How often do you have to fill a spot?

[GymMom]

Do most kids stay in your care long-term or do you find that kids come and go frequently? I have just started and as of November 1st will have 5 kids in my dayhome. Just wondering if most kids are around for a few years or if I should be expecting to replace some sooner rather than later!

[tray]

I think every year i lose one or two but the majority stay with me for a few years.

[Play and Learn]

Thing about daycare is that you'll never know! I like parents to be upfront and honest with me, so communication is key.

I have parents tell me at the interview that this would be a short-term position. Because dcm was upfront with me, and for other reasons, I took her son on for 6 months.
One kid has been with me for 3.5 years. Others a year.

Again, just depends.

[playfelt]

I only take kids till they start school so they start generally around 11-12 months and leave to start JK. That is a best case scenerio. Now if the parents are planning another baby around the time the first one is 18 months you are needing to plan for a potential mat leave with the mom not having any idea of her plans and sometimes it means them moving to a bigger house too so if location doesn't work any more then you have a space to fill.

I try to depend on the money from three kids and treat the income from the others as bonus money to be saved for lean times.

[apples and bananas]

I think the first kids you have in care are usually a factor as well. I started over a year ago and have gone through 3 families (5 kids) I lost them all for different reasons. One set was a mat leave and they lived too far away to continue care pt and the other 2 I terminated. Knowing what I know now I would have never excepted them to begin with.... so... depending on how good you are in the first year, expect to loose a few and gain a ton of experiance doing it.

Congratulation s on filling! Such a good feeling when your starting out nice and full.

[cfred]

It's a mix. I started my home daycare 11 years ago. I've had many clients stay from 6 mos/1yr until school age. Some stayed with me until well into school. One little girl just left at 9 yrs only because I moved. Another, 6 yr old, has been with me since 4 mos.....now just wknds, which I'm ok with as I miss her. However, I've had a few stay only a year or 2 but most are 3 yrs and up. I think it depends on your area too. I was in a rural area where daycare and clients are sparse. Usually parents and I were happy to have found each other so we held on. I suspect it's different in a city.

Congratulations on filling up! Job well done

[Momof4]

I like to take children on at age 1 so that I have them for close to 3 years to minimize my turnover too, but as the previous posters already said, you never know in this business. People move, people have another baby and go on mat leave, there's no guarantee.

[fruitloop]

Ya, as pp have said, it really varies. I've had kids stay for 2 - 3 years and I've had kids stay 10 months - 1 year. Nothing is guaranteed in this business.

[daycarewhisperer]

My average kid stays three years ten months. That's keeping records for ten years on the day shift and averaging the length of stay. It's a cycle of building the infant under two slots with stable families to grow into the older kid slots and replacing each slot then with newborns/infants as the kids age out to kindergarten. I don't count in families I have termed. (two in two decades of doing home care)