What would you like your daycare to provide that isn't being provided?

[nschildcare]

I don't know what the regs are... so take what I am saying with a grain of salt.

I think that catering to one age group would be a good thing in many ways. The set up would be ideal for that age group, activities, meals, etc etc. I know many centres and home daycares (here) won't accept children until they are 18 months. So parents need something until that age, kwim?

If you are limited by age how many children you can have, then I would revisit the notion of catering to an age and instead cater to a philosophy (ie: what you think is important in childcare, play through learning, etc etc).

Good luck!

[Momof4]

I have a few comments. I know there are people who do it, but why would you want to split your income with someone else? No matter how many adults are in the house you can still only have the income from 5 children.

Everyone who is looking for daycare is a Mom returning from maternity leave so all children start out daycare at about 1 year of age, some a bit younger. The best scenario is to have the child stay with you for 3-4 years until they go to JK to reduce turnover, interviewing, and transitioning new children, which can be it's own nightmare. So as someone already mentioned, if you were going to cater only to infants you would be transitioning nonstop.

Then of course we have Bill 143 hanging over our heads.

[Smartbaby]

"Where I am located families really value healthy, organic eating, educational programming, great daycare set up, and low caregiver to child ratio and they are willing to pay more"

These are all things, along with credentials that I see as basic care that should be included in any program and are already the foundation of my offering; I'm hoping to find what people consider perks...

[Smartbaby]

I have a few comments. I know there are people who do it, but why would you want to split your income with someone else? No matter how many adults are in the house you can still only have the income from 5 children.

Everyone who is looking for daycare is a Mom returning from maternity leave so all children start out daycare at about 1 year of age, some a bit younger. The best scenario is to have the child stay with you for 3-4 years until they go to JK to reduce turnover, interviewing, and transitioning new children, which can be it's own nightmare. So as someone already mentioned, if you were going to cater only to infants you would be transitioning nonstop.

Then of course we have Bill 143 hanging over our heads.

Thanks...good point, mostly I believe that I really specialize in infant care, though of course all kids are special! But this is a very compelling point-transitioning is work!

[Smartbaby]

I don't know what the regs are... so take what I am saying with a grain of salt.

I think that catering to one age group would be a good thing in many ways. The set up would be ideal for that age group, activities, meals, etc etc. I know many centres and home daycares (here) won't accept children until they are 18 months. So parents need something until that age, kwim?

If you are limited by age how many children you can have, then I would revisit the notion of catering to an age and instead cater to a philosophy (ie: what you think is important in childcare, play through learning, etc etc).

Good luck!

Thanks, I appreciate the input, all of it! I guess at the end of the day I feel my care may be more concentrated and effective when dedicated to one age group. My aim is going to be to provide highly personalized attention and I believe that conceptual challenges can occur at a very young age. The infant years are marked by very fast growth and learning and I want to focus attention on presenting challenges that lay educational framework early on. This isn't to say I can't provide that to all ages, it's just a more concentrated focus in a more homogeneous group.

So many considerations on both sides!

I suppose since I will be a very small centre, I maybe can just fill a very small niche.

[Lee-Bee]

You'd be setting yourself up to have very high turn over and always be in a state of transition. Few families need care for children before 12months of age. Some may need care at 10 or 11 months but there really are not that many that seek care much earlier. Depending on what you define as "Toddler" you'd be getting a new child, having them settle in and then a couple months later kicking them out to find toddler care.

I currently have 5 kids ages 13-16months and I love it BUT I know that this is not going to last long. The families will start having 2nd kids, some will leave on mat leave some will return with a younger sibling, some will move or just leave and I'll fill those spots with a 12month old. The group may all be the same age now but in time my group will shift and I'll have a wider age range...it's just the nature of home care.

As much as I love having them close together I would never make a family leave because their toddler is to old. The hardest parts of this job are getting the children settled into routine. By the time they are toddlers they are familiar with the routine and are actually helping etc. I'd HATE to have to keep transitioning in new infants.

While I think the idea sounds great on paper in the realties of home daycare I don't think it is a feasible and I don't think families would sign on for it. They want their child in a home setting and they want to envision their infant staying there until school age.

[Momof4]

"Where I am located families really value healthy, organic eating, educational programming, great daycare set up, and low caregiver to child ratio and they are willing to pay more"

These are all things, along with credentials that I see as basic care that should be included in any program and are already the foundation of my offering; I'm hoping to find what people consider perks...

Parents choose me for many reasons. I serve mostly organic all home made food, run weekly themes and teach all kinds of art, music and dancing, art mediums of all kinds, science, and so much more. The children were studying my globe today and one 3 yo little girl found some garbage on it where someone didn't clean up their earth, ha. Because we've been out there picking up garbage this week. They know where Canada, the north pole and many other points are located on my globe - basic geography. They are ready for school when they leave here.

They know all my songs and stories year by year from all the holidays, seasons and have favourite puppets and games. Why? Because they are here year after year and repetition reinforces learning. I think Smartbaby, that you might have fantastic qualifications for a specialized job, and there is a lot to learn to be successful in this field, but I'm just trying to point out why low turnover is good and how much of a difference we can make in a child's life if we are with them for more than a year.

Then of course there are all the families who keep in touch, return to visit and I'm enjoying watching them grow with all the seeds of knowledge I planted in those little minds. But to me, home daycare means families working together. But I need to make a living and if you have a low caregiver to child ratio, you are talking about a very low income. I need to have all 5 spaces filled and luckily, I'm in demand and successful. But that took a lot of work too.

[5 Little Monkeys]

If you are set on caring for a specific age group, have you considered applying to daycare centres and working in the baby rooms?

[Smartbaby]

If you are set on caring for a specific age group, have you considered applying to daycare centres and working in the baby rooms?

Good question except at his point I'm choosing this a business for myself because I have a large renovated house downtown, I love babies, there is a need for quality child care and I am in a transition phase where I want out of academia to pursue more fulfilling options. Working at someone else's daycare is not something I would be considering at this point in the game.

I think the points I can distill from this discussion are from the providers side and in summation:

-it may be hard to focus on infants as parents may find the near eventuality of finding new care insurmountable
-focusing on infants potentially breaks strong or developing bonds made with the child when they have to leave
-focusing on infants means breaking a stream of income and being in perpetual transition

All good points

The research I have done informally suggests that there is a serious shortage of infant care in toronto and that many parents are frustrated already that their children may be split up due to the fact that many centres can't accept all siblings if one is under the age req. Further the caregiver infant ratio is higher and driving cost up making the acceptance of infants less appealing to providers.

Hence it would seem that if possible, a partnership of sorts with a provider that caters to over 18 months would make a nice dynamic service allowing both them and myself to focus on certain age groups but causing less transitional headaches...after all as kids and adults we graduate to new schools and different programs all the time.

Anyway, the discussion has caused much reflection. I appreciate all the input and think most likely I will be accepting infants and then gauge the needs of the group as we grow and limits of my service as they appear.

[Smartbaby]

You'd be setting yourself up to have very high turn over and always be in a state of transition. Few families need care for children before 12months of age. Some may need care at 10 or 11 months but there really are not that many that seek care much earlier. Depending on what you define as "Toddler" you'd be getting a new child, having them settle in and then a couple months later kicking them out to find toddler care.

I currently have 5 kids ages 13-16months and I love it BUT I know that this is not going to last long. The families will start having 2nd kids, some will leave on mat leave some will return with a younger sibling, some will move or just leave and I'll fill those spots with a 12month old. The group may all be the same age now but in time my group will shift and I'll have a wider age range...it's just the nature of home care.

As much as I love having them close together I would never make a family leave because their toddler is to old. The hardest parts of this job are getting the children settled into routine. By the time they are toddlers they are familiar with the routine and are actually helping etc. I'd HATE to have to keep transitioning in new infants.

While I think the idea sounds great on paper in the realties of home daycare I don't think it is a feasible and I don't think families would sign on for it. They want their child in a home setting and they want to envision their infant staying there until school age.

Just to clarify, not necessarily to you but you mention ages. I believe infants are anywhere between birth and 18 months. But even caring for those up to 22 months allows a year or more with an infant and that is a very important year. Their needs change drastically at some point soon after which is also a huge transition.