Infant home daycare center?

Question

I'd like to start watching infants/toddlers in my home. Max number of kids-- 3. I'd only except kids aged 0-2. It'd be in my home. I'm experienced with references and child/infant CPR/First Aid certified. I live in Ft. Hood Tx. How much should I charge per infant? And what kinds of equipment should I have on hand before I even advertise? Thanks in advance

It's a military town so most likely 5:30 am to 5:30 or 6, sometimes later in the evenings. Any activities for babies?

Answer 1

I have been a licensed child care provider in my home in Michigan for 20 years. The first thing you should do is check with your state to see what licensing requirements are in place for caring for unrelated children in your home. In Michigan, if you care for unrelated children in your home on a regular basis you must be licensed by the state which is overseen by the Department of Human Services. For us, babies under the age of 18 months are considered infants and one care giver may only have 2 children in this age group at any one time. The fee you charge is going to depend a lot on what your area can support. Also, will you want only full-time families or will you accept part-time as well? Each child care home and center in our state is free to set their own rates. Some charge by the hour, some by the day or 1/2 day, some by the week. I currently only provide part-time care and I charge by the hour since my families' schedules are flexible and changeable. I charge $3/hour/child, which in our county is on the low end of the fee scale. A child care center I know charges $54/day and $30/half-day for infants. Another family home provider I know charges $100/week. Basic large equipment pieces you should have include at least one porta-crib/pack-n-play and a high chair. A double/twin stroller is nice for walks and getting outside daily. An infant swing, an exercise seat, and a bouncer seat are also nice to have. Age appropriate toys that are easily washed/sanitized, such as teething rings and rattles are easy to pick up at dollar stores and yard sales or on sale at places like K-Mart and Target. I provide wipes plus I keep extra diapers on hand. After a child turns 1 I provide all food and beverages. Prior to age 1 parents bring formula/breast milk and baby food. A play mat or a colorful quilt for babies to use for floor play and "tummy time" is helpful. Lots of board books, some children's music CD's, and a couple children's DVD's are good for some quiet time. I have sippy cups, bowls, plates, silverware, and bibs for everyone. For infants, I always have parents bring to leave at my house an extra bottle, pacifier, can of formula, and any other item specific to their child's needs (such as diaper rash cream) that may inadvertently be forgotten in the diaper bag while getting ready on a hectic morning. I keep extra sweat pants and t-shirts handy in various sizes for accidents. I also have a crib sheet and a blanket for each child since they share the cribs. I have a changing table in my bathroom that is very useful. I have one shelf in my hall closet where I keep all items for daycare plus a shelf and a cupboard in my kitchen with food and dishes plus all my paper work related to daycare. I have information cards, permission slips, and a notebook to keep track of who is in care on which days and during which times. I also keep receipts and keep track of mileage for specific daycare trips such as grocery shopping, banking, training and classes, plus the occassional picking up and dropping off of children. I don't do field trips. Look in your phone book in the yellow pages under child care services to see if you have a Child Care Referral Service in your area. They can be a resource to you in beginning a child care business.

Answer 2

I live in Memphis Tn, my children are in a home daycare and she charges $100 for infants and maybe $5 or $10 less for children over 1 yrs old. She does give a discount if you have two children in her care. She has swings, play pens, highchairs, cribs for the children. She has some outside toys also, a Little Tykes car, a sandbox; stuff like that. For older kids she has some toys but I bring my baby's teething toys each day. She has movies they can watch, and I know she teaches them songs and stuff like that. She provides the older children with breakfast, lunch and snacks - I usually send my son (4 yrs old) with a sippy cup of juice and a yogurt or pudding and she provides the rest. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I'm with your mother- unless you know the person running the home daycare VERY well, I think it is better to go with a daycare centre. I've also worked in childcare and I would NEVER put my son into any family daycare situation. There are just not enough checks and balances in place in home daycare. WHO will be allowed access to the property while your child is there? I've actually seen convicted child molesters walk in and visit with the people running home daycare WHILE the children of other people are present. A daycare centre has provisions in place should a staff member gets sick- if this woman running the home care gets sick what provisions are in place for the care of the children? What background checks and qualifications does she and EVERYONE in her household have? I've heard horror stories about friends and relatives of home daycare providers molesting children. Not just the members of her household, BUT EVERYONE who might possibly come onto the property? What are her provisions about repairmen on site while the children are present? Not every industry does background checks and if she has somebody come in to fix something while your child is present who makes sure that that person does not have a 'history'? In a centre there are usually a few staff members and children are rarely left unsupervised by fewer than two staff members- there just isn't the opportunity for damage to happen to children in a good centre. There are LOTS of opportunities in a home daycare environment. In a centre repairs are done outside opening hours, or the children are removed completely from the part of the centre where repairs take place. There just isn't opportunity for people to interfere with the children. He will probably get sick more often at first, BUT children very quickly build up an immunity to the diseases they come into contact with in childcare centres. In a home care situation that exposure is delayed until after he starts schooling- I think I would rather have him sick while he is still young enough that it won't interfere with his education. The interaction with OTHER children will make up for any shortage of attention he gets from staff members, and because of his age he would actually probably get MORE adult attention in a centre than he would in the family daycare. Pretty much EVERYWHERE it is against the law for a daycare centre to have a ratio of more than 2 children of that age per staff member- that means where I am the woman running the home daycare would actually be required to employ an additional staff member if she took on your son.

Answer 4

depends on how long you watch them. if its a normal work day prolly 6-5 or so then $100-$150 a week depending how much child care goes for in your area.

You need 3 highchairs, playpens or mats for them to sleep on, depending on the age of the child a swing may come in handy along with a walker or a bouncer. Lots and lots of toys age appropriate & movies for them to watch.

Answer 5

I would charge anywhere from 10-15 dollars an hour. But thats here in ohio i dont no about texas you could try looking it up. I would have swings bouncers toys changing table (cheapy one) pack n play highchair.

EDIT----You can go to different websites that have age appropriate games for whatever age kids you have. If I find one I will let you no.

Answer 6

http://www.daycare.com/texas/state.html

this has a bunch of information for daycare sites in texas hope it helps