I have been working for the last six months in retail (nordstrom). My last day is this Friday. I have decided to try to stay home again with my two kids Daughter 11, Son 7 both very active. I was thinking of doing before and after school care for one family or all day care for a little one (to get my baby fix)any advise of other moms who have started doing this of know any one who it has worked for them?
Be sure to set rules, guidelines, and limitations! You need to stay firm even if you know the person you are sitting for. I did childcare for over 15 years when my children were small. You have to make sure people don't run over you with what they want instead of what is best for you and your family. Good luck!
If you decide to watch or teach other children, I highly recommend taking one ECE (Early Childhood Education) community college class or some other community-sponsored hobby-related course each quarter to help you get the most out of this experience, and to be well prepared to do a great job! I taught preschool for a time and really enjoyed the commitment as well as the rest of the free time.
Before and after school care can get old fast, because you quit working outside of the home so you could spend time with YOUR kids. Anytime you have someone else's kid in your care, they get more attention than your own. It may work to take in your children's friends before and after school though. Just be sure that it doesn't conflict with whatever after school activities your kids do. Watching a young one during the day may prove to be fun for you, but be sure to pay attention to what age you liked best. You may not be able to get anything else done all day long, and your house will start looking like it did when yours were small (crayons on the wall, juice spilled on the couch, toys all over). No matter what age you choose, be sure that you have permission and the ability to tote little one where ever you want to go. It is very frustrating to be stuck at home not able to do anything because you don't have permission to leave with someone else's child.
I personally found it much more rewarding to just have my own and focus on them, but mine are 1 and 6, so it is completely different.
C.,
As a mom who started a daycare last June to be able to be home with my son, I can assure you - it can work!!! It's not so bad to do. If you interview the family thoroughly & get a good group of kids, it's pretty easy going. The biggest things are to make sure you have a SOLID contract and payment arrangements & go with your gut feeling about the family. A lot of people (even good people) tend to take advantage of childcare providers. There's lots of pro's and con's in any self employment, but this has worked well for me. Feel free to email me if you want more information.
C., just a reminder, when you take care of other's children, you are grounded and unable to schedule your own day. Say the kids have an awards ceremony...you would not have the freedom of going without having to clear it with the other's parents. That would get annoying. I have a business of my own that I work part-time, although it can be a full-time job as my cousin does. She began part time as I am now and has quit her job as a realtor to do this full-time making 3 times what I make as a nurse. It's with Arbonne International. They are a Swiss formulated, American made skin care company and have an amazing compensation plan. If you would like more info I would be happy to meet with you. You can schedule the business around your family, not them around work, and we help you every step of the way. You can contact me at ____@____.com or call ###-###-####. Best of luck and enjoy those kiddos!
A friend of mine on the East Coast is in the process of getting set up to do this now. I've been trying to encourage her to do what my daughter's preschool teacher does.
My daughter (4) goes to a private in home preschool Tu-Th from 9:30-12:00. Her teacher limits the class size to 8 children and they do kindergarten prep, play outside, and have a field trip once a month. She charges $160/month /kid. She's bringing in almost $1,300/month and she's only "tied up" 7.5 hours a week.
C.-WAHM to 4 y/o virtual twins Owner: www.BeHappierAtHome.com
I have great information on work from home....if you are interested let me know. I have a little one and wanted to stay home and someone let me know about an online business.
Good Luck!
S.
