How to Open Your Own Daycare Center
Should you be licensed? There are several different kinds of child care facilities out there.
From independent home day cares, licensed home days cares, day care centers, and drop-in locations associated with churches, fitness centers, and community centers.
If you are interested in child care it is most likely you will be involved in one of the first three listed.
The main difference between a day care center and in home child care is the location.
If you are planning on using a location other than your home then you are opening a day care center.
Many states and some cities require a special license if you do child care outside of the home.
Depending on what state you live in you can determine what kind of licensing is needed if any is needed at all.
An important thing to think about is even if you do not need a license getting one might be a good idea anyway, especially if there are a lot of child care providers in your area.
Getting licensed can set you apart from the competition.
The first step is to contact your local child care division, which is usually associated through the Family Division with the state.
Contacting them for a list of requirements can help you understand whether you need to be licensed and what is necessary to get licensed.
What do you need to start a daycare? Taking care of children in your home or in a private location requires a lot of supplies, starting up you need to consider their physical needs, which includes food, safety, sleep, and basic hygiene.
All children need to have a separate spot to rest, whether it is a toddler bed, crib, pack and play, or couch.
They also need to have access to hand washing stations, and you will be required to have a changing table near a hand washing station if you are going take care of infants.
Food is important; many states have food mandates for what you must feed a child in your care.
Basically you will need to feed them dairy, fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein at each meal, three meals for a twelve hour day and two snacks, one between breakfast and lunch and the other between lunch and supper.
While a lot of day care centers are open for twelve hours man charge on a ten hour scale with anything over ten hours being overtime, but we'll get into that in a minute.
Other than the child's physical needs you also need to look at their safety, this would include locks on cabinets and doors and covers over outlets.
You want to baby proof your house or daycare center much the same way that you would for your own toddlers.
Then you will need to have toys, again to a certain extent this depends on the licensing laws of your particular state, but even without a license you should have an assortment of toys for each age and stage, this can include everything from blocks and cars, to books for the older children to read.
Having small child size tables and chairs are nice also for them to sit and play so that they are up off the floor.
You can also get an assortment of craft supplies like Play dough, crayons, and coloring books.
Setting up your rules: Your daycare, your rules, you need to sit down and decide how much you want to be paid, and when.
As you set up your daycare it is a good idea to make a list of rules, these will include, whether you will take sick children, how you will handle behavioral problems and discipline, whether you will be closed certain times, and your policy on drop-in daycare.
Once you set up the daycare and start taking on clients it is a good idea to have a written set of rules that you will hand out to your clients so that they know your rules.
The Business Side of Taking Care of Children: Having rules is part of the business side of taking care of children.
Another aspect of the business side is charging for childcare and keeping track of that money.
You also need to keep track of any purchases that you make for the daycare.
In the first year this might include a computer, printer, and basic start up office supplies, later on this can include advertising fees if you run an ad in the local paper, or put flyers up.
For each item you purchase for your business you will want to keep receipts.
It is also a good idea to sit down with a tax professional and discuss what kind of records you will need to keep; this will make filing your taxes easier.
From independent home day cares, licensed home days cares, day care centers, and drop-in locations associated with churches, fitness centers, and community centers.
If you are interested in child care it is most likely you will be involved in one of the first three listed.
The main difference between a day care center and in home child care is the location.
If you are planning on using a location other than your home then you are opening a day care center.
Many states and some cities require a special license if you do child care outside of the home.
Depending on what state you live in you can determine what kind of licensing is needed if any is needed at all.
An important thing to think about is even if you do not need a license getting one might be a good idea anyway, especially if there are a lot of child care providers in your area.
Getting licensed can set you apart from the competition.
The first step is to contact your local child care division, which is usually associated through the Family Division with the state.
Contacting them for a list of requirements can help you understand whether you need to be licensed and what is necessary to get licensed.
What do you need to start a daycare? Taking care of children in your home or in a private location requires a lot of supplies, starting up you need to consider their physical needs, which includes food, safety, sleep, and basic hygiene.
All children need to have a separate spot to rest, whether it is a toddler bed, crib, pack and play, or couch.
They also need to have access to hand washing stations, and you will be required to have a changing table near a hand washing station if you are going take care of infants.
Food is important; many states have food mandates for what you must feed a child in your care.
Basically you will need to feed them dairy, fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein at each meal, three meals for a twelve hour day and two snacks, one between breakfast and lunch and the other between lunch and supper.
While a lot of day care centers are open for twelve hours man charge on a ten hour scale with anything over ten hours being overtime, but we'll get into that in a minute.
Other than the child's physical needs you also need to look at their safety, this would include locks on cabinets and doors and covers over outlets.
You want to baby proof your house or daycare center much the same way that you would for your own toddlers.
Then you will need to have toys, again to a certain extent this depends on the licensing laws of your particular state, but even without a license you should have an assortment of toys for each age and stage, this can include everything from blocks and cars, to books for the older children to read.
Having small child size tables and chairs are nice also for them to sit and play so that they are up off the floor.
You can also get an assortment of craft supplies like Play dough, crayons, and coloring books.
Setting up your rules: Your daycare, your rules, you need to sit down and decide how much you want to be paid, and when.
As you set up your daycare it is a good idea to make a list of rules, these will include, whether you will take sick children, how you will handle behavioral problems and discipline, whether you will be closed certain times, and your policy on drop-in daycare.
Once you set up the daycare and start taking on clients it is a good idea to have a written set of rules that you will hand out to your clients so that they know your rules.
The Business Side of Taking Care of Children: Having rules is part of the business side of taking care of children.
Another aspect of the business side is charging for childcare and keeping track of that money.
You also need to keep track of any purchases that you make for the daycare.
In the first year this might include a computer, printer, and basic start up office supplies, later on this can include advertising fees if you run an ad in the local paper, or put flyers up.
For each item you purchase for your business you will want to keep receipts.
It is also a good idea to sit down with a tax professional and discuss what kind of records you will need to keep; this will make filing your taxes easier.
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