Is Providing Home-Based Child Care For You?
There Are Many Considerations...
Not everyone is suited to providing home-based child care just as some people wouldn't make great doctors, lawyers, sales clerks or artists. And sometimes the person would make a wonderful home child care practitioner but he/she doesn't live in a setting that is conducive and safe for children or perhaps his/her family is not supportive of having other children in their home on a regular basis.
There are many considerations to ponder before taking the step to open up your own home-based child care business. When you are in the business of taking care of people, in this case - children - you owe it to them as well as to yourself to make sure you are in the right business. Every child deserves the very best care - with a stable, loving home child care practitioner in a safe, healthy environment that is conducive to a child's positive growth and development. Where a child is concerned - there is no room for errors!
Take a moment to ask yourself and reflect upon the following questions:
- Do you really like children?
- Do you really feel you will like caring for children for 9 to 10 hour days, 5 days a week or more?
- Are your family members (partner/spouse and children) supportive of your decision to provide home-based child care?
- Are your family members willing to make changes to accommodate the home child care? (i.e.: share their toys, help with household chores, revise physical set-up of home to ensure it is safe, etc.)
- Do you have a safe and healthy home environment for children to play?
- Do you have a home large enough to accommodate the needs of the children in your care?
Please note the maximum number of children that you can care for in your home by law.
- Do you have the kind of personality required to deal with parents, neighbours and your own family, especially when problems arise?
- Are you prepared to respect and accept differences in a client family's culture, lifestyle and attitudes?
- Do you feel comfortable and confident working in an environment where you would have very little contact with other adults on a daily basis?
- Are you prepared to take on the responsibility of being your own boss? (i.e.: recordkeeping, planning activities with the children, etc.)
Self-assessment and reflection should be a regular and ongoing part of operating your own home-based child care business. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact us or check out the resources available on this topic in ASCY's Professional Resource Library.