Hello from a minority person ;-)

[Mike]

I'm Caucasian and my main language is English, but I'm male and I have a feeling that is probably a minority here, but hey, women make good firefighters and police, so why can't men run a daycare business. That's what I plan to do in a few months.

I checked out the forum and I look forward to joining in. Deciding on a username was easy. I had a feeling Mike was available. At most forums, I would have to use Mike63 or something like that, but most of you are women and I don't think too many women have the name Mike or Michael. :D

Time for bed now, but I'll be back tomorrow to ask some questions, and maybe even answer some.

[cfred]

Hello Mike....and yep, you're it so far as men go. Of course, this IS the internet, so one never knows ;) I have to ask....did you get your ECE? I had a couple men in my ECE program in college, which I thought was fantastic! How far into the process are you with your set up? How do you suppose a male in the business will be received? I think it's great and I abhor gender stereotyping! I'm hoping everyone else does too and you have great success and enjoy your new venture.

[Crayola kiddies]

I actually have a male provider in my area .... He's been doing it awhile now and he figures he only has a few years left before he's viewed as " the old creepy guy" but I know a lot of families that attend his daycare ..... I think it's great .... Also when I was updating my CPR there was one man present and he was a provider. Good luck to you!!! I look forward to hearing your views on things

[5 Little Monkeys]

I look forward to hearing your views and opinions as well!! I had one male in my college ECE classes and I have worked with a handful of men in centres, but we usually only had 1-2 male on staff at a time. (not for any reason other than that is just how it worked out!) The kids always LOVED when their teacher was the male, especially the older kids.

[Kimangeline]

Welcome Mike, and I echo what the others have said. It is nice to slowly see more males entering this predominantly female field, whether it be home daycare or within schools/daycare centres. I think men have a way with kids that women just don't possess typically. They tend to be able to be more playful and imaginative, at least in my experience. I wish you well!

[Mike]

Thanks for the warm welcomes and good vibes.

I've been in the business world most of my life, so that end of things is routine to me. I've done research to decide if it would be a viable business idea or not and right now I'm searching cities to get an idea of where there is the greatest need. The closest city to me is Brockville and there is no need there, plus, I spent most of my life here and want to get a fresh start, so figure out where there is a need and that's where I will go. So far, Kingston looks like a good possibility.

I didn't take any ECE courses, might later. I will be going for Infant/Child CPR at St Johns in a few weeks, and getting my police papers. I don't have any children of my own, but have had many in my life, including being in charge of a Sunday School bus and occasional driver for a couple years. Normally, someone else drove while I did the door knocking and kept the children under control on the bus. They liked me and listened to me so well that when our driver was away, I drove without a helper and had no problems.

I first thought about daycare a few years ago, but at that time, the idea of male daycare was absurd, and it didn't look like a good idea at the time, but things changed. What made me make this decision was 16 months ago. I have a single cousin with 5 children who I helped out now and then. Once in a while her sister, a friend of hers, and myself, would give her a break by taking the children for a few hours, or sometimes a day or 2. She has 3 boys and 2 girls. Her friend has 2 sons, and one day wanted to know if she could take the 3 boys with her 2 and go camping for a week. She loved the idea, but that still left her with her 2 girls. Her sister took them for 2 days, but that was enough for her. I took a few days off work and took them for the next 5 days. That 5 days was probably the happiest time of my life because it was the closest I will ever come to being a dad. For the next few weeks I couldn't stop thinking about it and realised that I would rather be watching children than running a business and working, so watching children will be my new business.

I knew there would be some complications, but I started planning and preparing for my new business then. Now I'm just about ready to relocate and launch. Plans are to be open before summer holidays because I know there is a higher demand when full time summer care comes up. That means better chance of someone taking a chance with me, and I know that once someone tries me out, they will stay.

Not saying anything against moms doing daycare, but being single and no children means I can focus 100% on my clients children. I've had many children in my life and got along great with every one, and I love getting down to a child's level to play with them, and also have the ability to be the adult when needed, so I know that as long as I can get a start, business will succeed.

[5 Little Monkeys]

Mike, sounds like you have thought about this and really want to do it for the right reasons. I hope that you are able to fill your spots and enjoy this new adventure!!

I also have no children of my own and that is one thing that almost all of the parents I interview comment on. They say that shows them that I am doing this because I want too and enjoy kids and am not just doing it to stay home with my own children. However, they don't know that one of the reasons for opening my hdc was in fact, so that I could stay home with our own children if ever do have them :)

[Mike]

However, they don't know that one of the reasons for opening my hdc was in fact, so that I could stay home with our own children if ever do have them :)

Good luck in that area. :)

[Mike]

Maybe in time, people will start to realise that males can care for children too. Most do have fathers, right. lol Most of them do a great job.

[mimi]

Good luck Mike! I think this industry would benefit from having more male providers. Maybe we would get more respect............t hat is sad to say, but unfortunately true.

[Mike]

Thanks and good point there. It is sad but true that in general women aren't respected like they should be. It's also true that women who do "man" jobs seem to get more respect, so maybe having more men in this field will make a difference.

[Spixie33]

My only advice would be to get cracking as soon as you can. People are looking for July-September NOW. The thing about daycare is that at least half of people are looking over 4 months in advance.

I actually have had many clients contact me 6 - 8 months in advance.

I think that it isn't totally crazy to have a male dcp. Look at the movie Daddy Daycare....after that movie there were several articles about real daddy daycares. I saw an episode of Love it Or List it Vancouver and they had a father running a daycare out of the house. You know what? He sounded just like any of us female providers when he was talking about what his daycare space needs were and his business. :)

[Mike]

Already started. I have an ad on Kijiji about my daycare opening in May and doing pre-booking. It would be nice to have a couple of interested parents before I open.

[Mike]

Now that I've been here for a bit and have sort of introduced myself, here's a bit more about me, if you want to do this much reading.

I'm 50, single, never married, no children of my own, but many children that I loved as if they were mine. Some of those children now have children of their own that are also a part of my life. I've babysat for various periods of time, including 5 full days last spring. That was when I made my decision. I first thought about daycare about 8 years ago, but the income I calculated it would make wasn't enough, so I put that idea on hold. I thought about it on and off since then, until last spring. Those 5 days, 3 of which I took off work, were about the happiest days of my life. I would have loved to do that for the rest of my life instead of working, so I did further research and more detailed calculations and made my decision. Work the rest of my life doing something that makes me happy.

That summer I started going to yard sales to get some of the things I will need and had plans to move and start my business in September. Some problems came up and put my plans on hold. Plans now are to open up for June.

I currently rent a room from my parents. 5 years ago I lived in Alberta but had to move back because of my father's health, so I moved in with them. Since then, I just never got back out. It's so handy for them to have me right here, but I'm 50 now and need my own life.

As a teen, I was very shy and very fat. I had 1 friend and that's it. I had no personal life, but I had my main life goal to get married, have a family, and be the world's greatest dad. No personal life got in the way of that. At 23, I met a lady at church, we got engaged, then she said to get lost. I'm a nice and friendly person with a big heart, but due to lack of experience, have trouble making new friends. I've accepted the fact that I will probably be single forever, so will never have my own family. It's depressing when that was my biggest life dream. I love taking care of anyone's children, so that's another reason to make daycare my new business.

I have no criminal record and getting my papers shortly to prove that, taking CPR shortly, have lots of experience with children, and have bought and read many books on raising and caring for children to learn some of the little things I may not have learned through experience, and have a few books on running daycare. Most of my life has been running businesses, so that part is simple.

I know daycare isn't always going to be happy time. I'll have children that will drive me nuts, and parents I can't get along with, but they can always go elsewhere. The good days will far outnumber the bad ones. I will have to work hard at selling myself at the beginning, but once I get started, word of mouth will keep me busy.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I think you can make a go of this Mike but I would like to suggest something. I keep my personal life separate from my business life. Of course I talk to the parents and they know things about me but it's nothing super deep. I am open with them about things they NEED to know, things that pertain to me doing my job. Things that they don't need to know, I don't say. I like to think that is being professional. Others will view professionalism as something different but that's what it means to me.

I would just suggest to seriously consider how much you really NEED to divulge to the parents. Good luck!

[Artsand crafts]

Personally I would not choose a male provider, but if I knew for some time an adult you took care of when they were children and now you are babysitting their kid I could start giving it a second though.

I think adults with children that you took care of could be a good reference for you.

[Mike]

I would just suggest to seriously consider how much you really NEED to divulge to the parents. Good luck!

People regularly tell me I am too open. Front page was reworded. Next will be the about me page and my pricing.
Thanks


I think adults with children that you took care of could be a good reference for you.

I'm hoping that does help.