arrive, while they are there, and after they leave.  Don't forget the weekends too.  The cleaning is a bit intense.

Having a home daycare will get messy and you have to do your best to not only keep it tidy but disinfected too.

You also have to make sure the space you are going to provide is childproof and choking hazard free!

Think of it this way, if you were dropping your kiddo off at your house for daycare, how clean and safe would you want it to be?

Make it that way times 10, if possible!

All of them!

Ok, not all but most of them.  Your home daycare does not just run when there are daycare kids at your house.

These are a few examples:

• The time daycare kids are present – anywhere from an hour or 2 to 11 hours.
• Any prep work you do before daycare kids arrive.
• Cleaning and preparing for the next day after daycare kids leave.  Try to have the daycare kids make their space picked up before they leave if they are old enough.  This is a time saver!
• Paperwork
• Grocery Shopping
• Meal Planning

It can be pretty intense people, but you are the boss and probably the only employee so you have to get it done.

Haha, yes!  There is way more paperwork to keep track of than I thought there would be. 

And trust me, it is way easier to keep track of all of this as you go along instead of trying to think back.  Try to get on a paperwork schedule.

These are just a few things you will have to keep track of:

• Daily reports for kids.
• Hours of operation
• Hours worked outside of when kids are present
• Payments
• Receipts
• Miles driven

This is a helpful calendar to keep track of everything daycare throughout the year.  

I buy a new one every year.

And speaking of paperwork, let’s talk a bit about taxes.

Find a tax service that has experience with filing for a daycare or you may be leaving money on the table.

They should be able to answer all of your questions and know what you can "write off" by running a home daycare.

This is HUGE!

You bet. 

On my policy, it is called a daycare rider.  And I highly recommend that you get it.

Thankfully we haven’t had any accidents as to where we have had to use this but just in case people, just in case.

It isn't that expensive to have it either.  For us, it is about $200 a year.

To run a home daycare, you have to be motivated.  There is a whole business on your shoulders and it is up to you if it succeeds or not.

Also, the more you pour into making it great the more clients you will have calling you to see if you have openings!

And your daycare kiddos are counting on you. 

The kids don’t care one bit if you have a headache or don’t feel well.  They are expecting you to be your best all the time.

Believe me, this can be so hard.  I had 9 months of all-day sickness with my last pregnancy while I was doing daycare.  Take it one day at a time!

When I first started getting ready for my home daycare, I was well aware of how many kids I could have in my care. 

In my state, it is 8 kids, plus any of my own who are over a certain age.

I thought, awesome, I can be full and make XXXX amount of money.

Then I realized I had a personal limit – and it wasn’t as many kids as I thought. 

It is tough being there for a bunch of young kids especially when they all need you at the same time.

Even though you could make more money, know your limits of when you are the best for your kids and daycare kids, and don't push it.

Running a home daycare is a family affair unless you are single.  Talk with them and make sure everyone is on the same page about it.

At the time, this decision was made by my husband and me. 

There have since been times though when my kids do not feel like sharing.  They don’t want to share their toys or me.

So, we ended up making a deal about the toys.  They got to put away toys that they didn't want the daycare kids to play with.

If those toys end up in daycare areas of the house though, they are fair game.  My kids were pretty careful about not letting that happen.

Well, I am not going to lie and say my home looks like a museum.  But my daycare kids follow my rules about being gentle which has helped with destruction.

The most damage that has happened has been to the constant use of toys.  They get broken or worn out.

And to your grass.  Your grass will take some abuse.

I am a firm believer that kids should be outside as much as possible and our grass looks like it has been trampled by elephants!

And hey, I am raising kids around here not grass!

You might, I know there have been times when I can’t wait for some adult interaction.

Reach out to other home daycare providers for inspiration and support.  Having people there that are in it with you is more helpful than you can imagine.

You can reach out to me if you want, and I hope you do.  Just leave a comment below.