Availability over need

is it me or is there more available childminders than those needing care? That is the impression I get, when I see adverts posted etc.

In some areas, yes. In other areas, too many families in need, not enough providers. Its all about where you are located. My area there are lots of providers with open spots for all ages.

In my area you will find plenty of empty spots for over age 2 but not nearly enough for under age 2 since the new age limits were put in place in Ontario.

I'm in NS, and there are tons of infants needing care (we can only take 2 under 18m), but I've had a 3+ spot open since June with only one message and no interviews.

The past couple years it's been a parents market in my area. Experienced, qualified providers were sitting with open spots for months because our city was over saturated with hdcs, some charging very little (and some hoarding children). From what I'm hearing from friends who are looking and from the ads I'm seeing online, it's starting to come back to being a providers market. Friends are telling me that they're finding there isn't a lot of quality spaces out there and so the ones that are good are filling quickly and some fear they'll have to take a lesser provider out of necessity until they can find better.

Granted, my friends are looking for quality top notch providers.....health y food, daily planned activities/art, outdoor play, guided free play etc. They've also said they're surprised at the condition of some homes. They've noticed some with few toys, some broken toys, dirty homes etc.

I'm not directing this at anyone but when I have a space open for longer than 2-3 weeks I take a look at my dc with fresh eyes and see if there are things I can switch to make it more appealing to potential clients. It almost always works!

I agree that it depends on the area. Where I live, I see a demand for good childcare, regardless of age. Many providers are able to fill their spots quickly. However, what I have noticed that there are a large number of providers who are always advertising. I often wonder what they are doing that is either causing high turnover or preventing them from filling their spaces. Or maybe they just never take down their ads, despite their spots being filled. Whatever the reason, it does make it look like there are more providers than what's needed. But in reality, I often hear from friends that a good provider is hard to come by and when one does have an open spot, it's filled instantly.

Unfortunately, in my area schools have opened daycares and a big boxed daycare also opened. Their prices are ridiculously low. I started to see more caregivers with open spots.