I just got my official license a few weeks ago, before that I was caring just for 3 we are allowed to have without one. I am now completely full and have taken down all my ads and such but I still get calls and referrals. I was wondering if you have a waiting list and how you manage it. I hoping that I will continue to have low turn over but do only care for children under 5 so there will be spots that do open from time to time. Is it easier to just say your sorry your full or do you actually keep a list of people and call when a spot opens?

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I keep a wait list with their name, address, phone, number of kids and ages, and the hours they need care. I tell them I will contact them once a spot opens. I also ask them to call if they find other care and would like to be taken off my wait list... that way I'm not wasting my time or theirs with phone calls.

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I've never kept a waiting list. I always managed to pick up new kids when one left.

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I don't keep a wait list either. I don't have openings often enough to really warrant one. If I foresee an opening in the distant future (kids going off to school next Sept., etc.) I will tell people to check back in if they are still interested.

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I don't have a waiting list but for years at the beginning of the school year will get calls from the same people seeing if I have openings. One lady waited 4 years for her daughter to come here and another lady waited but then her son actually aged out by the time I had room. I usually get a child at 2 and keep till they are going into 6th grade. I have had some move or parents get new jobs where they don't need me anymore but I have a low turnover rate. This is why I run more of a family type childcare because I have the children for so many years that it becomes more of a family than childcare. The families usually end up knowing all the kids because of the amount of time I keep them.

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I'll write down a name and number if they sound good on the phone and there may be a possibility of an opening. But for the most part, I stay full all the time and tell parents I don't see anything on the horizon, but they are welcome to call back.

. I once got several calls over a few months from a mom who had read my good reviews online. Each time I told her I was full. She seemed more agitated each time she called and the last time she called she asked if I had any openings and I said I am totally full. She exploded with "Well G*d dammnit...when WILL you have openings? I'm sick of calling!"

Ummm...for you....never....!!!!

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I have an infant waiting list and I keep track of it using Minute Menu Kids. When they contact me initially, I tell them that I am at capacity for infants then ask whether they would like to be added to my waiting list. If they say yes then I just gather the same info as pfund2233 and then when I have an opening I'll call them.

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