Owning and operating a daycare center can be both an exciting and rewarding business venture. However, daycare owners are seeing more and more centers opening. What makes your daycare center stand out? What do you need to do to set it apart from other daycares? I am going to show you how to make your daycare stand out in a field that is becoming more crowded by the day. 

There are eight things that you can do to set your daycare center apart from your competition. 

To make your daycare stand out have a great advertising plan, emphasize safety and cleanliness, foster early childhood development, invest in your staff, consistently enforce rules and policies, develop a unique and exciting curriculum, go digital, have good communication with parents or caregivers, and provide a unique experience for your families. 

Having a Great Advertising Plan

A great advertising plan will help you to get your daycare centers name known throughout your community. Per Hopping In, the most effective way to attract new customers is through Google AdWords. This is considered to be the most powerful form of advertising today because it gives potential customers exactly what they want.

With parents constantly engaging with electronic devices. Digital advertising is perhaps the most efficient and cost-effective means of advertising. Hopping In suggests having a great website and a standalone social media account for your daycare.

Check out our best advertising tips HERE.

Placing an Emphasis on Safety and Cleanliness

There are several certifications you will have to obtain to own and operate a daycare. Many of these certifications have a strong emphasis on safety and cleanliness regulations. An impeccably clean child care center can make an invaluable impression. Besides, you want parents or caregivers of your students to be as comfortable as possible when leaving their children in your care.

The website TUIO states that one of the most important factors in separating great daycares from average to poor daycares is an emphasis on safety and cleanliness. Childcare.gov has provided a checklist that ensures you are providing a safe and healthy child care experience. This ensures that you and your employees are getting adequate health and safety training, nutrition, and physical activity information, background check information for employees, and childcare and licensing regulation information.

Fostering Early Childhood Development

When parents or caregivers leave their children in your care, they are trusting that you will play a significant role in teaching their children many of the things they will not be able to instill. You can make your daycare stand out by going above and beyond other centers when it comes to childhood development.

While any daycare can offer basic learning programs for toddlers and children, daycare.com recommends implementing programs that foster early childhood development. Another suggestion provided by daycare.com includes providing an enriching environment that promotes learning, instead of merely keeping children busy or distracted.

Investing in Your Staff

When it comes to owning and operating a daycare center, your staff is your biggest and most important asset. If you do not have a good staff, you do not have a good child care center. Hiring the right people and keeping them up-to-date on their training is probably the most important investment you can make when owning a daycare.

Per TUIO, you should prioritize rewarding and recognizing hard work. One way to do this is to hold weekly staff appreciation meetings. You should also provide help and support whenever it is needed. You can build relationships with your staff by including them in your goals and vision. High-quality staff retention is essential to your business, and following a few of these suggestions will go a long way towards having happy and productive staff.

Consistently Enforcing Rules and Policies

Just as consistency is essential in developing great parenting skills at home, consistency is just as important in a daycare center. An article in VeryWell states that consistency is an essential concept in raising children. Janice Palmer, the Early Childhood administrator and CEO of The Little People Child Development Center, Inc., also recognizes the importance of consistency when enforcing rules and writing policies. 

So why is consistency so important to a child? VeryWell says that because the basic learning process involves internalizing, rehearsing, and repeating, children need consistency in the rehearsing and repeating aspects of this process. This also applies to be a behavioral learning process as well. Being consistent in enforcing the rules and regulations will provide the children with the chance to quickly learn your rules. The quicker the children learn the rules, the easier life will be for you, your staff, and your students.

Developing a Unique and Exciting Curriculum

Having a unique and exciting curriculum at your daycare is an indispensable asset. Part of your curriculum should include activities that encourage and develop play and exploration. A considerable amount of thought should be put into your curriculum because it is the backbone of your daycare center.

Access to age-appropriate materials and toys is a prerequisite for any good curriculum. Per TUIO, you should also be ensuring that your children have daily outside time, weather conditions permitting.

Going Digital

Let’s face it. We live in a digital world. Parents are looking for a convenient way to pay their child’s tuition, as well as digital content they can access in the comfort of their homes. There is nothing like being able to see how far your child is progressing from your tablet, phone, or computer. You can set your daycare apart from other centers by offering quality child care while simultaneously offering convenience for parents or caregivers.

A survey conducted by early childhood education blog Himana indicated that over 50% of parents would consider switching child care providers if a daycare center offered a mobile application, contactless check-ins, contactless payment methods, digital documentation including assessments, activity content accessible through a website, and shared pictures or videos of their children.

Good Communication with Parents or Caregivers

Even though you may have the most high-tech, advanced digital systems when it comes to check-ins and payments, you are going to have to communicate with parents or caregivers daily. Nobody is going to want to send their children to a daycare where the owner or the staff has poor communication skills. Interactions with parents or caregivers should have a pleasant, conversational tone.

According to TUIO, mentioning a specific achievement or accomplishment a child may have reached pick-up is a personal touch parents will appreciate. You can also give the parents or caregivers the drawings or coloring pages the children have done. If there are concerns that need to be addressed, make sure to handle them professionally and to the complete satisfaction of your customer.

Providing a Unique Experience

While all childcare centers have a list of regulations they must adhere to, you can make your daycare center a unique experience for both children and parents.  One cost-effective method for making your daycare center unique is through the implementation of art and craft activities. Child Care Lounge has sacral suggestions for quick and easy activities for children of all ages. 

You can also set your daycare center apart from other centers by inviting the families of your students to participate in celebrations throughout the year. Some of these celebrations might include their birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Grandparents Day, Halloween, and Veterans Day. Themed parties or dress-up days are also a great way to do something out of the ordinary that will make your staff, students, and parents very happy.

As you can see, there are many different ways to make your daycare stand out. If you are willing to go the extra mile and put a little effort into your child care center, you can give parents or caregivers a unique experience that will have them referring every parent they know to your daycare. You will also have incredibly High staff retention, as they will thoroughly enjoy working for you. Before long, your center will be so popular that you will have a waitlist!

Related Questions

How can I market my daycare to attract more business?

There are many different marketing strategies to market your daycare. However, Constant Contact says that the best advertising for your daycare center is for your existing customers. Happy parents can provide great referrals for your daycare to other parents. Sponsoring local children’s events in your community is another great way to put your name out there. You may also want to consider creating a standalone social media account or joining social media groups as a chance to advertise your daycare.

What are the main characteristics that typically define a good daycare center? 

There are many characteristics parents look for when looking for daycare for their children.

 After all, parents are going to want the best possible care for their children. Babylist has provided a list of eight characteristics of great daycare. They say stellar reviews, a caring and stimulating environment, an interesting and varied curriculum or schedule, qualified caregivers, a strong emphasis on safety, a low caregiver to child ratio.

 

 

 

Please note: This blog post is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a legal expert to address your specific needs.

To learn more on how to start your own daycare checkout my startup course and documents here.