That's how I got my first daycare kid. She saw me on care.com and called at 8 pm on a Sunday night. I live in a small town and didn't know her, and in the intervening years, (after caring for both of her kids), we still don't have any friends in common, except for another one of my daycare parents. I asked if she wanted to come over that night and meet me, but she said no, the baby was already in bed. She wanted to start at 5 am the next morning. (I was desperate for kids!) ;-) I told her I didn't even have a bed for her, and she said she would bring a pack n play. I told her to write out a page of instructions and schedule for this 6 month old child and we had a deal. I hadn't learned about contracts and handbooks at that point. I had her kids for just over 4 years, so sometimes, it miraculously works...and I mean that both ways. I had no idea what I was doing with a daycare business. We had lost the contract that kept our longtime business afloat, and I had to do something. I thought it would be like the 60s when my mom kept kids. I did have the sense to check on licensing, so I was ok there. But, in the end, it was a great thing. That said, I would never, ever do that again.

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