How To Set Up Your Daycare Center

Hope you enjoyed and benefitted by my article, “All About Opening A Daycare Center”; now comes the next step of setting up a daycare center. It should be fun for kids coming to it and have a homely atmosphere.

The first important aspect is that your daycare center whether at home or in a commercial space should have a safe and fun environment.  Some of the important ingredients should be:

a) The play area of the daycare should not only be a safe place to play, but should also contain bright decorations. It should have a part of the room or a small room that is earmarked for kids for some quiet time to read and rest. In addition there should be space where the children can play games together. It is also essential to buy and keep mats for nap time.

b) Next there should be a good supply of toys, books, art supplies and other educational and entertaining items. The items supplied should not only be age appropriate, but also safe to play. 

c) You should provide healthy snacks, water and juice; in case you don’t supply snacks, make sure you ask the parents to pack them. Also there should be sufficient supply of plates, napkins and cups depending on the age of the child.

d) The bathroom or changing area must be well equipped; buy age appropriate bathroom equipment including changing tables, diapers and other necessary supplies when working with toddlers.

Design an appropriate schedule depending on the age group; research well before doing it. It would help to divide the day into welcome time, reading time, play time, snack time nap time, outside time, and so on. It would also be desirable to add some educational elements for older children and offer basic reading and math. You may also want to celebrate holidays, seasons, and special events with the children.

Make sure you not only fulfill the licensing requirements of the State, but also take the following steps to make sure your business is set up properly.  

a) The first step includes not only deciding the positions to be filled up, but also arranging for interviews to hire them. Ensure you hire people that have some background in early childhood education.

b) Next set up the hours of operation; make a plan when the kids can be dropped and picked up by the parents.

c) Consult the other daycare centers regarding the price they charge for their services; fix up a suitable competitive price. If you offer any specialized service you can charge more.

The next step to setting up a daycare center is to advertise in newspapers, local notice boards of schools, churches and coffee shops and newspapers. Meet with parents and show them and their children around your facilities, introduce them to the staff, and explain the schedule and curriculum to them. Next do the necessary paperwork to admit children into your day care.

Lastly learn as you progress in the business and improve your facilities, policies and program structure for best care of children and to attract more new clients.

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