...to provide in home daycare!

I think I'm going to bring in kids to my home so that I can still be with my own kids, but yet bring in that much needed income. Does anyone have any tips for me? What should I charge? How should I advertise? Do I need to do anything special? How many of what age kids should I take in?

I have no idea how these things are done in the USA. So the only piece of advice I can give you it to have no more than 2 kids in addition to your own. You'll have your hands full.

I would get lisenced first. You can then write off your expenses. Also check with your homeowners insurance you want to make sure you have extra coverage as daycare kids aren't covered under your normal policy. I have my lisence. Might be different between states. There is a Child Care Connection here in Mi you can register with for free, also put flyers up at the school, grocery store, etc.

Also if your lisenced (which you should be) you can apply for the food program when the gov remburses you some money for food.

PM me if you want.

Definitely check into licensing. Around here, you can get licensed through the community college, and they will let you know all the rules and regulations. Other than that, I'd start checking out yard sales and that kind of thing to stock up on toys for various ages. Have fun!

Definitely get licensed. Speaking from experience, I know that in home daycare doesn't have a very large teacher/student ratio. You are only allowed so many children, including your own. I think it is a great idea and I'm sure you would love it. I loved my center and wish everyday that I still had it. I've kept all of my daycare stuff just in case we ever move to a house that has a basement that we can convert into a daycare. I thought about inhome daycare but I didn't like the idea of having my house as a daycare center. I mean basically, you have to leave your house like a daycare all of the time. I like the idea of having the center seperate from our living space. I don't know if that is something that bothers you or not but it would me. Good luck and feel free to ask me any questions you may have. Like Anne suggested, definitely check out yard sales for toys. You can definitely find alot of bargains!!

Karly... I run a home daycare and have been doing so for the past 2 years... my first year was spent licenced through an agency... and I wasnt very pleased with that - because I was limited to how many children I could have at one time, and if I wanted to take in children privately, I had alot of annoying stipulations to adhere to. Plus, since going privately, I make more money and have a LEGAL contract that I have developed that completely protects me from parents who try to rip me off or take advantage of my business.

Feel free to pm me if you are looking for information. I know that being licenced is a good thing... but for me, private is the way to go. Also, I increased my liablility coverage on my home and vehicle - just in case a parent tries to sue me for whatever reason. It really didnt cost us much per year.

Oh and having a home daycare is WONDERFUL in the way of tax-deductable write-offs. I can claim groceries, utilities, mortgage interest, house insurance, vehicle use, toy purchases, supply purchases, housekeeping expenses, yard maintenance expenses... ect... :)

If you do go unlicenced, I would still recommend getting a Home Fire Inspection done by the local fire department (at least, this is done in Canada), and also be sure to have an up to date First Aid/CPR course.

There are alot of home daycare websites to provide support and information too. Again, feel free to PM me Karly :)

...to provide in home daycare!

I think I'm going to bring in kids to my home so that I can still be with my own kids, but yet bring in that much needed income.

Does anyone have any tips for me?see previous post :lol:

What should I charge? Call newspaper ads in your local paper, pretending to be a parent looking for care... that will give you a basic idea of what the *going rate* is for your area

How should I advertise? e-flyer, website via geocities or something like htat, business cards, door to door flyers, posters for corkboards at libraries, grocery stores, ect... word of mouth, let school officials in the area know (see flyer suggestion ;) )

Do I need to do anything special? see above post

How many of what age kids should I take in?depends on how busy you want to be, and how much income you want to make. Oh and how quickly you want to loose your sanity too ;)

I don't have any advice, but good luck!!! :) If I ever need to make a little more money this is the route I'd go. :up: