Anyone Else Specialize In Little Ones?

[MommyMuffin]

I only offer care for children 6 years and under. Does anyone else do this? I have been trying to fill my 2 yrs and up but no bites except for parents who have school agers too.

Just curious as to how many of you only offer care to only the younger crowd? If so, what made you decide to do that?

[mickey2]

I provide care from newborn to 4 years old only!

I don't like the attitudes of older children.

All of mine have started at 6-12 months and have remained with me until leaving to go to school as soon as they turn 4.

Whenever I have an opening I fill it with a LONG-TERM child 12 months or under.

I do ages 18mts to 5. I love the toddlers and pre-school age. I get calls everyday for infants. I guess it is hard for us that only take this age because some moms have an infant and a toddler. I love babies but then I feel limited to doing crafts, singing, worksheets etc. But that is me, I know alot of provider can do both. I do have 2 rooms I use and i guess I could use one room for babies and one for toddlers & pre-school.

[SilverSabre25]

I have been dearly wanting to get some over-twos too, but I have only gotten one and it was through a mutual friend. It seems like you kind of have to "raise" the kids from infancy in order to get the preschool crowd. I don't and won't do school age care until I have a school ager of my own...if then.

[MarinaVanessa]

I just changed my ages to exactly that. Ages 6 weeks to 6 years. It's harder to fill the 2-6 spaces but if I get an infant they usually stay with me until they start school. I changed my ages because I just don't have the patience for school-agers and realistically I'd rather fill that spot with a FT infant or toddler than an after school-only kid.

[Cat Herder]

Originally Posted by Children First

I provide care from newborn to 4 years old only!

Same here. Once they turn 4 they have aged out of my daycare.

Once they turn 4, I cannot compete with free pre-k. The only kids that want to come after that age, around here, are kids/parents with behavior issues that were termed.

I got tired of trying to "save/fix" everyone (it turned out that parent appreciation/cooperation was inversely proportionate to the amount of effort I put in) and focused on providing a happy and safe environment for just "my" littles whom are all sleeping like little angels right now...

[mickey2]

Once they turn four they just can't seem to sit still for longer than 2 minutes, they can't play with anything longer than 2 minutes, they can't seem to play alone without getting in the others faces, they can't listen well and they just develop horrible attitudes towards each other. Give me babies or toddlers any day!

All 6 of mine are sleeping right now, and ALL fell asleep within minutes of being put down.

In one room I have my 18 month old my 23 month old and my 26 month old in pnps, in another area my 3.5 year old and my almost 4 year old on their nap cots, and in the last room I have my 13 month old grandson in his pnp.

Once you get babies on a schedule its great! It took me over a month to get my grandson used to my routine and I had to let him scream some days for anywhere from 1/2 to one hour but now everyone sleeps and I have at least 2 hours almost every single day where I get to do whatever I want!

[cillybean83]

i do 6 weeks-2 years at registration, I'll be switching to 2-5 in a year or two when i start my preschool

[momma2girls]

There are many daycare providers in my area that onnly do infant- 18 months. I provide daycare for all ages.

[snbauser]

I only do 2-5 year olds although I occassionally will take an 18 m/o depending on the developmental level of that 18 m/o. As much as I love the babies it is not a good fit for my preschool environment and is very difficult to teach a preschool curriculum with babies around. And I have my own school aged children and that is enough for me....LOL!!

[Abigail]

I will be taking 6 weeks to 6 years also. It seems to make sense to have the same children all day year round, not just summers. I am able to have up to two school-age children and I would probably take them if they had a sibling in care because it's still extra income. I know many places here have infants openings and no toddler openings, so that seems a little backwards to me since we can only have three under the age of 2.

[Missani]

I'm not totally against SAs but I don't have any here. I currently have 7mos-4yrs and I love it! In my state, I can have 6 under SA (I'm changing mine to be able to have 8) and up to 10 total. So, if I did have SAs it wouldn't take a full time spot that I'd try to be filling. If that makes sense...it's hard to explain. I would love to have only little ones forever, but if the right opportunity came along for a SA, then I might fill it. I am advertising kindergarten half-day slots available during the school year only, but I'd consider any age. I don't want them in the summer because I don't have enough for them to do. I would, however, consider doing all SAs when my own children are older. I feel there is a huge need for good SA care in my area, and if I only had big ones then I would do FTs, etc. Besides, I might get some time to myself during the day (to help at my kids' school, clean, etc.) while still making a decent income.

[SandeeAR]

I take 6 weeks to 5 years. I suggest at 4 yrs, that parents send them to a local preschool. I'm not set up for that. Yep, I'm a glorified babysitter. I know that offends some, but not me. I treat these 4 kids like I did my own. I play with them some, feed them, diaper them and work on colors, shapes etc.

I got my oldest (2.5 y.o) when I opened at 18 mos. The other three, 10 months, 6 months and 1 y/o, when they were all 6-8 weeks old. So I've pretty much helped raise 3 of them from birth.

[AmandasFCC]

I'm very much considering going this route. I started out broad because I really wasn't sure where my comfort level would be, so right now I care for 12months-12 years. But now that I've got a couple years under my belt, and I've dealt with the wide range of kids, I've been seriously thinking about cutting them off once they head to kindergarten. Quite frankly, I just don't like to deal with school kids. It doesn't matter how good they are, there are still aspects that I just don't like, i.e. the lack of nap, the habits they pick up ... I've found the older they are, they more on top of them I have to be!

[ammama]

I only do 2-5 year olds too. I don't mind having one infant under two, but for the last 2 years (and next two years), that will be my own child.

[newtodaycare22]

I only accept 3-5 year olds. Everyone told me that I'd be hard pressed to fill the slots because of "real preschool" and free pre-k programs.

I advertise by telling parents that they get preschool experiences in a smaller environment...and I'm full

[Rachel]

Here the oldest kids in daycare are 2.5 in September. There is subsidized 3 - 4 preschool, and the cutoff is the end of Dec, so the oldest child you will get is a Jan baby for the next September (daycare runs on the school year here, Sept. - Aug.). Every so often you might get a not yet 3 fall baby, but the official places don't have to take them (not sure if they are allowed to, I only start next year), and the private places are more expensive than pre-k, so usually they all go to pre-k as soon as they are eligible.

[Mrs.Ky]

Originally Posted by MommyMuffin

I only offer care for children 6 years and under. Does anyone else do this? I have been trying to fill my 2 yrs and up but no bites except for parents who have school agers too.

Just curious as to how many of you only offer care to only the younger crowd? If so, what made you decide to do that?

I offer care for 6 weeks till 5 years old and in school full time ONLY. Like someone else said I dont like the attitudes of the older children. When I ran a big daycare I had 3 school agers and they just seemed to make everything out of control I surely dont miss that.

[Stacy214]

I have 6 weeks to 5 but would love if they left at age 2 or 3 lol, I actually encourage it My first group (8 years ago) all stayed from birth to Kindergarten ugh. I really got attached and am thankful to stay in touch (plus most of my referrals come from them) but I think my heart is with the youngest ones