Hello!

I am a Registered ECE in Ontario and I have worked in licensed Centre-based childcare for the past 5 years. I am opening my home childcare this September and already have families enrolled. I am very passionate about professionalism and the quality of care I give.

I am planning to be having a child of my own around next summer (2021) and want to have a year off (unpaid) to have a "maternity leave" with my child. I am wondering if I could have some feedback about my options....

As an unlicensed home childcare, operating as a sole proprietership in Ontario, what can I do? Should I close for a year and when should I give families notice? Am I able to hire a previous colleague of mine to run the program out of my home while I am off? What if I licensed it and someone else ran it out of my home?

How do I help families? I don't like the idea of being open for only September 2020- June 2021 then closing until September 2022, but I don't want to run it on my own with a newborn (precious moments in life I don't want to sacrifice)

Any thoughts on what I can do functionally in this situation? Thanks!