This is for new people just starting their daycares.....

If I had known all I would have to go through in the first year, I would not have become certified until after I'd been open at least a year (we are able to have basically the same number of children certified or uncertified in our state - 3).

I would have taken the first year to get my daycare set up physically, to get my curriculum and menus all set, and to get into the "groove" of doing daycare again.

But dumby me started right in with becoming certified, and now we have the mandatory rating system, and food program and I have been really overwhelmed and I feel my kids have suffered. I've spent hours and hours with agents while my kids tried to keep themselves busy. I've been on the phone hundreds of times (of course it has to be during daycare hours) and I'm saddled with continuing education right from the start.

IMO, and only IMO, it just was too much to cram into the first year. And I really feel badly that my kids have born the brunt of it all. Every second I've spent on the phone or with an agent is time I have not had to be with them.

So, my opinion is that when you are just starting up, take time to get yourself settled in. Get everything set up so that you are functioning smoothly (well, ok, as smoothlly as anyone can in this business ) and THEN go for the certification or licensing.

Again, IMO only.

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Many of these things I did do (by coincidence for most):

1) Start slowly with as little children as possible and build up as you become more comfortable (I did this, but only because I budgeted incorrectly and thought I could get away with only taking 1-2 kids)

2) Have plenty of extra cash in the bank because there are very slow periods when you are down on children (well, it was our savings, but I did have to burn through most of it in the first year, mostly because of #1)

3) Selectively interview as much as possible (I should have been more selective)

4) Have policies and contracts in place before starting any children (I did this, but had to tweak it as I "learned" things).

5) Carefully plan your set-up and be flexible for changes when you realize something won't work. Rooms designated as something may have a completely different purpose within 1 month.

6) When planning your set-up, don't set out every toy to be easily accessible. I wish I could go back in time and purchase different storage "devices" because now I'm stuck with everything being easily accessible (which makes for quite the mess during free play).

7) Expect some turnover in the first year until you get your interviewing skills down better. Also, don't take it hard when someone does leave.

8) Don't feel the need to tell parents every detail about their child's day (big mistake unless you want to be nit-picked to death).

I'm sure there's a million other things that I can't think of right now.

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yep yep yep....I've been ever so gently trying to nudge you to take the automated rating, even though I KNOW you are better than a 2 star. If you do that, you can take state funded, but not worry about all the shenanigans for at least a year.

I know how it hurts, because I've been through it myself. I certainly don't FEEL like a 2-star, but I could not have dealt with all this last year, just restarting. Not even sure I am dealing with it so well this year....

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Some really good suggestions! I, too, did a lot of them just because I fell into them. Like starting out with just a few part-time kids and then a few months later the full-timers came along and the part-timers left. I esp. like #8. Sooooo true!

bbo - I know and you were probably right, but by the time I met you I was already in full-tilt by being certified. By that time I just wanted to get it all over with. I did find out you can only get a 3-star your first year, but there is no home evaluation (where evaluator comes for 3 hours), so that's been a relief to me! I also found out I CAN qualify for up to a 5-star with my education level, so that, also, was a relief. But like I said above, if I had it to do over, I would never have been certified right away. ESPECIALLY since it has not led to even one phone call of inquiry.

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Thank you!!! I have been thinking about getting licensed (can have up to 3 without a license here) but I think I will take your advice and take my time getting settled before I jump into that. I also need to take your advice with being more selective in who I take. I have a potential family interested and their schedule isn't so bad, but it just doesn't quite work with ours and is going to make my job a lot harder having to change everyone's schedule just to accommodate these new part-timers. So....I think I'm going to have to turn away this family. I hate doing it because I feel the need to help everyone, but I've got to think about myself and the kids I already have first. Thank you for the great advice!!

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Years ago I started out certified, then went to licensed. AT THE TIME, certification was MUCH easier than licensing. It was basically take a 15 hour course, fill out an app, someone comes and checks your house, and unless there's something really blantant, your certified. Now, it's almost as hard as licensing. In fact, they use almost the same checklist, and almost all the same forms. Of course, background checks have been added, and that's a good thing, but it's no longer really a segway to getting licensed, IMO. It's just as hard!

Country Gal, I hope that makes you feel a little better! I'm happy to hear about the 5 start thing, too!

I think easing into things is much better. You get to establish what works for you and your kids, then hopefully make minor changes for regulatory sake.

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