Wanting to provide daycare to one child in Whitby, ON

[Ayesha Irfan]

Im a mom of two with ample time on my hands. My son goes to school full time and my 2 yr old daughter is at home with me. I want to take in a child full time. How do I go about this? please let me know. My house is super clean. It is a pet and smoke free house and I am very good and gentle with children. I have experience taking care of children as well.

Thanks

[Momof4]

Do you have an Ontario Early Years Centre near you? They are in most cities in Ontario and offer courses for opening a home daycare and would be your very best starting place for educational material. They will also help you advertise and meet other people to network your business.

I opened my home daycare without being prepared so you already have a head start on how I began because you have small children, lots of toys and equipment. Make sure you have playpens, cots or other sleeping areas and booster or high chairs for mealtimes. Make up your resume to show potential clients and a website is very helpful after you open and get a program up and running. Maybe after a year or two you will want to develop into a professional daycare, but you may want to start out as a babysitter. There is a huge difference you know. Think about your fees and expenses, because you want to make a little profit at the end of the day. Think about whether you want to feed the children or have them bring their own food. Most of us have parents supply all diapers, wipes, baby food and formula, then feed the children when they are old enough to eat regular table food.

Advertising on this site has been the most successful for me, then there is kijiji of course, but I get better quality of parents from daycarebear. When I place my ad I link it to my website, which I have worked on for a few years until I perfected it. Set up an interview time and give parents a tour of your home and talk about how you plan to run the daily routines. Make sure you meet the children and let the parents know that you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. If you meet parents who want to run your business or children with behavioural problems you have to be prepared to deal with all of that and learn. You have to stand up for yourself and demand respect and a contract is a must. Then everything is in black and white and non-negotiable. It's kind of a learning curve.

Ask questions on forums and find some other people in the business who will give you good advice and support because working from home can be lonely and we need to reach out to others who understand our special problems.