New! Age consideration when taking in children?

I'm a newbie! :)

I'm opening in October and I'm wondering how you all decided on what age(s) to care for initially?

I have a daughter who's one in September. I'm looking to take in 3 children (2 at first while I transition).

I know I don't want 3 children in high chairs! We live in a single two-storey home. The basement is partially finished, so I decided to convert our dining room into the playroom (it's open concept dining/living) with access to the living room area as well for certain things.

I won't have room to keep our dining table (maybe a narrow one to section off the area) and looking for alternatives in terms of feeding; which would also help with age consideration. Kitchen isn't large enough to fit a table - boo!

Looking forward to hearing some thoughts and ideas!

http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/80091713/

I installed a couple of these in my kitchen. It might be a good solution for you in the dining room. I also have 3 ikea high chairs that fit perfectly underneath. It's been on of the best ikea purchases we've made so far.

I can only have a max of 3 children under 2, and 5 in total under the age of 6. I knew that I wanted little ones, because they're my favourite. So I took the max number of 1 year olds I could find. Now most of my kids are two year olds, and that is interesting. :)

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Originally Posted by superfun

http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/80091713/

I installed a couple of these in my kitchen. It might be a good solution for you in the dining room. I also have 3 ikea high chairs that fit perfectly underneath. It's been on of the best ikea purchases we've made so far.

I can only have a max of 3 children under 2, and 5 in total under the age of 6. I knew that I wanted little ones, because they're my favourite. So I took the max number of 1 year olds I could find. Now most of my kids are two year olds, and that is interesting. :)

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That's a really neat idea super fun. ..a bit pricey but a really creative solution. I was going to suggest getting the ikea table and chairs for kids so it will double up as a craft and puzzle table too

I like superfun's idea..that is really creative and space saving!

I have this table from IKEA http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/40104294/# with these chairs from IKEA http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/90267556/ I love it and it's small enough to not take up much room but also big enough for 6 children to sit comfortably at.

As for ages, I am limited to 2 under 2 years and no more than 4 in total. Typically, I usually have a young crew though.

It is largely based on your provincial laws for home daycare, are their rules for ages in care? After that it is based on demand. Here in Ontario we can have 5 children of any age if unlicensed. About 95% of families contacting me for care are moms on mat leave looking for care for their soon to be 12month olds.

I usually just see who needs care and go from there ! I love 2 yr olds myself ! You can do crafts and projects , themes ect ! I like no bottles although the drawback is potty training !
I have one 15 month old , she's great but more demanding than the 2 yr olds ! I find it's forever changing here , younger crowd then a family will leave and I might have mostly 3+ !

Thanks for the awesome suggestions! I'm not going to limit myself to a specific age group and just go with the flow :) PS. I'm in Ontario too!