Would like to open a Infant/Toddler Daycare center in New Brunswick.

[KaylaStorey]

Hi everyone!

I am new here and would love to get any help I can.

My dream has always been to open a Daycare center, for infants and toddlers. Not a lot of places take in very young children so there is a big demand for it... my problem - where do you start???

I have an idea of what I want but do I need a building before anything else or do I need to get a action plan all sent out and approved before I can begin?

I'm hoping to have something going by September 2015, but I have no idea what to do first!

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks! :)

[Rachael]

You don't need the building before anything else but you do need the building before you will get your license as the facilities are a big part of the inspection.

Get the regulations for your province first. Understand what is required of you as a day care operator (qualifications, experience) and what any building is also required to have. Then do your research in terms of demand in locations before finding a suitable property. Would suck to end up with a property that doesn't meet your local requirements from a day care and can't be renovated to bring it up to code, would also suck to have the perfect building in a low demand area.

I think one of the reasons not many places take in very young children is lack of demand. Remember, most parents take up to a year off and so, most parents don't require day care until their child is 12 months and they return to work. Sure, some parents want to/need to return to work sooner, but again, you'd have to research what makes parents return to work sooner and how many in your area actually do it.

Do they go back Full-time or part-time? Do they leave their baby with grandparents since the child is so young? Do the parents try and work 4 12-hour shifts vs 5 standard shifts meaning they need extended hours of care?

[torontokids]

If you mean infant as in 1 yr plus then you are right there is huge demand. The reason so few offer this is the needs/demands are so much greater for this age group. Your ratios have to be smaller so therefore you costs are much much higher making this less profitable (the big bucks are in preschoolers where the ratio is like 1:20 vs 1:3 for infants). Parents also may be turned off not being able to keep their child in the program for the long term or having their preschooler and their infant attend the same centre is a big plus for families which would not work if you limited yourself to infant and toddler.

[tina1985]

Hi,
Did you make your dream a reality? I am in the same boat you were now, wanting to start my own daycare, but I am in Nova Scotia. What did you end up doing?