looking to open a drop-off/"as needed" babysitting option in Fairfield county
CTMamma
member
Reaching out to local fellow mamas and papas out there in the hopes that you can help me with some much needed input.
I am looking to open an at home "drop off" daycare/babysitting services in a couple of months (I live in Stamford). The idea of the drop-off services is for you to have a place to drop off your child(ren) for 2-3 hours while you run errands, go to lunch with a friend, have a date night with your significant other or just take a break from parenthood (at least in theory) and relax. I will be setting up several "stations" that would serve children of all ages. Reservations can be made over the phone or via email and drop offs can be arranged for most hours of the day or evening.
A bit more detail: I am imagining having something like 4-5 regular families that drop off their kids on "as-needed basis" so we would get to know each other and the kids would be comfortable coming over. Instead of you taking your 2-3 year old with you to the grocery store and having to deal with potential tantrums, it may be much easier to drop him off with me, knowing he will be fully entertained, while you do your shopping or run errands. I imagine a relaxed 2 hour break while you go get your hair or nails done while I watch over your little one. I foresee having 2-3 kids come by during a few different time slots throughout the day so I would not have 8-10 kids at any given point, unless I also hire additional help to assist with managing the additional children. For example, one parent may drop off her 3 year old daughter from 12-2, another one may drop off a 2 year old from 1-3 pm, maybe someone else drops off their child for an hour in the middle of the day here and there, and someone may drop off their 5 year old at 6 pm for a movie and a dinner with their spouse or friend).
Depending on how many kids I feel comfortable handling on my own (say 3 kids max), I would have a few college students who live around me be available so that if I get too many reservations for a certain time slot, I would ask them to come in to help, or, if I cannot get help, I would tell the parent we are booked at that time slot and offer them an alternative.
I think this may be perfect for those without a regular babysitter and would just provide you with an alternative and a much needed break.
Re: looking to open a drop-off/"as needed" babysitting option in Fairfield county
Idea is great in theory just not sure how comfortable parents would be. I know I would not be comfortable and would just take the kids with me to run errands. I do it all the time anyway.