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SAHM as DCP?
Our neighbor will be a SAHM starting in May. When she found out her position was being eliminated, she decided she wanted to open a daycare. I am not sure what her definite plans are right now (we have been neighbors for about 6 months and have just chatted), but by the time we need daycare in January, she will have a 2 year old and a 6 month old (ours will be 4 mos). Right now the 1 year old is taken care of by a live-in relative, so I am not sure if she would be part of the childcare arrangement as well.
We are seriously considering talking to her about taking care of our child. The convenience factor is huge, and the few parenting choices I have witnessed are in line with what we hope to do (babywearing, cloth diapering). Obviously, I am anxious that if something were to go badly, we would still be neighbors, so there is that concern.
Beyond asking her about her goals (becoming a certified DCP vs. just watching a child from the neighborhood), any ideas of other questions I should ask? Would you do this or are we crazy to consider it?
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Re: SAHM as DCP?
We initially used our neighbor as our DCP when we moved to MD. She was newly licensed (open for only a year) and had about three 2,3,4 year olds. Our 2-year old DD would've been the 4th child there. It was just her and it was pretty crazy. She was nice, but I think she was too overwhelmed. She definitely needed a helper, but since she was sorta just-breaking-even, she didn't get one. We eventually pulled DD out and put her in a licensed daycare.
It may just be me, I would definitley feel more comfy in a licensed environment and learning something. Would she be doing any learning activities with the children or just be a glorified baby sitter? I would let her be open for a year or two to let her find her "groove".
When we pulled her out, it was a little weird between us for a while.
I have nothing against home daycares. We had DD at an in-home daycare from 3mo-20mo, and loved this woman dearly. She had over 15 years of experience, 2 helpers, and very enriching.
Honestly, I wouldn't go there.
Keep your relationship as neighbors, and take your DD somewhere else. There are a lot of growing pains with starting up a daycare - unless you're a certain type of person that LOVES kids and is super patient, it's a reaaaally hard business.
If she starts her daycare, gets liscensed, and things seem to be going well and thriving.... you could always think about switching DD there next year.
Similar to PP, I'd be concerned about the number of kids she has without any help, particularly how many are under 2. In MD,(to be licensed) any DCP with more than 2 kids under 2 has to have an assistant and even then they are limited to 8 kids total, with no more than 4 kids under 2 years old.
If she has help, I'd definitely consider it.
We use a licensed in-home and are really happy with it. But, (and some may flame me for this) I would probably consider an un-licensed in-home as well if I was really comfortable with the person and setup. When we were looking, so many licensed providers and centers had violations and many (including ours) hadn't had an ispection for almost 2 years even though they are supposed to be inspected annually. Also, the inspections are kind of silly to me since they are announced - giving providers time to get everything in shape if it wasn't already.
Don't get me wrong, I think the idea of a licensed place is better than an un-licensed one, I guess I just don't give the licensing that much weight because of how the system actually works.
My main concern would be around reliability and her ability to manage all of the kids. These are some questions I would want to ask:
1. Is she planning to get a license and meet the state licensing requirements?
2. What experience does she have working with kids and managing multiple kids at the same time? How does she know that she will like this as a career? How long does she plan on doing this?
3. Will she hire any additional help either on full or part time basis?
4. What will happen when she gets sick? How many days will she take off per year for vacations? What scheduled days off and holidays will she have?
5. Will she be giving you information in writing in terms of her policies, days off, etc.?
6. What hours will she operate?
ETA: We send our child to an in-home. My main concerns were:
1. It's very hard to manage so many kids and people need some downtime or a break during the day.
2. If the DCP gets the flu, does that mean I'm out of childcare for a week?
3. Is the person going to change their mind and then I have to scramble to find daycare.
With our in-home, she has been in business for over 2 years. Children are her passion and you can tell she loves her job. She runs her daycare like a center. She is doing continuing education to increase her licensing level. She usually has 2 other workers with her everyday (for 8 kids). She also has a network of workers to call upon if she or someone else is sick. We received a 20+ page document on her policies. So, those are the reasons I felt comfortable with it.
I re-read and realized you don't need her until January (almost a year away) and that you were asking for questions to ask her.
I'd wait it out and see how it's going as she gets established before approaching her with specific questions. At this point she may have some answers but they are probably based on how she thinks it will go vs. how it actually is having a house full of kids.
How old will your LO be in January?
How long would you plan to keep LO in her care? (my questions would be different if you were using her for the first year or so vs. all the way to kindergarten).
my concern would be that she would spend more time on her own 2 kids and give them preferential treatment while somewhat ignoring the needs of the other kids. Give it time, chances are she will still have slots open and re-visit the issue at the end of this year. But look at other places in the meantime and maybe even put a deposit down if you really love some (centers will require it).
good luck!
I'd research other daycares, gather info about all your options, and then throw her into the mix. If she is still your best option - go for it - and you're secure knowing you've done your research and chosen the best possible place (best = for other reasons besides convenience).
I've known two women who got laid off and started their own in-home daycares so they could be home with their kids. Both opened their business and shut it down shortly after. I think it's way harder than people think it is. I think it's like starting any business - and its more likely for a start up to fail than thrive.
If, on the other hand, you look at it as a live out nanny situation - and she's caring for her kids and your kid - that would be different because I feel like you'd have a lot more "say" in how she's caring for your child. You'd be her employer.
In general I'd be very wary of hiring a neighbor to do anything, much less something as personal as watching my kid, for fear of a fall out and then a bad relationship later.