How long are you in for? LOL

[Spixie33]

I'm just wondering how long everyone has been doing home daycare and how long they plan to be doing it.
I have met a lot of people who have gotten out after about 1.5 years and said it was too much for them....and then there seem to be others who have done it for over 5 years and even 10 years. (hats off to those people!)
I have been doing the home daycare since 7 months now. So far so good but people keep asking me how long I plan to do it for. These are usually friends and family. Almost as soon as I annpounced what I was going to do - they asked me for how long. Bizarre.
However....it has gotten me thinking about how long. I am not sure I am meant to do this for 5-10 years but I am not in a hurry to get out of the home daycare either. So far it is challenging but rewarding too and I have found great kids and families. I have not fully booked myself so I feel like everything is managable.

I think I am starting my realestate course this month but even so I still plan to continue through in daycare until I graduate and beyond. I might just see through until all the young ones start school. I would feel bad to just leave people hanging and forced to find new care

So...long story short....do you have an exit plan or timeline??

[playfelt]

Actually I am in my 25th year of home daycare. I did have an exit plan in 1992 or at least had started to think about one. At tha point our youngest was in kindergarten so I would have all three kids in school full days. My training was as an elementary school teacher so had thought about making plans to go back into the teaching system but maybe starting out as an assistant with a special needs class or something along those lines. Then we found out we were pregnant so that changed the plans for the next 6 years. Our youngest has special needs so that extended it even more as I decided to homeschool her as part of the daycare group since her developmental level is the same as the toddlers. She turned 18 in January and I turned 53 in Februrary and well we don't really have an exit plan anymore. I do have my educational felt business to fall back on which I would rev up as my main career and downsize or stop the daycare - someday maybe.

[Play and Learn]

I hope forever! I would love to close for when I have children of my own, but it all depends on how many dance students I have, to pay for our mortgage. We're planning on starting a family within the next year - we both hate being in debt, so now that we're debt free, and putting away for our savings, and holidays, we can try starting come Aug/Sept! I would probably work up until I'm due, and then close for 5 months to a year (depending). I would keep dcg age 2, as she's like one of my own!

When my kids are in school, I will probably switch to school-age only, so I can do whatever during the days.

That's our plan anyway...we'll see how it works out!

[second mom]

I have been running my day home for 11 years and can't imagine commuting downtown in rush hour traffic. I love being free to throw a load of laundry, hang out at the park or make a new dish for dinner while the kids are napping. This past year I haven't had a full house and am struggling I can afford to pay only the bills but never any extra cash. I know it is spring and people tend to move around so I will start getting phone calls soon. Right now I have 4 full time and one school age and of the group 3 belong to a teacher so I will be short on cash when they leave for the summer. Another one is listing their home for sale and who knows how long or if I will still have him after. If this all happens at once that means I will only have one here, it seems to have dried up for some reason. I have posted on free online advertising sites as well as posting notices in the local grocery stores and walk-in medical clinics. Not much response. I only charge $650/m (and can't offer subsidy) and the day care centres charge between $800 and $1000/m even with subsidy my price is still lower so how come I haven't been full for over a year?

[Tinkerbell]

I have been running my home daycare for 19 years. My exit plan was about 13 years ago, but that never happened. I have loved to be here for my own kids, while they grow up, and not have to put up with traffic and office politics. That's not to say that there isn't 'drama' doing this job, as we all know. It has been a very rewarding job and I have had the pleasure to meet many wonderful families and make many friends. I've always said that if I win the lottery, I'm out...but until then, I'll know when the time is right.

[mlc1982]

I will try to do this at least until my youngest starts school ...shes 8 mths right now. I wonder if i'll make it that long sometimes since this is a tough job. Some days are great and some are so exhausting. If I could keep my business going once the kids are in school and just do b/a school care, that would be ideal.

[giraffe]

I'm in my 12th year... loving it more and more as I go on. I plan on doing this for at least another 7 years if not longer...

[sunnydays]

I have just started and plan to do it at least until my youngest starts school (she's ten months now), but if I find at that point that I am loving it and doing okay financially, I will keep going. I don't miss the career-mom rat race and all the rushing here and there and never seeing the kids. I do find this a challenge, but I am just beginning and I can already see that it's starting to get easier, so I think it will get a lot easier with more time.

[momto3plus1angel]

My youngest is now almost 7. I originally said I'd do this until she went to gr 1 which was this year but as this year came up I just couldn't imagine doing anything else, or being told what to do and when to do it lol.

I now plan on doing this for at least 5 more years full time and then I may try and do a preschool 2-3 mornings a week or something.

[Tot-Time]

I started my home daycare 15 1/5 years ago.

6 years ago I started my exit plan. I reduced my home daycare to before and after school kiddies which allowed me to take my ECE full time. I graduated in 2 years through distance education. After graduating I was supposed to work in a centre.

And I did, for a year. I dabbled in many avenues, such as respite care, nursery school, and infant and preschool rooms in a daycare centre. As much as I loved working outside the home, I loved being home for my daughters when they needed me. So back to daycare where I belong.

Now my daughters are 16 and 13 and I wonder what the future holds. Retirement for my hubby is just a little more than 3 years away, which is when I plan on slowly reducing my daycare. I think for the first few years I will take in kindergarten children if there isn't a full day program here yet. Then reduce daycare to before and after school until both girls are out of college/university.