Seeking Info - Washington,IL

I agree with the poster who said to try it out and make sure it fits your familiy's needs and is truly what you want. I began babysitting in my home last year for a family when I thought becoming licensed would be a great supplemental income. I love children, but I found that with regard to caring for children, I am better suited to teach than provide childcare. One issue I had was that my son just didn't "click" with these children. I started to fear that it was his social skills lacking, but with other kids he was his usual playful self. The other big concern was that I felt like I had to put everything up so these children wouldn't break it all. I never had to do this with my own children so it was a difficult adjustment for me. While I think I could enjoy working in a center, having my home as a business wasn't for me.

If you know for certain that this is what you want, I wish you the best of luck. I think a home daycare is a great setting, especially for really young children, and it is great knowing that there are wonderful, caring mothers as yourself willing to do the job. =0)

Hi T.,
Call the Dept of Child & Family services and they will send you a complete packet of how to get started. You will need CPR/first aid and other education courses before they will even consider giving you a license. This packet will also tell you ratio, safety guidelines, etc.
Once you have all of that remember this will be your business. People will not always remember that! Just becuase you are at home it is a business so set up SPECIFIC hours of operation and guidelines. Before anyone leaves their child(ren) have a signed contract that also has your fees (include late pick-up and bounced check fees, legal fees, etc) and all contact information, including emergency contacts. Your contract should also include what you expect from the parent/guardian (sickness, personal items, meds, extra clothes, etc) also include what you will provide (meals, arts/crafts, education,etc). Have a policy for exit. What will you do if it is not working out and what you expect parents to do if their needs change.
This can be a very rewarding job for you but please remember to ALWAYS BE SPECIFIC, I can't say that enough!
Good Luck!

Where do you live? Children home and Aid has classes you can take to help you get started. I have been in family daycare for over 19 years so if you would like I'll email you sample forms and a copy of my contract. I do not discuss how much I charge because every where is different. You will need CPR and First Aid, finger printing and a background check. DCFS will tell you about the fingerprinting and background check. All adults who live in the house will need fingerpringting and background checks. Also, medicals and TB test for everyone in the house.
I always have the parents pay me a week ahead of time so they can not skip out without paying me. You can also ask for a 2 week down payment that they can use for their last 2 weeks of care. Let me know your email if you would like me to email you sample forms.

Well from experience let me tell you make sure you try it out to make sure it fits your family's needs and doesn't disrupt your home before you go through all the financial investments and the hassle of getting licensed if it isn't right for you. Also make sure that your friend really wants to do this and that it would be beneficial to both of you financially. Also always have a signed contract in place and payment up front before you start watching any ones children even if they are a friends or family members children. The only reason i say this is because I was scammed by a woman for a whole week of free babysitting my first time. She seemed like such a nice lady. She was young, a single mom, and seemed like she really cared about her child. Come to find out she did this on a regular basis. She would switch her child to a new babysitter every week and pull him before she had to pay anybody. I found this out afterwards because the lady she had watching her son before i did called me and told me she did the same thing to her. There was nothing i could do because i didn't have her sign an agreement right away because i thought i would see how the first week went and then sign something and she never showed up with her child on pay day. Be careful and don't trust a first impression. Be professional and protect yourself and your family. Good luck hope everything works out for the best.

I second everything Christina C. said. When the in-home daycare I had taken my son to was closing, I decided to stay home and try my hand at having a home daycare, and take on the other children from that daycare. But unfortunately, it didn't work out. I was normally a patient person, but that patience ran out when I watched two children with demanding and defiant personalities. I have the patience to now do it on an as-needed basis, but daily was too much for me. And I love children! I have a huge family with many nieces and nephews, who I have cared for and even been practically nanny for, ever since I was 12. So it's not like I didn't have experience watching kids, or even on a full-time, daily basis.

But it wasn't just the children - having my home in a constant set-up for daycare, with two pack-n-plays, a changing station and storage with all the supplies (linens, diapers, burp cloths, etc) a permanent presence in our living room, made it seem I was never "off duty." Whenever my son was not feeling well, he resented having to share me with the other kids - kids whose "wheels" were "squeakier" than my son's, so to speak! I tired of having to hide his birthday and Christmas presents, because he had to fight over them before he really even had a chance to play with them, and they'd often be broken before they were a week old. It just all made it seem like our home wasn't our home anymore.

Dealing with differing parenting styles was difficult as well, and communication with the parents was sometimes difficult (i.e. a child who has runny poop daily, causing diaper blow-outs 2-3x a week, and the parents refused to acknowledge a problem). My husband said I cared too much about their health/behavior/etc, but how could I not? As their full-time caretaker, their well-being was as much my responsibility as it was the parents'!

Luckily, I had no problem whatsoever with my parents as far as payments and late drop-offs/pickups - they were very dependable. But I know that can be a problem for some providers.

Please don't think I'm trying to be negative!! Just sharing my experiences. There are many many people who do it and love it. It just wasn't for me. It is a GREAT way to stay home with your own child while still making an income. I recommend making a contract outlining your policies for payments, sick/vacation days, what happens when their child becomes ill at daycare, etc. It can be every rewarding as well! I just wish I had known how things were going to turn out and maybe I would have done things differently in the beginning, or mentally prepared for it. I was very afraid of offending the parents, and scared to give a two-week notice for one of the children (who made our daily lives miserable - my normally loving son became irritated every morning when she arrived).

If you choose to do it, I wish you luck with everything! And sharing the responsibilities with a friend sounds like a great idea.