Need Advice - Saint Louis,MO

I have watched kids off and on for years. It is a good way to make a little extra money. Just make sure that you get paid on time,set a price,make sure the parents pick up their children when they are supossed to,if they are going to be late make sure they call you and let you know so you aren't wandering what's going on,get all the phone #'s that you need,discuss displine rules. I hope this will help. I have had some parents that would try to pull what they can you have to be firm with them. Good Luck!

It was something I thought of doing, but ya gotta have good insurance on your home, and totally childproof everything. The thought of something happening to a child in my care and the parents wanting to sue, (im sure it can happen).

If it is somethng you really want to do,then I would try but for me I see it as losing my freedom I have 2 kids and 1 on the way I can handle my own when we go out but to handle others as well I don't like that idea can't leave on a whim and the safety of them would be on my mind.Having to set a schedule would be hard to do day after day with other children and your own depending on ages.What if you do get into it and it becomes not what you wanted and other parents depend on you as their child care provider after a few months or longer and you want out what would you do then?It is something that I wouldn't do.Sahm of 2 and 1 on the way

S. I started watching kids almost by accident. I thought because of my background it would be easy to watch kids in my own home. I have a degree in early childhood education and I worked for LaPetite Academy for quite a while, and when I left La Petite after the birth of my daughter I also worked as a nanny for a few years. Let me just say if I had it to do ver I would do a lot differently!

The first bit of advice I will impart is no matter how low scale you plan on whether it is one child or a friends kid, sit down and decide what it will take to cover the expences, because every little thing adds up, and you want to feel like you are making some money out of it after all.

Also set hours...stick to them and charge late fees! You gain Nothing by being Nice....one time of being nice turns into several nights a week of watching the clock and wondering when the parents will stroll in, after late dinners, and missed after school activities and just late nights of frustration I sure learned my lesson. I had one mom who would run any errand she had, go tan and have every excuse under the sun for not picking her child up on time. My favorite was, I wouldn't have made it here if I hadn't stopped for gas, that got old really quick I had to bite my tongue to remind her that the car would indeed make it to walmart even if she had her daughter in the car.

Also, the best thing you can do is have them pay for the week in advance, yes it is a bit of a hardship for a parent if they are just starting a new job but it safe guards you from being ripped off. If you don't go with being payed a week in advance then stay firm if you don't get paid, the kids don't come back for care until the money is in your hand.

Have a set in stone guidelines for what you will and will not accept for illness, and never waiver from it, if you get sick and have Doctor bills there goes your profit.

Get back up phone numbers of extended family members in case mom or dad go awol and there is an emergancy.

Give your kids the respect they deserve, their rooms should be a safe haven for them and they should have toys that are theirs alone and not be forced to share.

Don't be shy about including a clause in your contract making a parent responsible if a child does something extremely destructive in your home.

Also I know I sound jaded, but honestly it can be wonderful, just lay out the ground rules so it stays a joy...it can be extremely rewarding experience all around. I thoughrly enjoy being a trusted person to these other parents and I get pretty attached to the kids in my care.

Good luck
B.

S.,

I quit my job 4 1/2 years ago to stay home with my son. At the time daycare was the only option. The biggest benefit by far is that you are with your child. For me, that out weighed any down side of daycare. I did get state licensed which allowed me to be one the food program. I only watched 2 other kids & my own & the money I got from the food program was enough each month to cover groceries for my family of 3 & the kids I watched. Personally, I don't think financially we would have been able to make it without that. If you are licensed, you can also apply for grants to help pay for equipment. I only did daycare 2 1/2 years but got a total of $1800.00 which I mostly spent on big outdoor equipment. Even though I am not doing daycare my kids have a very nice set up in the back yard. There are negatives also, one big one for me was just the fact that I was home all day everyday with other peoples kids. I didn't get to take my son to the library or park or whatever to do fun things or even go get groceries or run errands during the day so I wouldn't have to do it later. That would have been really nice. I had a parent that started tanning every single day after work before she came to get her kids. If I had things to do over I would have only had daycare 4 days of the week so I at least had one to get things done & do something just Mommy & baby. I would also have told parents that they were expected to drop there kids of shortly before work & pick them up directly after. Just because your hours are 6:00am to 6:00pm does not mean you can wait & pick your kids up at 6 when you get off work at 2:30 or 3:00. All & all it is a great way for moms to stay home with their kids & make money. I would really consider trying to have at least 1 day for you & your kids or just for you if they are all in school. Then you don't have to take them grocery shopping or bill paying on Sat. I say pray about it & go for it & good luck. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

I know a Mom who uses eBay as her income. I technically stay at home, I only work after my husband gets home or on weekends a few hours a week at a children's clothing store. Best of luck!

I agree with Tracy. I have been doing home day care for 2 years now, it is nice to be able to stay home with the kids, but that is what you do, stay home, unless you want to load up all the kids to go somewhere, and with the age group I have, outings are rare here. This has been the hardest adjustment for me, before daycare I had 2 years where I just stayed home and did not work and loved being able to go wherever whenever.
I as well have the parents that have the kids here all day even if they are at home, I do realize that they are still paying, but ever now and then it would be nice if they would pick them up early on the days they are not working. I sometimes feel taken for granted.
I would suggest starting slow, maybe 1 child and see how you like it. Maybe 1 child is all you will need to make a difference in your income. I know that full time infants in Olathe are about $150-200 a week and up. Plus if you only have one other child you can charge more since that chld would be getting more one on one care.
Good luck to you!

Hi S.,
I have been doing home child care now for 4 1/2 years. I'm actually in the process of becoming licensed with the state of Missouri.
The up side - I get to raise my kids, I am her everyday with my kids, get them on and off the bus, etc.

OK, the real part being home all day regardless of you watching kids or not your electric bill, water bill, heating bill, A/C bill will all go up but you won't be paying high gas prices or child care now. Your food bill will go up but only for your daughter and and you. I have insurance through stat farm it hasn't gone up that much for 4 children insured in my home every year.

In the state of Missouri you can watch 4 children any age, unrelated to you in your home with out being licensed by the state.

In the grand scheme of things I don't see anything that would really be consider terrible. In this you can set what hours you like and what age children you would like to have, such as
you could have newborn - 3, 3 - 5, only teacher's children where you would work the 9 months school is in session, before and after school only, you could look for a nanny position, you could look for mothers that need their children transported back and forth to school. There are alot of different ways you could go and what hours you would like to have. Let me know if you would like more information, also now in MO you can watch children that are on state aid with out being licensed and get on the food program at the same time - this is the other thing I am doing. W. B.
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I think that babysitting out of my home has been the best thing in my life to help me stay home. I have a 17 month old little boy and I babysit a little boy who is 19 months old 3 days a week. It is great because they are best friends and I have also formed a great friendship with his mom.

Before you decide to watch children out of your house you need to decided what is best for you. You need to decide what hours you want to have other children, how often you want to work and what ages you feel comfortable with.

For me, my situation works so well because the two boys are on the same schedule and they basically enjoy doing the same things. You will have your ups and downs though and you have to be very fair. Both boys follow the same rules in my house and they understand what is off limits and that when they mess up there will be a time out and a sorry involved.

This has been a great experience for me and I hope you find what works for you!