Pros and cons of an In-home Daycare versus opening a Daycare Facility

As the new norm of households needing two incomes to make ends meet, daycare centers have become a high demand necessity. If you love working with children, then this article will help you on your journey as you become a new daycare operator. There are a few pros and cons when it comes to opening a daycare center whether it is an in-home daycare or facility centered daycare.

The pros of an in-home daycare are that you can care for your own children and have a home-like environment. The cons for an in-home daycare are that you may feel like you are cleaning all day and not having privacy in your home.

The pros of a commercial daycare are having a staff and having a school-like environment. the cons of a commercial daycare are possible illness outbreaks and having extra expenses.

Working with children will give you a rewarding feeling as help them learn and grow. Let’s begin by discussing the pros and cons of opening an in-home daycare.

Table of Contents

Pros and Cons of opening an in-home Daycare.

What are the pros of opening an in-home daycare?

Care for Your Own Child

Opening an in-home daycare has a few perks. For starters, if you have children, you are able to take care of your own children. Depending on your state regulations, they count among the number of children you are allowed to watch. Your state licensing requirements can be found here.

Having your children listed on the roster is a huge advantage. You are able to make extra income for your family while not having the extra expense of daycare. Not to mention, you will not miss milestones such as crawling, walking, talking, etc.

Another great perk is that you are able to positively impact the grown and development of children through organized and stimulating games and activities. This will help the children to learn development skills that are well needed and help them get prepared for when they are ready to go to school.

Having an in-home daycare also helps the children gain social skills as they interact with other children. Since an in-home daycare usually has a smaller amount of children, it allows the children to have a closer bond with their teacher. This will also benefit that there will be fewer cases of illnesses.

Home-Like Environment

The children will have a home-like environment. They will feel more comfortable with the setting since they will be just starting to go to daycare for the first time.

Having a home-like environment also have a few advantages for you as the business owner. Not having to abide by a dress code is a great advantage. You are able to wear what you want to wear and not have to follow any dress code guidelines or wear a uniform.

How much do you enjoy commuting back and forth to work? The commute will no longer be an issue and you will not have to hit that morning and evening traffic. If you happen to sleep in a little late, you are already at work. You will also save wear and tear on your vehicle, which means you will not have to get your vehicle serviced as frequently.

What are the cons of opening an in-home daycare?

Cleaning all Day Every Day and Possible Damage

As a parent, I already feel like I am never finished cleaning. As an in-home daycare business owner, you will have more children in your home which means more messes. You will still have your normal cleaning to do on top of trying to keep your home organized with the additional children in the home.

There will be spills from food and drinks. As potty training is incorporated, there will be many accidents on furniture and the floor. You will also have those children who haven’t quite learned how to keep the writing and drawing to the paper. For some reason, it always finds a way to the wall or furniture.

To elaborate on the writing on the furniture and walls, this is where you will have some damage done in your home. This may require you to replace furniture, repaint the walls, or even have to rip up the carpet if you have carpet in your home.

Loss of Privacy

Neighbors in your neighborhood could possibly be a little overbearing. Some of your neighbors may not like all the traffic that your daycare business brings to the community. This means additional cars up and down the street throughout the day. If you do not have a big driveway are a lot of parking space, drop off and pick up times can become a little hectic.

Clients and strangers will be in and out of your home everyday throughout the day. This can be uneasy until you get learn your clients. It can be overwhelming if you are the type of person who does not like people to know what kind of things you have in your home.

Pros and Cons for opening a Commercial Location Daycare Facility

What are the pros of opening a daycare facility?

Have a Staff

There are a few pros to opening a daycare facility. For starters, you will have a staff. This means you will have additional help to tend to the children. Not to mention, that you also have access to substitute teachers in the event someone falls ill.

You can also have someone who handles the administration aspect of the daycare, relieving you of duties such as payments and contracts.

Sometimes difficult situations will arise. Having a staff is a great advantage because you have a manager who you are able to defer those difficult situations to.

You will also be able to house more children in your daycare. The number of children allowed would be determined by your state’s regulations on the teacher to child ratio.

School-Like Environment

With a structured schedule, it will give children a school-like environment. Children will have access to technology use and potentially a better education. Giving an enriched education will help children in your daycare get prepared for school.

Another perk from the parent’s point of view is that daycare facilities group children into age-appropriate classes. Your clients will be thrilled as they will see how their children are getting the development skills needed for their age group.

By giving a school-like environment, you are also keeping your home separate from your business. This creates a work-life balance for you and your family. Your family will be able to keep their routines and not have to adapt to having additional children and strangers in and out of their home.

What are the cons of opening a daycare facility?

Illness Outbreaks

Since with a commercial daycare facility you are usually dealing with many more children, there is a higher chance that one may come to your facility with an illness. Parents sometimes send their children to school sick. They usually have a running nose or a slight cough. However, parents some mornings are in a rush and may bring their child to daycare not realizing they are actually sick.

A common illness you will see in a daycare facility is the flu. When flu season arises, it always seems to go around the block and come back again for more. If it is not caught early on, your center could have a huge outbreak. This is a chance that not only the children will catch it, but also your staff.

A few years ago, my two daughters were going to a daycare center for the summer. There was a lice outbreak. Even though lice is not an illness, it is still one of those things that will not go away until it is properly treated.

Extra Expenses

Obviously, if you are running a business there will be some expenses. However, having a center-based daycare means you have your business expenses on top of your home expenses.

What are some extra expenses for operating a center-based daycare? You will have to pay rent for the commercial space that you plan to use for your business. Payroll is another extra expense to having a commercial daycare center.

If you are planning on having your daycare business as your only income for your family, then it will have to be able to cover both your home and your business expenses.