I am having a difficult time finding children. I have put up postings at the library and around my end of town. Does anyone have any suggestions?
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I am having a difficult time finding children. I have put up postings at the library and around my end of town. Does anyone have any suggestions?
I found almost all of my daycare kids thru my ad on kijiji. Nothing fancy, just offering home daycare, a little bit about myself and a brief example of care I can provide. No rate details or anything in this.
Good luck
I think there are just very slow periods Annastasia :(
when I started I advertised for nearly 5 months with barely a nibble and 0 interviews. My family would call and sort of jokingly laugh and ask whether I had any luck. I felt like it would never happen. But things do sometimes pick up in spring, summer. Hopefully that is the case for you.
I also did signs, flyers, etc...,but in the end I found most people through this website. I got off kijiji because I got a lot of odd responses
I found all my clients thru kijiji .....I got tons of responses mostly looking for cheap daycare(I'm average) or people with siblings wanting a major discount .... But eventually I filled all my spots and actually December was a busy month for me I had 7 interviews .... My ad now says next opening is sept and my email is still filling up .... I actually have an interview tonight for my sept space. I have also used "used Ottawa" and . Word of mouth has been helpful for me too. In the beginning I got two kids right away one part time and one full time (different families) and one b& a and then I waited for 10 months with no interviewsand then bang in dec I was overwhelmed ..... I have some great families .... So just be patient eventually it will come .... Sometimes parents are hesitant to be the first so that can be a challenge..... Put your name at the local schools and leave it with the school secretary... I know when I moved to Ottawa and I didn't know anybody I called the school and asked for a list of caregivers and that's how I found care for my then jk....also try opening a little earlier then home daycares close to you .... That worked for me too cause a lot of the daycares didn't open early enough to allow for their commute but unfortunately I have to get up at 6 :(
There are slow periods, it's true.
Once I found this website I thought the calls would come pouring in, not so. But like a couple others have said, I found everyone of my clients through kijiji or craigs list. You have to be on top of the posting though or it gets lost in a million others. I made it a habit to repost every morning including saturdays and sundays. This means you have to have two similar ads (as they won't let you repost the same one the second after you delete it). Just delete yesterdays and post the other one. You see better results.
Since march break is coming up, put up another post to offer care for that week. Temporary is better than nothing right?
Good luck!
I forgot about doing this. . . .I was bold. . . . . I found ads on kijiji or craigs list for parents looking for nannys (just wanted child care, no housework) or 'companions' for their little ones for a few hours a few times a week. I emailed these people and proposed my daycare as an alternative. explaining that it was cheaper than a nanny and they would constantly have playmates around and such. I got my first two clients this way and quickly
I too scoured the want ads on kijiji and replied to the ones that applied to me as well as the nanny ones cause I am in a small town and getting a nanny is difficult .... Actually I replied to one last fall and she ignored me ... I got an email two weeks ago from her asking me if I still had a spot .... Which I don't ....
After reading that some of you have had such positive luck with filling spaces using kijiji - I put my ad back on last night.
Sure enough today I get yet another weird email and the only thing they want to know are
1- my fees, 2- whether i take vacation (What?) and 3- whether I take sick days
2 out of 3 of those questions I find to be :blink: very odd. doesn't everyone take some vacay during the span of a year and obviously no one plans to get sick :p
They probably meant whether or not you charge for vacation and sick days...but still, not a good sign if those are their number one concerns! I have always had good luck with Kijiji though...most of my clients have come through it. Also, I am a member of CCPRN here in Ottawa...I've had quite a few inquiries through that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spixie33
I answer those questions just because you never know it may turn out to be a great lead.... The fee question I usually ask them some questions before giving out my fees.....cause "what do you charge is too vague" it's like asking how much is a car ....well it all depends on what hours they want how many days a week and so on .... I fell into that trap in my early days when I just answered the question and then I found out later they wanted to drop off before I opened and they were going to be the last pick up and it was for sporadic shifts each week .... So now I ask questions .... The serious ones will answer back and give lots of info and others won't reply at all ....I have never even had an Interview from daycare bear .... I had three calls only ...I have never been on Craig list ....
What they are really asking is do you expect them to pay for those days and how will it effect them. Some take vacation days by hubby being off work for two weeks and doing stuff around the house or even taking the whole group on outings with just the odd family day and daycare kids stay home. Others take a month off every summer and go to visit relatives.
What we have to remember in home care is that if the family goes to a daycare centre those are not issues because when one staff member has vacation or a sick day there are others to cover and so the daycare family just carries on as normal. With homecare what we do matters. If you close every time you or your child needs an extra cuddle day then families are left in the lurch and if they don't have family in the area will likely pass you by. Also some that have vacation and sick days built into their contract simply use them sick or not as in a personal day. Not saying we don't deserve them but again since not everyone does it a family looking for continuity of care will pass a provider by that seems to want time off all the time.
When answering an email like that it is also ok to say something like yes I take vacation just as you the parents get vacation days and personal days from your work - as in remind the parent that they get them.
Things change over the years too. When our kids were small and we lived in Calgary we took three weeks every summer and drove back to Ontario to visit the grandparents.
Once our kids got old enough to go to university that was hubby's vacation time - taking the kids and their stuff to their respective universities end of Aug and going and getting them end of April. No room in the van to make it a family vacation. So for me I just carried on doing daycare during vacation time. I do inhouse vacation days. That means every so often I just have to get caught up on stuff and they play or watch tv all day while I do more of my own thing and parents appreciate the continuity and the kids like the break too.
I also did what flex fun did I responded to parents looking and found some of my first clients that way.
I guess the responses I get from Daycarebear are usually more thoughtful. usually responses advise me of their child's age, when they need daycare and then ask a few questions about availability.
Kijiji just seems more like a buy and sell site to me and the questions I got about fee, whether I take vacation and sick days make it seem like they are bargain hunters rather than serious.
I am going to reply in a bit once I gather my thoughts but I just am not sure kijiji garners the best responses for me. Maybe it is my area or something :)
Thanks for all your feedback guys
I interview kijiji parents veeeeerrrrrry carefully. I agree with you spixie that parents who come from daycarebear are more informed people and have gone the extra mile to find quality caregivers.
Word of mouth is the best from your current clients recommending you to co-workers. Advertising at hospitals, big corporations, libraries, variety stores, putting a flyer around in the neighbourhood mailboxes. There are so many things you can do, just get your name out there. Walking around the neighbourhood or at parks and playgroups with your daycare children works wonders too. You meet lots of Moms about to go back to work from maternity leave.
One of the reasons the parents from Daycarebear don't have the same questions is because more information is available in our listing including when the space is open, the ages we are taking, the price, our hours, a full description etc. When we post on kijiji or similar sites we tend to condense it and give out only a bit of info with the idea we want parents to call us to get the details so we can convince them to come and interview.
I think the reason I've had good luck with kijiji is that I have a link to my website which offers most of the information they need (although I don't put my vacation or sick days on the website). I've always found great families through Kijiji although I have to admit, as a parent, it never would have occurred to me to look on Kijiji!
I use exactly the same ad on every website, even kijiji with a link to my website too. I think it's the website and all the pictures that pre-sell people because they see all the fun and action and get a sense of your home from those pictures.
I have found, too, that with kijiji, you find a lot more "tire kickers". People who are just asking questions, etc.
That said, I still received most of my past business from that site!