Breaking Down How to Start a Home Daycare

Step-by-Step Video on How to Start a Home Daycare

If you’re thinking about starting a home daycare and aren’t quite sure how to get started, you’ve come to the right place. Running a home daycare can be a fun and rewarding experience, but it definitely requires your full dedication to make it a success. This video will go through the steps to teach you how to start a home daycare.

The first thing you’ll want to do to start a home daycare is to get licensed. You are required by law to do this and every state is a bit different, but most will require you to go through a background check and a home inspection. To start a home daycare, you’ll also need to make sure your house meets specific building codes. To access child care licensing information by state, click here.

The next step to start a home daycare is to make sure your home’s environment meets certain requirements. You’ll likely get a checklist from when you went through licensing that will tell you what types of things need to be in your home. This list will include things like smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, carbon-monoxide detectors and first-aid kids.

To start a home daycare, you’ll need to think of a name for it. The name of your home daycare should reflect the type of care you plan to give. It should also be easy to spell and say, to avoid confusion. Also, make sure the name of your home daycare is fun and catchy. Remember, this is the name you’ll be using to advertise your home daycare.

In order to start a home daycare, you need to decide what you’re going to charge. This is important to get right, because if you charge too much, you may not get any business. If you charge too little, people may think you’re under-qualified. Balance is key here. Keep in mind that the average home daycare charges $650 per month, for one child. You should also figure out what to charge on a weekly and daily basis for your home daycare. This is because some families may not need you every day of the month. Once you have these numbers, you’ll want to decide if you’re going to offer any discounts if a family has more than one child that they want you to watch. You may want to start with your base monthly price of $650 and charge $200 extra per child. So if they have two kids they want you to watch, you would charge $850. You have complete control over pricing for your home daycare, but make sure you do your research to see if what you’re charging is in range with what other home daycares charge in your area.

The next step in starting your home daycare is to gather proper supplies needed. This includes things like games, puzzles and crafts. Also decide if you’re going to serve breakfast and lunch at your home daycare. If you do, make sure to factor it into the price you charge to make up for extra costs. You should also gather a list of items parents are going to be responsible for bringing to daycare. This would include an extra set of clothes, diapers, and a pillow and blanket for nap time.

One of the final steps in setting up your home daycare is to put all needed paperwork together so you’re ready once business starts flowing in. The first one you’ll need is a contract form. This is where you state your hours and days of operation as well as what you expect to be paid. The main purpose of the contract is to ensure you and the families you work with are all on the same page and nothing is unexpected. You may also want to put together an emergency and health information form when you start a home daycare. Have them fill out a point of contact in case of an emergency, information about the child’s dentist and doctor, and who has permission to pick up their child from daycare. A transportation form is also helpful so parents can give you permission to take their child off the daycare center property. It’s also nice to have parents fill out some information about their child so you can get to know them. The final form that’s helpful when you start a home daycare is a daycare schedule for you to hand parents. Parents like to know what their child is up to on a daily basis.

Last but not least, you need to advertise your home daycare! The best way to do this is word of mouth. You’ll also want to start a website so families can find your home daycare online. You may also want to list your home daycare on services like MomTrusted, who will help spread the word about your home daycare and help bring you business. As you can see, there are many steps to start a home daycare, but it’s all worth it in the end! We hope your new home daycare is a huge success.