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  1. #1

    Opening Home Daycare - Question about licensing...

    Hello everyone,

    I am new to all of this. I am a mom of a 6 month old boy. I have been thinking of opening up a home daycare instead of returning to work when my maternity leave comes to an end. I have my ECE Diploma and am registered with the college of Early Childhood Educators.

    I have a question regarding home daycares and licensing. I am aware that if I run a home day care and have less than 5 children it can be unlicensed.

    I live in Toronto and our place is much too small to run a small daycare. We rent out the main floor of a house. If I find a house to rent (similar to the set-up I currently have) and run my daycare from that house but not live there can this be done or do I then have to be licensed as it is not in my own home?

    Any guidance would be much appreciated.

  2. #2
    Euphoric !
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    My understanding is that it has more to do with the caregiver then the house e.g. 5 kids of non parentage (in addition to your own). I understand what you are saying about small spaces in Toronto. I don't know if this is a wise move though. The business fluctuates greatly at times and if you need to make a certain amount just to pay off a daycare expense (rent) each month in addition to your families bills etc it may not be viable. The market is particularly rocky at the moment and we are unsure what will be happening down the road re: licensed vs unlicensed. The business may not be viable at all in a yr or two for any of us.

    What about just renting a larger space for your family and run it from your home? One of the major perks of this job is the commute; do you really want to mess with that?

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  4. #3
    Euphoric !
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    There is a thread on here about running a daycare from a small space. You would be surprised how much you can do with limited resources. You will be using your whole house at various times of the day and really once children are involved in activities they don't need a lot of room to do it. I know with your training you are seeing a daycare centre but that is not what home care is about. A bin of books on the table beside the couch is a reading corner. A feltboard for circletime slides under the couch when not in use and the coffee table goes out against the wall with the farm set on it giving you the middle of the room for play. Meals, crafts, and manipulatives happen in the kitchen. The key will be if you have outside space or access to a park so the kids can get out and run about.

    From what I am hearing Toronto is in desperate need of childcare and you shouldn't have problems filling spaces. If space is small then consider taking in infants/toddlers which need less space than preschoolers/school age.

    You can take in 5 children of any age mix you like - there are no age restrictions when you are private. I believe you need to live in the place you do the daycare or it becomes a commercial venture with a whole different set of rules.

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  6. #4
    Starting to feel at home... jammiesandtea's Avatar
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    To answer your question, a home daycare MUST be run from the home you actually live in. Otherwise, it would have to be licensed as a daycare center, and would be subject to all of the rules and regulations in the DNA (which are usually rather expensive, to convert a home to meet all the requirements).

    Also, as an unlicensed home daycare, you mentioned "less than 5", but you can have up to 5 children in addition to your own.

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  8. #5
    Euphoric ! Dreamalittledream's Avatar
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    Just had to say love your user name 'Jammiesandtea". Love that perk of our job...comfy clothes and unlimited tea all day
    Children are great imitators.
    So give them something great to imitate.

    ~Anonymous~

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  10. #6
    Starting to feel at home... jammiesandtea's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dreamalittledream View Post
    Just had to say love your user name 'Jammiesandtea". Love that perk of our job...comfy clothes and unlimited tea all day
    Thanks! It's indeed an awesome perk of our job!

    (Although, the jammies part is reserved for after daycare hours, lol. But yoga pants are basically as comfy as jammies anyway.)

  11. #7
    Starting to feel at home...
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    I agree with Torontokids, I am also in the TO area and find it very hard to make a decent living doing this. I was a bit naive and thought it would be a lot easier, as I also have my ECE and am a primary teacher- but my only stable dck for 6 months- his mom just told me this morning that they'll have to withdraw him in a few weeks!
    Good luck, I would look for a bigger space to rent so you can look after kids in your own home- paying rent for 2 places is just not a good idea. Good luck!

  12. #8
    Thanks everyone for all your input. I will try and make things work here at home.

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