The Pros and Cons of Starting a Home Daycare
Everyone has their own reasons for considering home daycare. This is my list of the pros and cons of starting a home daycare that I put together from my own experience and conversations with fellow providers. I’m sure there are things that could be added or may not apply in every situation.
Pros:
- You get to be the one with your child(ren) all day instead of them being in childcare
- You get to be there for those special “firsts” and everyday events in your child’s life that you may otherwise miss
- Receive payment and an income to support your family
- Don’t have to pay childcare expenses
- You get to be your own boss
- Dress how you want. No uniform or business attire
- You can set how much you want to make
- You are in charge of your own hours
- Plan how your days will go and what your schedule will be
- Save gas by not driving to work every day
- Your child gains socialization that comes with childcare
- Spend every day doing something you enjoy
- Form close bonds with the children and families in your care
- Watch the children in your care grow and learn
- Enjoy fun activities with the children
- Write off many household items and expenses (including your rent/mortgage & heating costs) on your taxes as business expenses
Cons:
- You may feel you clean all day long, every day
- Must be very organized (things like receipts, mileage, income, attendance, hours, after-hours work, food costs and more all need to be tracked)
- No co-workers to talk with during the day. In most cases, providers work alone
- You may feel that you have very little “adult” time, especially with little ones of your own
- Your home, furniture, and toys will be subjected to wear and tear from the children
- You and/or your children may get sick more often, more kids mean more germs
- Occasionally you will have to deal with late payments or late pick-ups
- Your home may feel more like “work” than a place to relax at times
- There is no manager to defer to. You have to handle difficult situations yourself.
- Your entire family will be affected by the daycare
- Your hours may be long (daycare parents may work 8 hours, but remember they have lunch hours and commuting time so realistically you may be watching a child for 10 hours a day)
- Some children are very difficult or do not adjust to daycare well
- Your children will not get your full, undivided attention all the time
- You may be stuck at home all day depending on the amount and ages of children
- Daycare clients come and go due to their personal situations, there is never a guarantee that the families you have now (no matter how great they are or how much they like you) will be with you in six months
I’m sure there are many things you could add to each category!
Related: Avoiding Daycare Provider Burnout
When thinking about the pros and cons of starting a home daycare it is important to think about how it will affect the other members of your household. Your children, husband or significant other, and even pets. This is one of the things I was most unprepared for. I didn’t realize how much it affects everyone else too!
Husbands and Significant Others:
- Is your husband on board with your decision?
- Is he ok with a portion of your home used for daycare?
- Will he be home during daycare hours?
- Is he going to help out?
- Will he be visibly present when the children are around or in a separate part of the house?
In my head, I was thinking of it in terms of “well I’ll be the one dealing with them, so he shouldn’t have any issues” but that turned out to be so wrong. Even if you have a totally separate area in your household there is still the noise, mess, and stress that comes along with it. Plus depending on your husband’s work hours and your home daycare hours there is a possibility that your husband will be interacting with parents too. He obviously won’t be having the interactions that you have but if he is present when the parents arrive he will have to say hello and possibly make small talk.
This was a stressor for my husband when we didn’t have a separated daycare/living space. It was hard because he would come home, after a long day of dealing with people at work, but couldn’t just watch TV or drink a beer because I still had kids. The worst was when he had days off during the week or was home sick. It’s hard to get rest or relax when there are a bunch of small kids around. Even though my husband is very supportive, I’d be lying if I said we never had arguments over this. It can be a challenge but if you find ways to communicate and be open it’s doable!
Relationships
The other thing to consider is how it will affect your relationship with your spouse/significant other or other family members living with you. There is a lot of stress that comes with using your home as your place of business. In addition to that, working with children is stressful in its own right. There will be days when you are overtired and stressed out. How will you or your spouse/family handle that?
One frequent conflict that I did not expect between my husband and I was over how I ran my business. When I would vent to him or express frustrations over parent issues he would jump in and tell me what I “needed to do” to fix the issue. That would, in turn, make me more frustrated and angry because I didn’t want advice. For him, he hated seeing me upset and wanted to “fix” it. I just wanted to vent, not be told what I “should” be doing. I took that to mean he was saying I didn’t know what I was doing. We would have disagreements over this frequently. We finally had to sit down and discuss it, which helped clear our expectations.
I know several providers whose husbands are just as, if not more, excited to start a daycare. These providers have their husbands working alongside them so instead of working alone or hiring an assistant their husband takes an active role in the management of the kids and business. I think this is amazing!
Related: Creating a Daycare Contract
Your Children:
- Will your child benefit from other children?
- Is your child ok with noise and chaos?
- Is there space for your child to have their own “special” area or room, separate from the daycare?
- Will you have “special” toys that are just for your child. Toys that get put away during daycare hours?
How my daughter would be affected was a HUGE concern for me. I wanted a way to stay home so I could be with her. After starting I realized that I didn’t feel like I was as “present” with her as I would have been if it was just her and I. There were times when my daughter really wanted to do something with me, like to sit on my lap and read a book. Yet I couldn’t at that moment because of the other kids. I had to change a stinky diaper, help someone who just got hurt, or even stop a fight from happening instead of spending one-on-one time with her.
I felt terrible about this for the longest time but then I started to look at the positives. She loves her friends and has gained amazing connections. Two of the kids she calls her “BBFFs” (baby best friends forever) because they have been together since they were both 5 months old (now they are seven!). We do so many activities that if I didn’t have the daycare kids too I don’t know if I would have done them. Having multiple kids to entertain inspires me to try all kinds of crazy things!
As my daughter got beyond the baby/toddler stage it became increasingly important that she has her own special place that was just for her. An area that she could play alone and keep all the toys that she didn’t want to have to share. Until this point the daycare kids were allowed to play in her room if she wanted them too. Now that she needs that space away that area is just for herself, I no longer let them play in her room. Even if she wants them to play in her room or with her special toys I don’t allow it unless it’s the evening and there are only one or two children here. She needs something all to herself.
I also make a point to do special things with her on the weekend. We go to the carousel or take a picnic in the park, heck even just staying home and reading books all afternoon works. I just make sure that it’s something she wants and that there are no distractions (aka phone, computer, tv), just her and I spending time together.
Pets in your home
- Do you have pets that will be around the kids?
- Are your pets shots up to date?
- Are they social?
- Will your pet be ok with loud noises and running children?
- How will your pet handle parent drop off and pickups?
- Do your pets have a quiet area they can retreat to away from the noise and kids?
We are dog people and by that I mean our dog is a member of our family, not just a pet. Unlike some providers, I do allow her access to the daycare area and kids if she wants but she also has her own area in the master bedroom to retreat to. Sometimes it seems as though she spends all day hiding in the bedroom. She likes the kids and playing but she spent 7 years with me in a quiet, kid-free home. Now she has my daughter 24/7 and a house full of daycare kids five days a week. It’s quite a change.
My dog also not allowed out of the master bedroom during drop off and pick up. She is a big dog and gets too excited when parents knock. All the barking and excitement can make some people nervous. Plus she is a long-haired dog and I’m pretty sure the parents don’t want dog hair all over their black work pants right before heading off to work! She sometimes whines and it makes me feel bad having to “banish” her to the master when all she wants is to be part of what’s going on.
For me the pros outweigh the cons but, like any other profession, that is not the case for everyone. Even if this is the career path for you it’s good to sit down and think about the challenges you may face so that you can overcome them when they arise!
What are your pros & cons of starting a home daycare?
Interested in learning more? Check out my tips for interviewing clients and tips on creating a contract. Doing home daycare and feeling stressed? Try my tips for avoiding getting burnt out!
For more in-depth help starting your home daycare? Try my book today:
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Looking for more post about running a daycare? Check out my daycare page to learn about starting or running an in-home daycare or shop my collection of ebooks and daycare forms in my store.
I highly recommend having your clients sign a contract that they will pay what is due to you when and if they decided to leave . Also, they pay your BEFORE service is given ! This one mom decided she didn’t need to pay and she left owing 500$ !!
I agree. I also highly recommend payments due in advance of care and having a contract singed prior to beginning care. You can find my tips for creating policies and contracts here: https://whereimaginationgrows.com/2013/08/creating-a-daycare-contract/
Thanks for stopping by and adding your ideas!
Hello,
I’m planning the first steps to starting our in-home daycare this fall, love your ideas and blog. I would love to hear you wish list on what you would want to buy for kids, or the ‘must -have’ list of what you would need. I have some basics but we are planning a downstairs den and backyard from scratch! Thank you for all the info!
Hi Vanessa! Thanks for stopping by! With toys I always recommend blocks, pretend play materials (phones, kitchen toys, simple dress up), and plastic animals. I rotate the rest of my toys and we do a lot of loose parts play but those ones never get old and are versatile. I started collecting toys months before I began my daycare, I was (and still am 😉 ) always checking out secondhand stores and garage sales. Good luck! I’d be excited to see how it all comes together for you!
I have a goal to open up a home daycare center in the near future. I’m a full time student at a community college, Early Childhood major. My heart is to work from home to fit the needs of others, yet to bring families and the communuty as one. Frist Gateway Community College is a wonderful place to grow, learn, and share knowledge. Teacher on the other hand, appoint to lead their student in the right path on becoming great teacher in the future. I have lots of question for my teacher that are not being answer. I’m not down grating my teacher classes on how to run the classroom. I just wish they had a business courses for student who want to run home daycare center. My school big a NYCA program and center base school.
My real question is how much to charger parents for home daycare: Does the age group depend on how much I charge them base on the full day and full day
Half day care:
Full day care
Infant
Toddler
Preschool age
School age before care and after care
Sibling 2 or more
Hi Jellisa! Sounds like you are off to a great start! 🙂 My best advice for pricing is checking around your local community, like craigslist or the local Childcare Resource and Referral office in your area, as pricing really varies from town to town (really even within towns prices vary by locations). I know centers sometimes break pricing into age groups like you’ve separated them into above, but generally home care is less divided. Generally I’ve found most providers have at the most 3 price brackets: Infant (under 12-18mos & usually the highest cost), Toddler/PreK (18mo to 4), & School Age (5+ & usually the lowest cost because they are with you for less time). Some providers only have 2 price brackets: birth to prek & school age. As for sibling discounts it’s entirely up to you, I personally do not offer sibling discounts but I have provider friends that offer 10-15% off the oldest child. Are you in the New Haven area (I googled the college 🙂 )? From New Haven craigslist it looks like pricing is between $25 and $35 a day for full time care.
As for the business end maybe look into whether your college offers a class about the basics to owning your own business or a beginning entrepreneur class. Our local community college offers them as community education and personal development classes, which aren’t part of the general college course offerings but if you’re concerned about the business side of it it could be a great way to learn about taxes, record-keeping, and such.
Good Luck!! -Lisette
Hi,
Thank you so much for the pros and cons of family daycare.
I am currently doing my cert in children services and I am very much interested in starting a family day daycare. I am currently living in a rented property and my landlord refused for fdc in home. What may be reason for them to refuse even if I am getting an public liability insurance for starting fdc. Please advice on this.
Thanks,
Kam
Hi Kam! Landlords may be hesitant over a daycare for many different reasons, from increased traffic to wear and tear on the property to legal liabilities and beyond. I’ve thankfully had understanding landlords when I rented in the past but I was upfront with them and submitted a letter addressing these issues with each application. I created a letter that would address all the issues I would have as a property owner in a professional manner that could put their worries at ease (IE- property damage wouldn’t be allowed/created as it would be in violation of my licensing standards to have unsafe or dirty conditions). I’ve never done it but I know several providers that also have their landlords listed as the beneficiary on their liability insurance policies.
Tom Copeland’s blog for the business end of FCC is where I got the idea of a submitting a letter from, definitely search his site!
I have been doing daycare for 15 years and have been renting most of that time from many locations. One issue is that many home owner insurance companies will not insure the home if home is being used for daycare. I had to look high and low to find a company when I owned my home. Another concern of landlords is your clients suing their insurance company. I spoke with a lawyer and what he explained to me is that parents can attempt to go after both your insurance and the landlords insurance. They would have to have a good amount of money to pursue it, and most likely they wont have enough grounds to do it. In Missouri, the only way a landlord can be liable is if the tenant has already submitted in writing a complaint to the landlord about fixing a lose step or a ceiling lamp is hanging to low. Even if the landlord hasn’t come to fix it, it is the tenants job to keep any house guest from that danger. So its like getting hurt from a slip in a store located in a mall and suing the store and the mall and the company that owns the building. It rarely happens. So with all of that I designed a form that states the landlord tenant statues of my state and it pretty much is my clients waving their right to go after my landlord, their associates, or insurance. Everyone signs it with out a problem. If anyone doesn’t want to sign, I don’t accept their children into my program.
I have a question, are you to provide lunch or is it best if they provide their children’s lunch? I took care of a couple of kids, and boy, did they eat! They ate breakfast, lunch, and snacks. I felt heartbroken, telling them, they had to wait for their next meal, because they would ask for food every five minutes. I may go on to say, i had to resign. Not only did they eat, their siblings who came later would ask for food and i felt horrible denying them food.
Hi Erlinda! I’ve found (for me) it’s easier if I provide the meals and snacks. I ended up having too many issues with parents not sending enough food, forgetting to send anything, and/or sending foods that were unhealthy or foods that contained ingredients I restricted due to allergies another child had (like peanuts). I have a snack/meal schedule and I stick to it, I don’t give snack outside of those times. Parents all have to sign a form when they start that shows meal times and states that children must be fed prior to coming if they come just after a meal/snack time. I’ve had a few kids that are always hungry but once they get into our routine there is less complaining 🙂 Also if you are providing meals then you can deduct the cost of meals and snacks served to children as a business expense. There is a standard deduction you can take or you can save your receipts (I take the standard, I have enough receipts to keep track of!).
Thanks for sharing such an informative post. Parents are always looking for the best Daycares that provide the best caring facilities like in Williamsburg Northside Daycare. Your post will be very helpful for those who are planning to open a day care in their home.
Hell everyone my name is Vena. Im planning on opening a daycare at my home. Im trying to find some useful positive information i can grow with. Thanks for all of your stories. I got something out of each one… Thanks A Bunch.
I have a question! I am really thinking about running a daycare, but what I’m worried about is when my children have events at school. What would be your advice so that I am around for things like that and at the same time run a successful daycare, I don’t want to have to sacrifice such precious moments. Also, how would I handle picking my child up from school? Would it be a wise decision to hire someone to help with daycare in those moments?
Hi Danielle! This can be tricky for many providers. A lot of people work in this field to be with their kids but when they enter school it becomes difficult because you are stuck at home with the daycare kids. You can either take the time off or find a backup provider that can come to your house and cover you for those days. I know several providers that have someone they use as a substitute when they go to school functions, I took time off (my daughter’s school has very few school day events). Just make sure you tell parents about this in interviews.
Can your child ride the bus and you walk the DC kids to the stop? Do you have enough car seat spots for your child plus daycare kids? If not you may have to hire someone or find family/school friend to transport your child. I had to pick my child up, there is no bus and we have no family to transport her (my husband works at that time), so I only accepted the amount of kids I had car seat spots for. I didn’t give potential clients an option to transport or stay. I told them that their child would be transported to a local school to pick up and drop off a school age child. If they are uncomfortable with this then they could find someone else. I’ve never had and issue with this. However, if you need more children than your car can carry to make your income work you may need hire someone to cover or find someone to bring your child home.
Do you use a apps for the parent ? Like a day-to-day apps like Kinderloop ?
I seach something free
Thank you
Sincerely,
Annie from Quebec City
Hi Annie,
Personally, I don’t use any apps. I use a simple paper copy for younger children (under 1 year) but I use a white board to share meals and activities from the day. There are many apps out there if you are interested in using them and they can be very convenient. I found them time more consuming and sometimes it caused issues with parents if I didn’t update them fast enough. But maybe I’m just used to my old ways 🙂