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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Daycare Taking Over The House
Beach Baby 03:51 PM 01-28-2012
How much space in your home do you dedicate to your daycare? I am struggling with the idea of daycare taking over our home. I wish we could afford to buy a place for it! How do you deal with this, or doesn't it bother you?
Crazy8 03:59 PM 01-28-2012
from day 1 (over 10 years ago) I made the promise to myself and my family that the daycare would not take over our entire home. I dedicate one room (would be a formal living room) to the daycare and then some storage space in the basement and that is it really. I do have babies sleep up in my own kids rooms so there is a pack n' play in the corner of their bedrooms sometimes (right now only have one infant who sleeps up there).
I have gotten comments about how "it's a shame" I have to give up a room of my house but that one room makes enough money to pay the mortgage on the whole house so I'm ok with that. I would not let it take over our other living spaces though.
I have gotten comments about how "it's a shame" I have to give up a room of my house but that one room makes enough money to pay the mortgage on the whole house so I'm ok with that. I would not let it take over our other living spaces though.
sharlan 04:19 PM 01-28-2012
My kids have total access to my entire downstairs - familyroom, livingroom, diningroom, kitchen, playroom, and a full bathroom.
Beach Baby 04:30 PM 01-28-2012
Little Diamonds, I am in a very similar situation. I have one room...the playroom, which would have been the dining room. We eat and do crafts in the kitchen, right off of the playroom. Nap time is in my son's room in a pack n play. If I happen to be watching an older child, I have them rest on the couch in the living room during nap time. I only watch a few kids on an as needed basis and one toddler one day a week, so it's not really an issue right now. I was worried it wasn't enough space, and that soon my whole house would be run down and worn out from daycare use.
saved4always 08:12 PM 01-28-2012
I used to use the main floor of my home for daycare as well as pnp's in the bedrooms for naps. I still have pnp's in all the bedrooms but I have switched the daycare area to our finished basement. I still use the front room (used to be dining room, now more of a sitting room) during drop off and pick ups so we are near the door to let parent in but I only have one bucket of toys to use for those times. All the kids are still in diapers so they do not use the bathroom. I felt like I was living a daycare 24/7 when I used to have everything on the main floor. Now, I can close the basement door, stick the bucket of toys behind a table, and my home is just my home again. 
Meeko 08:27 PM 01-28-2012
Do you have a garage you could convert into a playroom? I have know quite a few providers do that. I know of one who had a DETATCHED garage...but they built a passageway between it and the main house and she used that as her main day care area.
Abigail 11:05 AM 01-29-2012
I understand everyone's situation is different. My husband and I have been married just over a year and bought a house with intentions of the lower level being used for daycare to keep it separate from our living space. We came from a 2 bedroom apartment so the upstairs of a home is the same size. I have about 1,200 square feet that is used for daycare. Nothing downstairs looks like a house besides the nap room has a crib and cots on the floor. We are all in the same room together unless a baby is sleeping then the baby is obviously in the nap room.
I leave my daycare door unlocked during the day. At first I was going to lock it and unlock it before an arrival but I don't even meet parents at the door. LOL. I let them undress the winter clothing and yell HI down the hall then go greet them but if I'm busy with the baby or something the parent always seems to walk the child into the room we're in and give a hug and kiss and leave. All my parents have contracted hours and call if they are early or late. So far I'm really enjoying having a completely separate area of the home for daycare, but this situation will not work once we have kids who will need to have bedrooms downstairs down the road. By the time we have 2 or 3 kids and if I'm still in childcare I would move it to a separate building. This is a great starting point for me though!
I leave my daycare door unlocked during the day. At first I was going to lock it and unlock it before an arrival but I don't even meet parents at the door. LOL. I let them undress the winter clothing and yell HI down the hall then go greet them but if I'm busy with the baby or something the parent always seems to walk the child into the room we're in and give a hug and kiss and leave. All my parents have contracted hours and call if they are early or late. So far I'm really enjoying having a completely separate area of the home for daycare, but this situation will not work once we have kids who will need to have bedrooms downstairs down the road. By the time we have 2 or 3 kids and if I'm still in childcare I would move it to a separate building. This is a great starting point for me though!
karen 11:35 AM 01-31-2012
I consider myself lucky.... I have a 2 family house and have dedicated 1 of the units strictly for the business and live in the other unit. It seems to work for me so at the end of the day I lock the daycare door and go downstairs to my house with my adult sized furniture to sit on 
!
!
Crazy8 12:15 PM 01-31-2012
Originally Posted by MamaNik:
Little Diamonds, I am in a very similar situation. I have one room...the playroom, which would have been the dining room. We eat and do crafts in the kitchen, right off of the playroom. Nap time is in my son's room in a pack n play. If I happen to be watching an older child, I have them rest on the couch in the living room during nap time. I only watch a few kids on an as needed basis and one toddler one day a week, so it's not really an issue right now. I was worried it wasn't enough space, and that soon my whole house would be run down and worn out from daycare use.
Could you use nap mats in the dining room for older kids? I don't mind the pack n' plays in my kids bedrooms - they are at school anyway, but I wouldn't want kids sleeping on my sofa! I have a kid sized table with 6 chairs in my playroom so that is where we eat, do crafts, everything. I do keep an exersaucer in the corner of my dining room (right next to the playroom) so that if I have to put the baby down for a bit he is within sight but not reach of the 2-3 year olds, LOL!Little Diamonds, I am in a very similar situation. I have one room...the playroom, which would have been the dining room. We eat and do crafts in the kitchen, right off of the playroom. Nap time is in my son's room in a pack n play. If I happen to be watching an older child, I have them rest on the couch in the living room during nap time. I only watch a few kids on an as needed basis and one toddler one day a week, so it's not really an issue right now. I was worried it wasn't enough space, and that soon my whole house would be run down and worn out from daycare use.
quailsgarden 01:49 PM 01-31-2012
Right now my daycare takes over every room in the house except the master bedroom. My house is only 1000 sq ft so I don't have the space to limit. I don't mind though. My day usually ends at 5pm and my husband is usually home just after. I have been able to get the kids involved in a clean up routine so there are not toys all over when he gets home. I do run a small daycare with only 3 children 1 is my own. If I had the space I would love to dedicate a room just for daycare!
cheerfuldom 02:24 PM 01-31-2012
our old house was 1400 square feet and the daycare was taking over especially since our family is two adults and two kids. since daycare has turned into a long term situation, we moved. now our main floor is family space and the finished basement is daycare space. we put in a counter, cabinets and small fridge down there. there is also an empty bedroom for a napping room and a bathroom. i have to keep a certain amount of kids in order to pay for the mortgage but it is worth it. i was going crazy in the old space especially considering that I keep younger kids. if we had anyone crying, they all would be up and with a half dozen younger kids (including mine) the reality is that there is almost always someone crying.