Don't you wish...

[shopgirl]

you could tour other home daycares? Obviously you wouldn't want people doing this to you but its so weird when I am opening a daycare.. i have NO IDEA how I compare to others. I wish I could be a fly and tour some home daycares to get a sense of set up- what others really do during the day etc.... does my dayhome and activities look crappy compared to others or is it much better... don't you ever wish you knew what the "competition" was doing??

[mimi]

You know, not really. I am proud of my daycare and judging from what I have learned on this forum and talking to other providers, I know I can compete with most anyone as they with me. We all do things differently and I know I genuinely love what I do and I love being with the kids (most of the time) and I invest my time and energy into providing the best program and meals I can................s o I'm just doing my best and that is good enough for me.

[Momof4]

Actually, it does make you feel really good about your own daycare after you visit others. Or at least it helped me feel more confident. My daycare toyroom is my living room because I'm in an apartment and I felt inadequate at first because of the size of my home but after visiting daycares of several other ladies in my city who mostly have basement room daycares I felt much better.

Now I know my space is more than adequate and bright and comfortable so I feel a lot better. However, I don't have the big bright dedicated daycare centre type room, mine is cozier and I switch up the toys all the time and have them stored in a cupboard with doors on the front so my living room is mine again in the evenings. I have to bring the craft supplies down from my storage room upstairs so I have to be organized and I don't do sensory bins and the open concept crafting, but my opinion of sensory is that everything children touch, smell and see is already sensory.

You can look at other people's websites if you want to get good ideas about their setups. Mimi is right, we all do things differently and whatever works best for us. If we were all the same how would the parents choose???

[sunnydays]

I know what you mean. I had the experience of looking at many daycares when I was looking for care for my son 2 years before I opened my own daycare, so I had an idea, but it would have been great to see a bunch of daycares when I was opening. I think it would have given me confidence when I was begining as I didn't know for sure if others had better set-ups etc. Now I am very confident as I hear from parents that many of the daycares they have been to are nothing like mine...so with time, I am sure you will learn from parents as well as this forum and you will figure out whether you are worse, similar or far better than other daycares in your area. I think if you offer a daycare program and set-up that you are truly proud of and a place you would feel great about putting your own child in, then you will be great! When I started my daycare, I thought about all the things I would have loved to have in a daycare when I was looking and I implemented all of these things. It worked for me Good luck to you!

[momofnerds]

I do like to look and see what others offer. sometimes I see something that would work in my house and sometimes I have to say---you have kids here???

[playfelt]

I often look online at daycare layouts. One thing to do is to type in a different city to kijiji and then look under childcare and look at some of the pictures people have posted. Also interesting to compare how it varies from area to area.

Our childcare association has done tours in the past where several caregivers opened their homes and then small groups went from home to home checking out the layouts and the person got to show things and talk about how and why they did certain things or didn't do other things. They haven't done that for a long time. I think more and more caregivers have become recluse and protective of their daycare setups hoping to have some kind of an edge over someone else. That happens when there is a lot of competition for spaces.

I think it is really great to see catagories like diaper changing or housekeeping centre or storage of naptime supplies, front door cubbies, that sort of thing and often you can combine ideas to have something that really works for you.

[Skysue]

I love looking at other daycare spaces on Kijiji.ca for inspiration, some of you ladies have amazing set ups that I would dream to have. I think if you make the most of the space you have then you are already above the rest.

Offering an amazing program is what sets us above as well, you could have the most beautiful space but suck as a daycare provider.

[gcj]

there are as many different types of daycares as there are types of parents. Do what you feel makes sense and holds true to your beliefs. The people that choose to send their kids to you will do so because they value the same things as you. By being like another, you're not true to yourself, and won't find appropriate matches.

I'm assuming you just meant in a nosy kind of way and I got all deep and sentimental But you are you and your daycare is yours. Even if you're the only one doing something a certain way, if you have your reasons for it then you'll find parents that agree with your way of thinking.

[apples and bananas]

It's always nice to know what the guy next door is doing.

And, when you interview clients you'll find out. I always ask if they've been to see anyone else in the area. It's important that they like the daycare, but it's also important that they are a good fit with the daycare. I've heard tons of stories about some of the daycares in my area just from asking that question.

[playfelt]

What looking at other daycare setups does is give us ideas. We normally have identified an area that is an issue such as separating babies from older kids and then looking at what others have done gives us an idea of how we could rearrange our furniture to accomplish the same thing - putting the shelf on it's side makes a half wall instead of a tall one - but sometimes it takes seeing that to have one of those oh yeah moments why didn't I think of that. It is especially good for those just starting out because it also gives them an idea of what are the most common toys and activities you see from daycare to daycare so a good way to make a shopping list of toys and furniture you would like to have.