The Benefits of Starting a Daycare Center

The idea behind a daycare center is taking care of children. Starting this type of business venture requires a lot of things from you but if you think of all the benefits it can provide you with, there’s definitely more you will receive than you will actually shell out.

Not everyone who tries this type of business becomes successful in it. If you want to make it big in this type of business you have to have the basic characteristics like you have to be energetic, business minded, with pleasant personality, competent leader, good role model, be professional, have strong financial resources, and can provide with high quality service.

Of course you have to logically be fond of children if you want to embark on this type of business venture. You have to have the patience and enthusiasm to be around children. You have to have the high tolerance for stress, good management skills and you must have in place all the proper legal insurance.

There are several things you need to consider when starting this type of business.

-You need a good business plan.
- You need the right location for the children.
-You need the necessary licensing requirements such as insurance, zoning and taxes.
-Purchase the right equipment and materials for your center.
-Hire the right people to assist you with all the work in your facility.
-Schedule of activities that children should do each day.
-Rules and regulations that you daycare must have.

These are just few of the things you need to think about for your business.

Indeed, this business is rewarding and beneficial. You can earn a lot with this business, provided that you have the skills and knowledge in running it. If you plan to operate such business, you will be pleased to know and discover the high demand for it. It is a fact that lots of parents are busy working each day, so they most likely need the services that daycare centers can offer and provide their children with.

Having children in a daycare such as yours can be rewarding to the children, since they can gain confidence with your help. Learn how to mingle with others and learn a lot of different things from you is rewarding and beneficial on your part. The children will love you and be so attached to you, isn’t that a wonderful feeling that you are able make lots of children be confident and can learn from you.

If you will be providing quality service, more and more parents would love to bring their children in your daycare center. Knowing that their kids are in good hands, leaving you with lots of profits and at the same time you will feel fulfilled and happy since you’ve helped out many children and parents as well.

So if you think that this type of business is for you, go ahead and start with your daycare business now. Imagine of how this type of business can actually change your life and the lives of families you will touch.

See: Starting a Daycare Center

A Good Daycare Business Plan

Making a business plan for your daycare center is necessary if you intend to achieve the goals you set up for your business. Any business operations without the guidance of a business plan could just be a waste of time and resources. A business plan sets the goals that the business hopes to achieve including the manners of reaching or attaining the same. The main goal of any business is profitability which can be achieved only if the business plan will be drawing on a wide array of knowledge ranging from finance, human resources, management, and marketing and sales.

A good business plan should address the following areas:

• Government regulations on daycare business - Legitimate operation of a daycare business requires licenses or certification from the governmental unit that has jurisdiction over it. Licenses are issued only upon satisfactorily meeting safety regulations in the operation of the business. Necessary insurance coverage will be included in the requirements. Other requirements will be in the area of academic qualifications and other related training required of the owner, administrator, and staff of the daycare center. Examples of the requirement are degree or diploma, First Aid or CPR certification, and so on.

• Human Resources management - You have to include in your business plan the number of positions necessary to run the daycare center, including the qualifications required for each position. Even if you are thinking only of a home-based daycare center with yourself as the only person involved, you must make an allowance also for an available help who can take over in case you are not able to perform your duties and functions.

• Daily operations of your daycare - You have to decide how your daycare operations will be conducted. You have to plan the hours you intend to operate your daycare, your curriculum, the services you intend to offer, course materials needed, the meals of your client children, and all contracts and agreements you will enter into. If your daycare business will be done right in your house, you have to consider all the modifications in the existing property and what you need to add to make the place fit a daycare center needs. These should be carefully studied and incorporated into your business plan, otherwise you will be groping in the dark in the midst of your operations. Y

• Marketing your daycare center - You will have to decide how you will be marketing your daycare center. You have to choose from a variety of advertising methods like the use of flyers, door signs, banners, website listings, etc. Your business plan should clearly state how each method of marketing will be utilized for maximum results.

• Managing the finances of your daycare center - You have to thoroughly study and list down your estimate of expenses for the operation of your daycare business then calculate how many children will be needed to break even. From there, it will be very easy to figure out how to make profits.

A good business plan is your tool for a profitable operation of your daycare business.

See: How to start a daycare business

Building Your Day Care Business' Name is Important

One of the most powerful tools that has to do with marketing your day care business is building your brand and giving your business are really good and attractive business name.

The task of thinking and choosing the best and most attractive name for your daycare business is very important and should therefore be given a great deal of thought and consideration. You have to make sure that the name of the business that you will choose should fit the services you are to offer as well as the actual message you want to get across to your potential clients.

Here are a few guidelines that will help you choose the right name for your Daycare business.

What are the actual thoughts and feelings you want your day care business to convey? Do you want it to be more attractive to children by making it a little cutesy or more attractive to adults by giving your business a more matured branding?

Some people want their names to appear in the name of their business so that is what they simply do. They include their names in the actual name of their business like Mariol’s Daycare Business. This type of branding could be considered straightforward and direct however it does not actually attract potential clients. If I were the client I would simply ask myself “Why should I entrust my child/ren to Mariol? Who is she anyway?”

Regional (Chesapeake Child Care)
It is also relatively important that the name of your daycare business is creative but understandable. Make sure that it will clearly reflect the business that you are to offer but consummate it in an attractive and direct slogan.

It is important that you give a lot of thought and consideration when it comes to choosing the right business name for your daycare business so that you will be able to stick with it for the rest of your business’ years. It is not advisable that you would have to change the name of your business after several years because your clients might get confused and might no longer trust the kind of services you offer.

Avoid hard to spell and equally hard to pronounce names. You wouldn’t want your potential clients messing up the name of your business, right?

Check for availability to avoid any potential legal conflicts. Imagine investing your time and money into marketing materials, only to receive a cease-and-desist letter in your mailbox.

When you need just the right word, the Thesaurus is the ideal guide for a quick study in the synonym department.

Get down to brainstorming. - Come up with a master list of names and take it from there.

Register your domain name. - If you plan on having a website now's a good time to snap-up your domain before someone else does.

Limit the number of decision makers. - Decide who will have input in the naming process. Use the tips and ideas above to come up with a name that will be just the right fit for you. Don't rush yourself into coming up with a name too quickly, the time you invest in choosing a name for your daycare business is time well spent.

See: How to start a daycare business

Reasons to Choose Daycare Over a Nanny

Making the choice to put your child in daycare can be a very tough decision to make. There are a lot of stories in the news about horrible things that happen there. But fear not, the ones that make it to the six o' clock news are of course the sensational headlines. On a day to day basis, daycare is still one of the safest alternatives to child care all over the United States.

The most important thing with daycare is to make sure you find a good daycare center to leave your child in. Many parents send their children to childcare centers because they have a very structured, regulated environment. It has a set and definite pickup time, drop off time and also makes sure that the children do everything on a schedule. This is very helpful because all kids need to learn about schedules and discipline.

If you enroll your children in daycare, they will be taught many different skills, such as storytelling, dancing and singing. There are more fun filled activities as well - your child will spend the day doing projects and learning many new things. A research study has found that kids that go to good quality childcare centers do better in tests than other kids. So when looking for a daycare, make sure the one you choose has a good mix of activities for your child.

The Pros and Cons
Getting a nanny will be much more expensive than daycare and you will also be relying on only one person. When some unavoidable circumstances arise and the nanny or sitter can't come to work, you will have to find other arrangements – too often at the last minute!

At a daycare, you know that there will always be people on duty to look after your children. In case someone can't report to work, it is the responsibility of the daycare owners or manager to look for suitable replacements or substitutes.

One more thing...young children in daycare especially benefit from being able to spend time with other kids. Here, they learn important socialization skills like sharing and interacting. When your child cared by a nanny, he won't be developing these skills as quickly.

At a reputable childcare center, the staff members are usually trained in child education and child development. With such kind of training, the staff knows what to expect and are knowledgeable on how to take care of the children properly. This cannot be guaranteed with nannies or other hired help.

A downside of daycare though, is that your child won't get the one-on-one care that you or a nanny could provide. Kids need constant attention and love in order to grow up happy and healthy. When your baby or kids are at a childcare center, he or she has to share the attention of one person with other kids.

Another possible disadvantage of leaving your child in daycare is that they are more likely to be exposed to other children who may possibly be ill. It is proven true that kids in childcare centers have the tendency to contract more infections than the kids who stay at home. However, don't be afraid. Exposed to viruses and bacteria at a young age allows your child's body to learns how to fight them off naturally. Some children who are exposed to these viruses and bacteria early on are much less likely to develop allergies than other children.

All in all, the daycare option can be considered a wise choice if you manage to find a reputable daycare center. It is very important thing is to make sure there aren't too many children compared to the number of caregivers.

The ratio for children aged four and five should be one caregiver for every eight kids; and for three year old, there should be one caregiver for every seven kids.

See: How to start a daycare business

Perfect Daycare Equipments For Children

Daycare centers are the place where we entrust our children while we are at work or while we attend to other important things. When children are left at the custody of a daycare center, they have to feel secured and well taken cared of at all times. The items that should be found in the daycare center should most likely be child friendly.

There are several daycare equipments you can find in a daycare center. The most important equipments are the ones that indicate a certain level of care and concern you have for the children. You have to keep in mind to avoid equipments that can be dangerous to children like pointed items and items made from glass. Whenever you think of buying equipments for your daycare center, keep in mind that you have to make sure they are perfect for children.

Toys are of course a great part of a daycare center. In fact, no daycare center could possibly work without toys in it. Make sure that the toys you have a big enough for children not to swallow and should of course be non-toxic to make sure that they couldn’t threaten the health of the children. You wouldn’t want accidents to take place in your daycare center, would you? However, accidents tend to be unavoidable. Therefore you might want to consider buying toys that are soft and made of plastic. You can make even the simplest types of toys to look attractive if you know how to choose the most attractive colors there are.

You might also want to purchase toys that will boost children’s curiosity and toys that are actually educational. You might also want to consider purchasing dough for your daycare center where children could explore their creative minds and ideas and craft them into their designs.

Brightly colored crayons and marker pens as well as stacks of paper also complete a Daycare center. Children are allowed to write, draw, color and design anything and everything that they fancy given that they are properly guided by daycare personnel. Of course you wouldn’t want your tables and chairs, as well as your walls to have writings on them, right?

Daycare centers should also have a wide range of gooks children could from. Those who love to read will be delighted with the many varieties of books available for them. Otherwise, those who cannot read yet could simply take a look at the colorful pictures that can be found in books.

You might even want to consider setting up a place where children could rest and sleep. This room could also serve as the place where children who are misbehaving could be talked to and the like.

You can find all these and more in just about every daycare center there is. In fact, almost all daycare centers offer the same equipments for children. If you want to bring to take your child to the best daycare center there actually is, you might want to consider looking for one now.

See: How to start a daycare service

Effective Daycare Management

A home-based day care business entails a lot of work. Effective management is thus key in making he business flourish. One must understand the intricacies and demands of the business in order to make an effective business plan which is cost efficient and attuned to the client’s needs. While drafting the business plan, finding a suitable day care area in one’s home is crucial and finding the clients to engage one’s services are also great factors that would determine the success or failure of one’s business. Listed below are some tips for the effective management of a home-based day care facility.

After designating the particular area where the day care activities would be done, one must particularize the areas for the children. There must be a play area, where group activities are to be held, a eating and rest area where a child may opt to eat or rest while in the care of others. Always overlooked is an office area where one needs to make business decisions, filing area and other activities needed to operate the business and manage the facility. This area is where all the paperwork for permits, taxes, licenses and other operational issues are to be worked on. Also, separate the business of operating a day care with one’s personal business. A separate phone line and bank account are simple ways to make this separation. The phone line would address asll day care needs while a separate phone book and checking account would be answering all the financial requirements in operating the business. Having a separate room away from the day care area, with a personal computer would be basic necessities in order that one can manage the state of affairs of the business.

Another limited resource that needs to be managed effectively is time management. One needs to set aside time for the work, the business after work and one’s personal life. If one is unable to make this proper scheduling, one would not b able to address the thousand and one needs of the business and one would end up being unable to finish anything. Slotting particular hours for the day care itself and a few more for the business would be a start. Also, allot time for the family activities and even use some chores for quality time. List some break times and quiet times for one’s self so that one can be recharged every so often. Remember, child care is a very taxing business.

One disadvantage of a home-based business is the sudden visits friends and family make. Though this is may affect one’s schedule, duly informing everyone of the work time while at home is important to make one’s schedule work. Making them all realize that even if one is at home, one is at work and thus may be unable to make small talk and chit chat. Also, a different business phone would effectively make working free of any distractions.

These are but some of the small ways one can manage one’s business effectively. Balancing one’s work and personal life may be a juggling act but with their cooperation and a lot of discipline one is able to make this work effectively. Careful evaluation of one’s needs and concerns are crucial to make the balance work. Some tough policies need to be instituted and may take some time and effort to be accepted but these are but necessities in any kind of business.

See: How to start a daycare center

Child care Services - Activity Tables means Fun

Taking care of children is quite a challenging task especially for child care facilities. Children by nature, have a shorter attention span compared to adults. In child care centers, they must find ways to prevent the kids from having tantrums. One of the most effective ways of catching the attention of the kids is by providing them with fun activities. Fun activities are usually brought by activity tables that offer a wide variety of enjoyable activities for the kids.

There are certain requirements so that the activity table that you choose will surely make the children forget about time. First, a large activity table is recommended so that more than one child can use it. It is recommended that the activity table has a cover which can be closed after playing. The deeper the activity table, the better it is because it will be able to hold more stuff and toys inside.

After having the activity table, the next challenge is to search and pick things that you would like to put inside the table. Two of the common activity table fillers are sand and water. Sand is fun to be used because it can form shapes when damp. It can also be dry and can come in different colors that will capture the child’s attention. Toys such as plastic shovels and buckets can help the child to enjoy scooping and pouring the sand. Other toys such as animals, trucks, cars, little dolls and seashells can bring about a whole new imagination to the children. Water on the other hand can also be clear or tinted with bright shades. They will have enjoy pouring water and at the same time learn like washing toy dishes and bathing dolls.

Writing materials that are safe such as washable markers are helpful for them to have fun while learning to write and draw as well. During summer days, blocks of ice with little toys frozen inside is another innovative way of enjoying even with a hot weather.

Other stuff that are readily available can also be good table fillers such as dry rice, dry beans, flour, corn meal and confetti. Aside from they learn what these substances are; they can also associate color, texture and shapes. Play dough or clay is also fun way to help the kids use their imagination. Another fun activity that they can do is mixing corn starch with water. This results in a solid material when squeezed but can run through the fingers like water. Children can also use dried leaves, flowers and stick while they play. They can even use a bag of potting soil and water to play with mud.

While enjoying the activities, make sure that the children are well guided and supervised. Activity tables shall be kept clean after use. Fun activities are not only confined with books and television. You can be innovative and use available things while making the children enjoy and learn as well.

Avail ua at: How to start a childcare service

Daycare Provider – Get Trained and Get Your License!

Handling children requires a lot of endurance and patience aside from a good basic education and a love for teaching. With the modern theories brought in daily about child-rearing and teaching methods, there is a controversy whether what is a good measure in deciding facilities that are beneficial for childcare. This is why it is important for any aspiring daycare provider to know about the fundamentals of caring different age groups of children and also about the special needs of any particular child may have, be it a baby, toddler or a preschooler.

Each state has a licensing board which outlines the basic training that a daycare provider (director and teaching staff) needs to complete in order to get the required license to practice as a childcare facility support. They must also have a national certification in First-Aid and paediatric CPR to ensure safety and to have emergency medical aid for children in their care at all times and this cannot be emphasized enough in the case of the daycare provider practicing away from a health care facility where ambulance may take time to reach, therefore capable action is necessary on their part to keep the children under their care safe and healthy.

If you are really interested to become a daycare provider, get the necessary minimum training needed. The Red Cross conducts training sessions in emergency medical aid besides local hospitals and health care centers.

Another qualification for becoming a daycare provider includes secondary education degree in either child development or psychology (education as a subject will also do in some cases). You must have the ability to handle different types of children, even those with behavioral problems that require special knowledge on child psychology and maturity to deal with a variety of situations.

It is important for any licensed daycare unit to show certain degree of continuing education credits every year in order to hold on to their license. This is a proof of their interest in keeping with the latest developments in childcare and advanced techniques in handling all types of children. Attending specific subject classes, conferences, seminars and activities are some of the examples of continuous education of daycare provider.

Online Daycare Directory
So when you decided to take your home daycare business online with a brand new website decked out with all the latest bells and whistles. You will probably think that your are now in the business but you cannot conclude that right away.

You are now faced with the challenges of getting "traffic" to your website. This is critical to the online success of your business because you can have a website that holds the key to eternal youth, but if without any traffic, it is useless. So, one of the easiest and most effective ways to get targeted traffic to your website is by submitting it to online daycare directories. A daycare directory acts as an organized listing of daycare provider websites which are usually grouped by city, county, state, etc.

Many of the directories offer free listings, while some may require a small monthly or annual fee. Providers do not realize how valuable the online daycare directories are. They are especially useful because they are smaller and more focused as compared to a general directory such as Yahoo. Therefore by using the internet, you get your business in front of parents that are actively searching.

You will see that submitting your business to online daycare directories is an excellent way to increase targeted traffic to your website. In fact, taking advantage on online daycare directories should be part of your overall marketing strategy.

By submitting your website to many online daycare directories, you will have the edge for the competition so what are you waiting for?

Visit: How to start a daycare center

The Rise Of Daycare Centers

With more and more parents opting for daycare centers, a lot of experts suggest that there will be an increased demand for this over the next century. And as time goes by, the popularity for this kind of home business is seen to continue growing enormously. Why are parents opting for this in the first place? This is because of the fact that a lot of young parents of these days would have a happy memories during those times that they spent in day care centres hence they want to impart the memories to their kids as well. And this is also due to the fact that there is a continuing need for young mothers to work outside their home thus they need a place where they can allow their kids to stay while they are gone.

In terms of business gain, having a daycare center will not just provide a glorified baby-sitting services and experience. The child can also benefit from this service because of the fact that social researchers suggest that the most important years in terms of child’s development are during their one to six years of life. Hence, allowing the kid to be exposed on outside environment during those years will greatly do something in terms of his ability to learn and to appropriately adjust as he moves along his years of formal education.

Because of the expected rise for the demand of daycare centers, you may want to venture in this kind of business to obtain a considerable amount of income per month. The primary step that you have to learn when it comes to this business is to understand what makes them profitable. Although it would mean something if you have 35 to 40 students in class, still the amount that you are going to obtain if you have150 to 200 children will create a considerable difference in your income. With this, you may want to ensure that your number of student is enough to fill up the expenses that you are making each month.

After then, you should check among regulatory agencies for the rules that you need to follow in operating this kind of business. A lot of states would call for a minimum area per child, which include both inside and outside the building. You are also obliged to give at least one hot meal per day. Also, you will need one licensed teacher for each 15 to 20 children and to ensure the safety of your students, you are required to have at least one licensed nurse on the premises. You have to follow all the regulations in your area to avoid conflict with authorities. And parents will feel more comfortable if they know that your business is approved by the state.

You may also provide some promos and perks among regular customers so they will become eager to avail of your service more. As much as possible, always put your best foot forward in dealing with your customers so they will be pleased with your service.

See: How to start a daycare center

The Current Condition Of Childcare In The United States Of America

Changes that have taken place in the area of child care have been radical over the last two years. The subject of child care had been an extensively discussed one. Books, journals, broadsheet columns, seminars – a lot has been devoted to this subject. In today's age, this topic of child care has taken all the additional importance. Far from being a simple question of how to carry up a well adjusted and 'cultured' child, child care has grown into a huge industry.

generations. With the course of time, a whole new way of looking and bringing up a child has been developed. As compared to the convention where the mother, or at times a governess or a nanny in case of children from wealthy homes, looked after the child, there has been a mounting need these days for more and more professionals to enter this field.

In these times, increasing expenses and elevated lifestyles have made it obligatory for both parents to work, leaving child care in the hands of experts. Child care has not only become an immense business but has also become institutionalized, with the mushrooming of nurseries for infants.

Finding the right kind of nursery is a major concern for parents. As much as they would like to hand over their responsibilities to others, they would also, at the same time, like to be sure that they are placing their kid in good hands.

The following itemize some of the inquiries that parents must perform before admitting the kid into a nursery:

• Distinguish which nurseries proffer brilliant care

• Confirm if the employees are completely qualified

• What is the proportion of staff to children

• Ensure that the right types of meals are provided

• Inquire about the cleanliness levels

• Find out what the process of child care is – whether there is a appropriate schedule for sleeping, feeding babies, etc

• Inquire about the safety in the childcare service

• Find out whether harassment occurs

• Verify the medical facilities that are available

Information about first-rate child care centers may be found with the neighboring communities with which these centers regularly register. Or a still better option may be to inquire for approvals from parents whose children are by now admitted into various nursery.

Though it is true that the youngster is destitute of the care and affection of parents bringing up their own kids, successful professionals do the job is not all that bad an option. Growing up amidst a number of brood from diverse backgrounds the child grows up to be more adaptable and receptive to other people's opinions. He learns to share and care as opposed to being self-centered if he was brought up at home as his parent's only child.

It is therefore necessary for parents to be very much particular when it comes to picking out the daycare center service to hire and enroll their child in.

Visit: Starting a daycare center

The Importance of Setting Up Day Care Services

Good child care is very important in terms of early learning experiences that help build social skills and developing learning abilities, providing social and economic benefits for both the parents and the children. Inadequate child care, on the other hand, leads to poor results, often times characterized by stunted intellectual and social development as well as low standards of hygiene and safety in poor quality settings that usually leads to injury and illness for children.

While good child care is always the objective of parents, there are too many children who are denied quality care, spending their formative years in settings that are unsafe or only custodial at most. Parents resorted to caregivers list provided by various caregiver groups without the support and information needed to get the best available facility for their children.

Parents therefore should look for caregiver facilities that are licensed by the state as this will give them the assurance that the people who will care for their children had passed the stringent scrutiny and examination of the government. State regulated child care facilities will guarantee that only the best care will be provided to the children who are entrusted to them by their parents.

The operation of child care centers, through the years, have been a very lucrative business as more and more parents entrust their children to the care of child care centers. As such, many people are encouraged to put up a child care center in their areas.

If you’re interested of starting your own day care center but is scared and potentially unaware of how to actually begin, here are some tips that could be helpful for you and could guide you in running your very own daycare.

1. Consider the place where you plan to locate your day care center. Make sure that it is accessible and not very costly.

2. Since day care centers are intended for kids, make sure that you keep the look very childlike. Decorate the place with colors and other kiddie designs.

3. Know and define your purpose for building a daycare center. Provide a curriculum and make sure that you will adhere to it.

4. Make sure that you have license to operate as this is a lawful requirement. Make sure that you are also aware of the other requirements necessitated by the local government where you are intending to operate.

5. Day care centers are not only intended to take care of toddlers, it is also a place where people are taught. Playpens, tables, chairs, sleeping mats and other education tools are therefore very important.

6. Make sure that the parents who admit their child into your custody are provided with a transparent contract where terms and conditions are clearly stated. This is to ensure that if something goes wrong, there is a printed document that could mediate between the two parties.

7. Before accepting a child into your day care center, make sure that you have him or her undergo an evaluation to know and see his or her behavior as well as his or her aptitude.

8. To boost the reach of your clientele, opt to promote your day care center through internet posts and fliers.

See: How to start a daycare service

Starting A Home Child Care Business - The Pros and Cons

The number one requirement of having a home child care business is the love for children. Providing care for children of working parents is very fulfilling, both from the emotional and business points of view. This kind of business though entails a lot of work and responsibilities.

Home child care business therefore is not for the faint-hearted. It will require much courage and dedication to start this kind of home-based business. So a careful and thorough evaluation of the pros and cons of this kind of business must be undertaken before any one takes the plunge. The following areas must be considered:

• The Children - If you love children, then this business is for you. You will be able to be with and around children the whole day - enjoying their laughter, their antics, and their little cries of discomfort. On the other hand, kids are infinitely challenging. They can test your patience, trigger your anger and frustrations, and sometimes totally ruin your day.

• Convenience - You don't have to go to the office or a far-away place to work. They come to you. Start-up cost will be minimized if you have kids of your own because they already have an abundance of toys in your home. Children food are already present in your home so you will need to purchase only a little extra. On the other side of the equation, having additional children in your house will pretty mess up your home. You will be confronted with the day to day problem of stained carpet, mess all over, broken toys. You can say goodbye to your dream of a spotlessly clean home once you take in additional children to care.

• Job Security - There will never be a shortage of children requiring good care as long as parents keep working. The demand for child care giver is always high. But it is not always like that because of the financial crunch fell all over the world. You might be caring for a number of children today but when their parents lose their work tomorrow, they will be definitely pulled out from your care. Nothing is certain in this time of recesses ion.

• Income - Day care does not come cheap if parents are in search of quality care, thus making the income potential huge. Taking in a good number of children in your care will make a good source of income. But as mentioned under job security, tight finances may force parents to pull out their children from your come. This will readily translate into lost or diminished income. In addition, parents usually take care of their children when they get sick and you will not be paid when you do not actually care of them.

• Work Flexibility - You can decide how many hours you want to work. You may opt to care for children the whole day or in the morning or afternoon only. Your schedule is your call. But you may not always find parents who will entrust their children to you on your desired schedule. You may be forced to compromise on your schedule.

• Government regulations - You will find a lot of tax deductions or write-offs when you run your day care center. On the other hand, the government has a myriad of requirements for you to comply with. There will be a number of permits and licenses which you have to apply for. There will be number of reports and paper work that you have to accomplish and submit.

After having gone through all of the above-mentioned, it will be up to you to decide whether a home-based child care center is for you. It is your call.

See: Starting A Home Child Care Business

Starting A Daycare Facility - In-Depth Business Details

At home daycare facilities and commercial day care facilities have major differences. For a person who is just in need of extra income while managing the household, a home-based day care center is a good choice. Manning a small day care center with around 3 or 5 kids at a time may not require licenses to operate plus there would not be a need to hire more than one extra help. Profit wise, the earnings to be gained is still strong and could be a good source of stable income.

For the businessman or businesswoman who is bent on building a child care facility that can provide for a larger number of children, the rules change. For one, since there are about 35 or more kids enrolled at a time, management of day to day activities, cash flow monitoring, taxes and other documentation tasks become more tedious. Aside from that, the requirements for licensing come in and that can take up so much time before getting to open your doors for business.

However, the profits to be gained would be much larger, as long as you can handle the stress and organization skills needed to bring your business to a successful level. To start off, you will need to check with your local government regulatory agencies about policies you need to follow in establishing your own day care facility. There will be much to digest, such as minimum area requirements, minimum ratio of children to handlers, and staff requirements. It would be best to research on all of these before starting your day care center business plan.

The licensing department will be the one to assess whether you need a license and a registration before operating. They will initially count the children you will be teaching plus the number of other children who are present in the establishment at the time of providing care. The department will also assess the sufficiency of the space, and safety and health requirements in accordance to policies.

Your facility will also be inspected by the fire marshal and you will be give a certificate if your facility was deemed to meet fire safety rules. You need this certificate for licensing procedures. Additionally, you will need a certificate from public health authorities on the safety of your premises. Aside from these, you also need a proof of insurance coverage for the day care center.

For the operations, you will need to come up with a formal schedule of daily activities, and a sample weekly menu. Your staff will need a personal statement of health and will be subject to criminal background and child and adult protective services investigation. Prepare a list of each person over 18 that will be present in the establishment, fill in legal name, position, age, residential address, and contact numbers.

Lastly, you will need a written fire and emergency evacuation plan for all establishments that will be used to provide child care. Moreover, you will be asked to document annual emergency practices that detail when the drill took place and how much time it took to complete the evacuation.

Visit: Starting A Daycare Facility

Making Money With Your Own Daycare Center Business

A daycare is a place where small children, the old and the sick are being cared for during the day while they are not at home. However, day care centers are mostly linked to children being cared for by adults with the supervision of trained professionals who can provide them with care and nourishment while their parents, particular their mothers are at work.

Earning money from your own day center is achievable but you can only do this if you expand your knowledge about day care centers by understanding the difference between the two stated definitions. Again, with the definition provided about, a day care center isn’t only intended for children alone but is also built to cater to needs and requirements of the sick and the elderly.

Starting your own day care business entails minimal start up costs. The cost of opening a day care is low compared to other small businesses you can open. You can turn your home to a day care provided it is well organized and built under the regulation and is equipped with everything that is required of a day care center. You can also start immediately with toys and rummages you already have, all you need are interesting tools that could stimulate attention.

Always remember that the adoption of principle is the most important thing in the school of knowledge' avoid excuses and start immediately. Note that if you have money buy a land space, for day care is a business but if you don't have your home can serve as a means of making serious money with day care. You are standing out to the public place; it is no longer a personal affair. It's a business and must be considered as a business.

You are advised to keep a neat and gentle environment. People love neat and gentle environment, therefore, build your environment to be site attraction. This enhances the possibilities of making fast and serious money with day care. Note neat environment is an essential factor in day care business.

The secret of every business depends strongly on the gravity of people's love to the products or packages offered. Your day care program needs people's attention to succeed. One way to do this is by creating awareness.

Expose your business to public using advertising on papers, magazines, posters and distribution of hand bills or flyers. Let people know what you do and what services and amenities you can provide them with and convince them with the packages you are running from your program.

As a day care center owner, it is also your responsibility to ensure that your business provides only the best quality of care and that your employees are all hired professionals and are legal. Caring for children, the sick and the elderly alike could be daunting and possibly requires extra skill so it is really your responsibility to ensure that you can make your business work and make your clients benefit from what you can offer.

See: Start Your Own Daycare Center Business

Interviewing Potential Employees For Your Daycare

If you have your own daycare center, you of course want to make sure that you will hire the best employees – or people who can contribute and aid you to reach your success. You need to make sure that the applicants are qualified for the position that is why interviewing them is the thing you need to conduct to know your applicants.

You need to establish structure before you interview applicants, in this way; you can control of the interview and can gain all the information that you to in order to come up with a good decision.

There lots of things that you need to consider in making a structured interview, this is what you need to do, greeting and nonverbal assessment, brief conversation, 5-10 warm up questions, 20 behavioral questions, clarify concerns, ask for references, tell them to weigh things out and call them, make an handshake and say goodbye. Move to the next interviewers until the process is complete.

In order for you to effectively conduct the interview, you need to be prepared ahead of time. There are questions that you need to ask yourself in order to effectively establish a structure interview. Who will conduct the interview? How many applicants will be interviewed? What format of interview will you use (series, face to face, panel, sequential, group)? How much time will you allocate for each interview? What will be the questions that you will ask your applicants?

Yes, an applicant will arrive in time, properly dressed up, that would be great, but of course, you can't just base it with that. You need to assess their non-verbal signs and actions. Look at how your applicant sits during the interview. Are the applicants taking notes or just drawing? Do they look you directly in the eye when they speak and do they listen attentively to what you have to say or not? Yes, there are applicants who do not pay attention with the interviewer, so you need to check out the behaviors of your applicants.

Ask the experiences of your employees; make sure that they have dealt with kids before. If you are seeking for caregivers, it is best that they have done babysitting before. If you are seeking for teachers, make sure that they have enough experiences and expertise in order to assure that the kids will learn from them.

Clarify and confirm information about the applicant's educational attainment and work history. The applicant should be competent enough for the position; you need to see those qualities in a particular applicant before hiring him/her is good enough for the position. The applicant must have the patience and compassion for kids as well as this will be the main focus of your business.

You would realize how important it is to take these things seriously because once you’ve hired an employee, you automatically become liable to them. Remember that people know the saying that first impressions last that is why they always try to give their best foot forward. Be prepared too with who they really are and how they really work which you can only gauge once they’ve started working with you.

For more info see: How to start a daycare business

Daycare Center - Baby-Proofing 101

How to start a day care center that parents can trust? Effective baby-proofing is a start.

My Stephen just started to crawl. I’m happy and anxious about this development. All things happily accessible and any minute, anything he gets his little hands on, is yummy… instant food! This from a ballpoint pen, to cookie crumbs on the floor. The world is wonderful to explore, and taste. That is of course, from my little darling’s point of view as he starts discovering things.

As a working mom, I am inclined to entrust my angel to a day care center nearby. Provided of course, their baby-proofing is good to the last detail.

• Cleaning products, medicines, and electrical appliances should be put away.

• Windows should not be open low enough for baby to reach no more than six inches.

• Move electrical cords behind furniture. Electrical Outlets should be covered.

• Dresser and cabinet drawers have to be closed at all times. Secure or dispose loose knobs on furniture.
•
Keep table cloth off the table or use a short one.
•
Sharp edges on corners of tables and other furnishings should be covered with cushioned strips and corner guards.
•
Place the baby’s mattress in their crib at the lowest level.

• Keep your home or day facility clean.

• Breakable objects should be kept far out of children’s reach.

• Place sharp and dangerous objects such as pencils, pens, knives, scissors, letter openers, razors and blades inside cases and keep these locked. Small objects such as, marbles, coins, safety pins, and bottle tops should be kept away.

That settled, some might want to start a day center. Remember to baby-proof your facilities. Choosy moms like me care for effectively baby-proofed ones.

See: How To Start A Daycare Center

How To Organize Daycare Center Space

Daycare centers are becoming one of the most stable sources of income for many young working families everywhere nowadays. With the increase in commodity prices every year, it has become extremely difficult for families with children to survive simply on one income. This has forced both the mother and the father of many families to go out of the house and earn for a living.

The steady increase in the daycare center business is principally due to this need. Not to mention that daycare centers are not that expensive. While it is true that daycare center business has become an easy income generating opportunity, it has a fair share of problems and expenses too. With the increase in the amount of government taxes imposed on the daycare center industry, daycare center operators are now finding ways to cut down costs and operates as efficient as possible, so as they can still expect for a profit at the end of every month.

If you are a daycare center operator or if you are planning on starting a daycare center business, then your main priority is the expenses for the cost of the space. The cost of real estate space is a big aspect of daycare center operations. This is true whether you are planning on renting or buying a space. This is the reason why you need to carefully organize your daycare center space as neatly as possible so that you can have an ample space to take care of the children efficiently at the lowest possible cost per child. In this article, we will discuss one method that will help you organize the limited space that is available to you without having to own a bigger facility.

To maximize the space, we need to use the office cubicle partitions. As you know it, every administrative office in the world nowadays uses office cubicles for its employees in the front offices. You could use the same office cubicles for the various activity areas in your daycare center. Since these cubicles come in various height levels, you could choose the height that is appropriate for your own center. In addition, these cubicles come in various exciting colors and shades nowadays that will let your center look and feel professional without the need for building physical walls that are expensive and may need building permits from your city engineering office. Additionally, since these office cubicles are not sound proof and they are generally acoustically poor, it works to your advantage because you can hear what the children are saying or if there is an emergency in any one of the cubicles. The cubicles can also be used to partition certain areas such as reading, eating areas and so on and that will also teach children the value of designated areas for designated activities.

The simple use of cheap office cubicles in your daycare center can help optimize a limited space without the need for spending a lot of money on renovations or getting larger space for lease or purchase.

Visit: Starting a daycare center

How to create an effective preschool classroom

In a preschool facility, one of the most important tasks to consider at the beginning of the school year is the appearance and layout of the classroom. A preschool or day-care classroom is normally a child’s first taste of school, and so, it must be a place where a can enjoy learning. It should also be an environment where a child feels secure, optimistic, and nurtured.

When thinking of a preschool centre's layout, one must also bear in mind that while it should be a place that’s suitable for learning and other activities (i.e. playing, eating, etc.), it should also be child-friendly and safe. It is not a secret that toddlers have high levels of energy, so they should be able to move freely in the classroom without any danger of being hurt.

Fun Comes in Small Sizes
There have been several theories by educational experts on what should be a preschool classroom’s layout. One of the most popular theories was formulated by Maria Montessori. For Montessori, the size of all the furniture in a preschool classroom, including chairs, tables, and shelves, should be proportional to the size of the students.

If you are in the processes of building your own day-care or simply aiming to improve your existing classroom, try to put yourself in the shoes of a child. Kneel down while viewing the area so that you will more or less get the child’s eye view. It is also advisable to divide the room into different sections such as: art, blocks, dramatic play, music, library, and science. You can have more depending on the curriculum that you have and your teaching style. Some preschool teachers set-up a writing area near the bookshelves or library, or if the area allows it, an indoor play area is also included.

Keep in mind that some sections need to be bigger than the others. For instance, areas like blocks and dramatic play need more space and tend to be noisy most of the time. As such, it is advisable to group these sections in one part of the room. On the other hand, areas for more activities that need silence (i.e. reading, writing, art, etc.) should be placed at the opposite side of the room. You may divide the room using shelves or duct tape.

Ideally, the storytelling and show and tell area should be situated at the center of the room. Just make sure to that this area does not have obstructions and huge objects, so that your students can comfortably form a group whenever necessary. Meanwhile, the walls of the room should be filled with artistic and colorful decorations such as artwork, weather chart, photos of the birthday celebrants, and more.

Put a Label On It!
Although very few preschoolers already have the ability to read, everything in the room should be properly labeled. This will promote awareness of printed letters and words among the students and teach them basic vocabulary. By the end of the school year probably would be able to recognize the letters in the labels and even read them on their own.

The different sections of the room should also have corresponding labels. These labels can be hanged above the ceiling or posted on the walls. To help children recognize the areas that these labels pertain to, you can add pictures related to the activities done in each area. For instance, draw or cut-out pictures of crayons, pencil, and paint brush with the Art Center sign.

See: How to start a daycare center

Home To Plan For Your Childcare Center

You've completed your planning and determined that you'll need extra help. So how do you guarantee that you get the greatest candidate through your door?

All commerce owners need to recognize the significance of human resource (HR) planning. HR preparation is not a fancy word for large organizations to implement. Even small businesses need to guarantee that their HR is in order to function properly. Failing to administer your HR correctly could result in a lack of manpower when you need it or too many manpower when you don't need them and therefore incurring needless cost.

So, what is HR development? Marketing has its 4Ps while HR has 6Rs. It is ensuring that you have the correct staff in the accurate numbers, doing the precise job, at the exact time and at the correct place.

There are a number of options to manage momentary shortages in manpower. Firstly, you can hire part-time workers. They are a good option especially when you have a lot of children under half-day care. You can also think about engaging temporary employment agencies. This option is more suitable for less critical positions such as teacher assistants rather than the caregiver. The next option is to have your staff work longer hours and pay them overtime for it.

For lasting manpower shortages, you'll need a recruitment campaign to hire. You can do this whether via advertisement, referral or hire an employment agency to help you with it.

There are several factors to take into thought to ensure that you hire the right person. You need to look in depth into several factors:

- What will be the candidate's responsibilities and tasks. Try to be as exact as possible on the job duties that is required of the applicant. This information will come in useful when drawing up the advertisement.
- Do you need the candidate to be proficient in any tools or equipment such as the computer or musical instrument?
- What's the operational environment of the candidate? E.g. What are the working hours? Will the candidate be on shift? Where is the applicant supposed to be stationed, especially if you have more than one outlet)? How many children does the daycare centre care for? What are the age groups?
- What will be his/her working relationship with fellow colleagues. Who will the candidate be reporting to? Will there be any staff that he/she will be required to supervise?
- What are the job requirements?
- What are the qualities that the candidate should possess? Do you want the candidate to be able to handle children and be patient with children?
- Do you need the candidate to possess prior experience in childcare?
- What are the credentials you would like them to possess? Do they need to possess a Diploma or Certificate in Early Childhood? Do you need the applicant to have first aid training?

Doing the job right
Finally, you need to sort out what you'll need to do to draw candidates of the above qualities to apply for the situation and execute their job well.
- You need to decide what are the benefits you will be offering to the candidate; e.g. annual leave, insurance, subsidy (if they put their child at your daycare centre), etc.

See: How to start a daycare center

Home Daycare Business

Working from home is a great way to spend time with children yet still have the financial capacity to be able to live comfortably. As a husband, this may seem to be an unpopular choice, especially when one spends a great deal of time with mommies. But the emotional rewards far outweigh the financial benefits. One can have the flexibility to choose the day’s activities without need for re scheduling of office work.

One way to make all these grand concepts feasible is starting a day care facility. Home day care facilities seem to be appealing to them as they are with children at home, so why not expand it and make it a rewarding chore. One has the experience for it anyways, after all one tends to one’s own children all day everyday. Besides, it would be great experiences to have kids interact with others. With these in mind, one knows deep inside once can make this work.

One needs to really discern if one wants to enter this realm of day care. Can one handle more kids with the same needs and varying temperaments? Admittedly, one’s own children are already a handful. So why would one want more work, and this time with other people’s children. Many have experienced many soiled diaper runs and changing toddler’s clothes while running around the house.

And the wildfire syndrome. One child affects another and thus if one cries all the others start to follow suit. And often, one tries to be the loudest as if to show that more anguish is in me. This crescendo of crying oftentimes breaks down even steel willed individuals. And if not moody, one becomes mischievous and as one child does it, others would copy cat it. Just like a wildfire.

When playing, one would be forced to run around to keep up with the bundle of energy still fragile to the outside world. There’s the reasoning out, the disobedience or just plain mischief. And yes, things get broken and knees scraped and heads bumped. It’s play action all the time.

In daycare, can one handle it? Toilet training is a minimum requirement. But one has to take care of all the other aspects. The Mischief. The Wildfire syndrome. And the running and jumping and disobedience that comes with kids their age. Parents become tired with their own offspring, would it not be magnified when one undertakes the woes of others? Can one really be on play action for all the kids under one’s care and supervision?

So daycare is not just about soothing naps and play times and reading time. It’s about controlling whirling dervishes able to reason out and mess up an otherwise idyllic existence. One can do this, with the following tips.

a) Keep hazardous material away from children’s reach. Like on the roof or under lock and key away from the day care area.

b) Cover all soilable house material. Spillage will be a common occurrence do a chamois couch is a definite no-no in day care.

c) Be prepared physically and mentally. Learn to drown out crying to focus on the real issues.

d) First Aid must always be within arm’s reach.

e) Pray. It helps.

Visit: Starting a home daycare business

Financing Your Daycare Center

Starting your own daycare center is fun and exciting. It can provide you a lot of extra income and you get to enjoy what you love to do which is take care of children. Although you really don’t need a big capital to start your own daycare system, you still need to be able to compensate for any unforeseen costs and you would want to be prepared. If you really need an initial capital, there are a number of ways you can avail of them.

Here are a few of suggestions to where you can get the much needed fund for your daycare system.

• Personal Funds. Having enough money in your bank account is a great way to start your own business. You will not need to borrow money from anyone or any financial institution. Having the extra money in your account will help your daycare business get off the ground

• Friends and Family. If you lack the funds to start your own daycare you may want to consider friends and family to loan you some money. Your loved ones may have some extra cash that they would want to invest. Your daycare center can provide them a venue to invest their money in and you can propose an incentive or a payback scheme so that they will be enticed to invest in your business.

• Financial Institution Loans. Banks and other financial institutions can provide you with the much needed funds. Bank loans will require certain things before they can even grant the loan. They would want to get a good look at your business proposal and see if it is feasible. Aside from that there would be interests and monthly payments that would need to be paid. You need not worry about this, since once you have your business off the ground you would be able to start your payments. Payment terms may vary depending on what you and the bank have agreed upon. Just be sure that once you have the funds to pay regularly and do not miss any payment scheduled.

• Grants for Daycare. You may not be aware that the government and some organizations provide grants to small deserving businesses. Child care is becoming one of the major priorities and concerns of a lot of people and most organizations will be willing to give the grant to the right person. The beauty about these grants is that they need not be paid back. It’s not impossible to find these grants however it can be rather difficult to get one since there are a lot of others who are gunning for this.

These are just but some of the common ways you can get funding for our daycare centers. You will have to choose one or if you have other ideas to get the funds from don’t hesitate to take the necessary steps. Remember in any business you need to be a bit aggressive or else it will not get you anywhere. So check out your options and find what best suits you.

See: How to start a daycare center

Daycare Separation Anxiety - Child Feeling Homesick?

Leaving a child in a day care center is now a necessity for working parents as there is no time anymore for them to care for their children at home. While it is easy for parents to just drop off their child in the day care center, it is not the same kind of feeling for the child. Most children in day care centers suffer from separation anxiety which could have a lingering effect on them. Parents therefore must take actions to prevent the child from having the feeling of insecurity and unease while being dropped off at the daycare. The idea of being separated from the parents and being left at the daycare center must be a wholesome idea for the child.

Separation anxiety disorder typically occurs in young children who are extremely unwilling to separate from major attachment figures such as parents, siblings, or from home. Separation anxiety occurs also when a child develops an attachment to a baby sitter or caregiver when the parents go away and will manifest by the time the sitter or caregiver has to leave.

Separation anxiety is characterized by excessive worry about potential harm toward oneself such as getting sick or having an accident in school while the protective parents are away. The anxiety can also include worries about what may happen to the parents after they have dropped off the child in the daycare center. These excessive, and of course unfounded, worries may manifest in some somatic complaints such as trembling, headaches, stomach aches, nausea, sweating, and in some extreme cases even nightmares.

Parents, therefore, must know how to make the child secure while being dropped off. They must remove the child's fear of being abandoned by the parents, a child's major fear as they always draw emotional support from them. Parents must be aware of cognitive-behavioral treatments that are focused on teaching the child major skills to identify the physical reactions to anxiety. Children must be taught how to identify their thoughts in anxiety-provoking separation situations together with the corresponding plan to cope or adapt with the situation.

Children need to be taught also how to evaluate the success of the coping strategies employed to eliminate the separation anxiety. They also must learn how to praise themselves for positively coping up with the separation without the resulting anxiety.

Parents can also employ other strategies to eliminate separation anxiety by the use of behavioral strategies like modeling, role playing, relaxation training, and other reinforced practices. Parents must develop a list of situations or activities that may prove challenging to the children such as attending a party without the parents or staying home with only a sitter or caregiver around. These are situations where the children can be slowly taught how to apply their coping skills and they must be properly rewarded with praise and encouragement as they show any degree of success.

Most importantly, parents must interact with their children in such a manner that will not inadvertently reinforce their fears of separation.

See: How to start a daycare business

Daycare Business Employees Right For The Job

In owning a day care business, it would come to a point that you would not be able to completely perform all the tasks needed to operate the day care business. The simple menial tasks may be overlooked since you would have your hands full with your wards. Thus, one of the most dynamic and important aspects in this line of business is the employment of other people to be part of the business. Many items must be considered before engaging a person for employment. With the myriad of childcare service providers, from caregivers to nannies, and your very own talents, the duly certified child workers are the best candidates for the position.

When hiring new employees, their main responsibility would be looking after children in your day care center. You may even expand their roles to include their participation in the learning activities with children. Many other jobs can be made from breaking up fights and ensuring that children are fed and cleaned, as it is the basic operational responsibilities of the business. The number of personnel would be proportional to the operational requirements, the work area and the wards that are enrolled in your care.

In general, the proper ratio would be one adult for every three wards and this ration may differ with each state. Be sure you have properly read through the state guidelines on the minimum requirements. In many day care facilities, licensed practitioners are often required to supervise the operations while some others just require experienced people. If there were a wide age range of wards, then you would need people who would be able to provide learning sessions. If your facility has special needs children, then you would need someone experienced in that craft, if you are not capable yourself.

Hiring childcare workers with experience or special care towards children would be a minimum. Their trained eye would be able to find out the child’s well being and use these talents for their betterment. They can handle all of the tasks for the facility from learning modules to simple tasks like cleaning up after eating, brushing teeth or even just tying shoelaces. When one hires an employee of this skill level then they would only serve to improve the facility.

The employees hired would look after baby care, scheduling, homework or other needs depending upon the ward’s development and abilities. Least requirement would be a secondary school diploma for their qualifications.

Parent volunteers would also be a big boost for the childcare facility. They can even observe a child’s learning curve and even help out in the school’s activities. You can even have a steady stream of suggestions for activities they can be part of.

Just be advised, be rigid in accepting applicants. These applicants must be properly screened through background checks and references. All the employees must be properly screened including those whose tasks do not have them to have direct contact with the wards. This would be vital in keeping your wards safe and sound. Also, proper monitoring of employees is in order. These important security measures are needed to keep the reputation of your business intact and clean. Your employees must be assets not liabilities to your business as they are your representatives, so be doubly careful in your hiring preferences.

Draw up the ad and hire your perfect employee now.

Start a daycare business Today!!!

Medical Knowledge you should have to ensure a Safe Facility

One of today’s prime businesses is Day Care Centers. More and more parents have started taking on full time or part time jobs to earn enough to support the growing needs of their families. Though they want to spend more time with their kids, they really won’t have a choice but to hand over this task to somebody else. Some would hire in-house baby sitters but many have been realizing its disadvantages for the kids. If they have a sole child, he or she might miss out on developing social skills because there is no interaction with other children. So many parents are looking for a good day care facility that could not only look after their children while they’re working, but would also assist in the development of their children.

Along with having a day care facility is your preparedness for any medical emergency that may arise. Children are an active lot and will certainly get into all sorts of accidents despite your making sure that your facility is safe. Children can squeeze in to the tightest spaces, bump into things that are at their appropriate places and sometimes puts things in their mouths just to taste it.

Aside from the handy first aid kit you have available, you should also have basic knowledge on how to handle medical situations that needs prompt attention.

Make sure to have a list of emergency number at a conspicuous place in the facility – this is the first things you need to look at. This should include 911, the fire department, the nearest hospital, a physician’s mobile and home numbers, and a registered nurse’s number. You should also have a list of your kids’ parents’ numbers – home and their mobiles.

Next, you need to familiarize yourself with the medical histories of each kid in your day care facility. Ask parents to complete a form detailing allergies, both to food and drug, and their family doctor’s name and contact number, including any other medical condition their kids have and more importantly – those that need regular supervision.

You will also need to be familiar with the things in your first aid. Generally, first aid kits should include medicines for children’s fever, some pain relievers, medicines for colds and cough, asthma medication, something for stomachaches and stuff for treating wounds such as anti bacterial creams, gauze, band aids and so on.

If one of the kids is feeling ill or complaining of pains and aches without apparent physical causes, do not immediately give him any oral medications. Always ask for a doctor’s opinion on the matter and call his parents first. If a child is experiencing what you think maybe something infectious, try to isolate him from the rest of the kids in the facility to avoid others from catching the same illness.

Normally, scratches are washed with soap and water then treated with antiseptic or antibacterial creams. Small open wounds will mainly require you to get it dressed. Bigger wounds needs prompt medical attention. Also, kids who suffered from falls or bumps in the head should be brought to a medical clinic or hospitals immediately unless you think he should not be moved from where he is, in this case you should call in the paramedics.

See: Start a daycare center

Daycare Centers - Creativity Fun Time With Play Dough And Finger Paint

When you have opened the doors of your day care facility, you will be concentrating on making sure that your day care kids have fun and learn at the same time. Kids are easy to stimulate but also hard to keep up with. Their attention spans are naturally short in order to give them as much time as possible to explore the world around them. To maximize the focus they have on an activity, make sure that the activity is one that lets them utilize two or more of their senses.

Play dough, for example, holds about 15 or 20 minutes of crafting different shapes. In preparing this activity, you stimulate a child’s vision and sense of touch. Aside from developing hand-eye coordination needed o mold the play dough into a particular shape, this activity also strengthens both gross and fine motor skills.

Although, you can buy kids’ play dough at almost any store, a more fun activity would be to make your own play dough with your day care center wards. Aside from encouraging the young ones to create their own toys with your help, you can actually save money since you would not be buying commercial play dough again and again.

Play dough can be made by using heating or not. Here are some recipes for play dough.

To cook:
You will need to:
1. Prepare 2 cups of flour, two cups of warm water, a cup of salt, two tablespoons of vegetable oil and a tablespoon of cream of tartar for elasticity.
2. Have food coloring to make it more attractive to your day care children.
3. Mix all the ingredients, except for the food coloring, you have and stir over low heat.
4. Wait until the consistency of the mixture thickens and does not stick to the sides of the pot.
5. Stir constantly until the dough settles on the center of the pot.
6. Knead the dough on a flat surface and on wax paper and put in the food coloring. Keep on folding the dough over and over until the color spreads evenly throughout.
7. Keep the play dough in an airtight container before and after your day care children play with it.
8. Knead in a bit of warm water when the play dough starts hardening.
9. Make another batch once the dough does not soften with water anymore.
10. This play dough is safe even if ingested but it does not mean you can leave the toddlers alone when they are playing with it.

No cook:
You will need to:
1. Mix three cups of flour, one third of a cup of salt. Two tablespoons vegetable oil, one cup of water and about seven drops of food coloring.
2. Knead and it is ready!
3. This type does not last as long as the other recipe that needs cooking but, hey, its relatively easier to do.

Play dough is one of the most flexible play stuff your kids can encounter. Just be careful not to let the kids put play dough in their ears, nose, mouth ( they might coke on a big piece) and eyes.

Visit: How to start a daycare center

Building a Home–based Day Care Facility

Any business needs to advertise the business that they have so that the clients can know about it. Eventually, marketing can be more aggressive, meaning trying to find ways to reach a wider audience. For a start up business like your daycare facility, marketing can be quite exhausting at the start, but once you set up a steady client base, they will be helpful allies for advertising your business in the future.

Since you are just beginning your business and you may have limited finances, here are some ways to market your daycare facility without spending too much but ensuring that you reach a good number of prospective clients.

1. Start with your family and friends. Your relations can prove to be your first team of marketers. They could also be your first clients if they have kids that need taking care of. You can offer them discounts in fees every time they refer a customer to your facility. Also, having children in your facility as soon as you open will encourage other parents to consider bringing their kids to your daycare center. A big part of parent’s decisions on where to bring their kids for daycare is that there should be other children present for their kids to interact with.

2. Print out flyers and brochures through your personal computer and printer. Design the brochure to have your day care facility’s name, address and contact numbers. You will also need to have lots of bright and pastel colors on the brochure to catch attention. The flyer or the brochure should include pictures of your facility, the materials that you have- the books, the toys, and special areas like an outside playground. Have a description for each picture, it becomes a teaser for what activities the children will engage in once they are in your facility.

3. Always carry business cards with you. Got o groceries and other stores that have a steady clientele of parents. This way, you can give out a business card instead of the big brochures or flyers. You can also give out business cards every time you see parents walking around your area with their kid/s.

4. Take a walk around your area and slip your flyers, brochures, or business cards under doors, in mailboxes, or in windshield wipers of vehicles. This way, you can tap into the market that is not really seeking out daycare centers actively. However some of them might just be waiting for the opportunity to get to know about an accessible day care facility like yours.

5. Find a neighborhood directory and start calling up people that live close to your day care. Phoning people can be a tricky task. Most people do not respond well to intrusive phone calls. So make sure that your spiel lasts no more than two minutes. Always be polite and introduce yourself. Say “ Hi, this is Lyn of Pink Lane Street, I’ve just opened up a daycare facility called Kids Tickled Pink and would just like to leave my number and address just in case you or someone you know might be interested? “ If they say no, then put down the phone, if they accept your offer, then you have just marketed successfully.

See: How to start a home-based daycare facility