Own a Daycare Blog » success http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog Just another WordPress weblog Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:32:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 How to make your first day in daycare a success! http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/how-to-make-your-first-day-in-daycare-a-success-2 http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/how-to-make-your-first-day-in-daycare-a-success-2#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:09:16 +0000 Mary http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/?p=809 Related posts:]]> First day in a daycare center can be frightening and exciting at the same time. It can be a breeze for some but most parents experience hell convincing their children that they will be back to fetch them later in the afternoon. Let me share to you some of my helpful tips to prep you and your child in making that first day separation a walk in the park.

When you prepare, start early. Preparation is not just an overnight thing. To start, parents may try to slowly instill into the minds of your children what daycare is going to be like. Obviously, do not go down to the technical stuff and instead, draw a picture into their minds that a daycare will be an adventure wherein he or she will meet new friends and play a lot of games. However, it is fairly easy to overwhelm the child so never overdo it. Parents may also arrange for activities that are done at home be done at the daycare center so that first day won’t be so much of a change in routine.

As First Day is nearing, try to inculcate independence by encouraging the washing of his own hands, visitation of friends, and the like. Weeks prior to first day, regularly take your child with you to visit the daycare to allow the child to absorb the feeling of the environment. If you are already sure about the daycare center wherein you will enroll your child, settle all accounts and make sure all forms are properly filled-up.

On the eve of the first day, make sure that you prepare everything as in everything that will be needed for tomorrow’s big day. Things to pack include, foods, clothes, toys, blankets and other things deemed necessary. It is also helpful that items are labeled.

A good breakfast will surely help you sustain your energy levels as you face the big day. Don’t forget to talk to your child about how great this adventure this will be for him.

Once again, instill independence in your child by letting him pack and carry his own things. Walk your child into the daycare center holding his hand instead of carrying him in your arms.

Most daycare centers advocate settling-in period. This is the period when the parents are allowed to stay longer to interact with their child to ease separation anxiety. However, parents should also be supportive of the policy of limiting too much parent interaction as part of the child’s training. It is suggested that parents just sit back and relax and observe how their child is being treated in the daycare facility. Most of the time, the parents can observe that their child may begin with isolating himself and playing alone but gradually he may venture into joining the group. Children have their own pace and this should be respected. When the parents leave, daycare facilitators may need to distract the child by offering more exciting activities.

An essential part of daycare training is routine. Drop off can be something to establish routine. Instead of accompanying the child inside, parents may opt to train their child to be dropped off outside the daycare as time goes by.

See: How to start a daycare business

Related posts:

]]> http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/how-to-make-your-first-day-in-daycare-a-success-2/feed 0 Communication Is The Key For Your Day Care’s Success http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/communication-is-the-key-for-your-day-cares-success http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/communication-is-the-key-for-your-day-cares-success#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:02:07 +0000 Mary http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/?p=729 Related posts:]]> Running your own day care center is a big step that you have taken. We all know how a business can really be a tricky venture to get into. This is why most business guides always tell you to plan ahead and make a clear business plan that you should follow. But being in the day care business for so long, I have found these tips very effective but are not the only things which you need to consider if you want to make it big in this business field.

Even if you may have the best business plan, you may still find that some of your clients are dissatisfied with the way that you are handling your business. A day care is very important for parents since they are allowing you to take care of their child. One of the things which parents do look at when they look for a day care is not only the day care plans which you have, but your ability to communicate. Communication is very important when it comes to a day care center because this allows the parents to make sure that their child is in good hands in a day care center. You should always make sure that from the start, you establish a good communication path with your clients.

The first time that you are going to meet the parents, it will be because they would want to know more about your day care. This is the chance that you should take in order for you to establish good communication with your clients. You need to show them the rules and policies of your day care. As parents, they would want to know everything there is about your day care including these guidelines. This will open room for questions about these policies so that you will be able to clear thing out with the parents should they have any questions about these things.

When you are meeting with them, you should make sure that you do your part in asking the parents too. You might think that since they are the ones who will be enrolling their child, they should be the one to ask you about your day care. This is not the case, you too should ask them about certain habits that their family is used to as well as their needs when it comes to a day care. This can actually give you an idea on what kind of care you should be giving their child when they enroll him there. This is very important since this will make the parents feel that you are willing to work with them in both ways.

It is always recommended that you always keep the parents updated with the activities of the day care. You may not call them all the time, but you can always send newsletters or email updates to the parents. They will pretty much appreciate these things especially that they know what is happening to the day care even if they are not there. This will be a great step to ensuring that your clients know that your communication lines are open for them. Since they do want a day care provider who will be able to address to their questions about their child’s needs, you nee dto provide this to them.

This also applies when the children are picked up by their parents. Never ever start a conversation with them that will involve saying anything negative about your child. A conversation is best started on a positive note so that parents will always feel that their child is really doing great in the day care. You can tell them about what happened to their child and update them with the progress that he has been showing lately. On the other hand, if there is negative that you have to say, try to tell it in between the conversation and do not sound harsh, just mention that you are noticing that the child is beginning to be like this or like that. But do always reassure them that there is nothing to worry about as long as proper guidance is done. Always end with a positive tone when you talk to the parents. This will always lighten up the conversation.

If you have anything coming up for your day care, it is best on informing the parents a month or two before. These instances might be that you are closing down or raising fees for your day care. You should not shock them with any news like these so that they will still have a period of adjustment. Always notify them so that they will be able to act properly upon announcement of such. They will find it easier to adjust for a longer span of time rather than in a week or so because this might just cause them to panic.

If you want to know if your communication paths are effective, you should do a survey once or twice a year. This may be a written survey for parents to answer. You need to have these surveys so that you will be open to comments as well as suggestions on how you can improve on the communication that you have with your clients. Remember that a day care takes care of the their clients ad is a service-type of business so you have to make sure that you satisfy them as much as you are able to.

Communication is indeed very important when it comes to the success of your day care. Remember that this is not a one-way business. You need to cater to the needs of the children and you can only do this if you establish a good communication pathway for the parents. You will be able to know any specifications that they have for the children that you should be able to take note of. Running a business is not that hard. As long as you know how to take care of your clients, you will surely be successful in this field.

See: How to start a daycare business

Related posts:

]]> http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/communication-is-the-key-for-your-day-cares-success/feed 0 Success Tips In Opening Your In-Home Day Care http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/success-tips-in-opening-your-in-home-day-care http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/success-tips-in-opening-your-in-home-day-care#comments Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:59:24 +0000 Mary http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/?p=721 Related posts:]]> If you are looking for a home based business, you may be thinking of opening your own day care center. This does not require much plus you can operate it at the comfort of your own home. Especially for those who love children, this may seem to be the perfect job which they can get into. This requires daily exposure to children that is why it is important that you love to be with them. You need to be able to communicate with them effectively. This is will allow you to deal with their concerns and address their problem effectively.

You may be thinking right now that since you love children, you can now open your own day care. This is not the case. There’s more to opening a day care center than loving to be with children. You need to make sure that you are able to complete all the requirements that are needed in opening a business, since a day care center is still a business, no matter what.

The first thing that you should do is to complete the licenses and certifications that you need in order to open your day care business. There are state requirements when it comes to obtaining a license and you need to comply with these. There are certain rules when it comes to the space that you will a lot for the day care itself. You need to know if you are going to make changes or not in your homes. This also includes knowing how many children you can accommodate when it comes to your day care business. Depending on where you live, you may have different policies, it is important that you are able to follow these and be approved before you make the necessary changes in your homes.

Organization is the key to success in your day care. You need to make sure that you have policies that have been well thought of. This may include the in-house rules when it comes to playing, visiting, and hiring your employees. You need to ensure that you business is run smoothly from the start so that future problems may be avoided. Since parents usually have questions when it comes to how you run the day care centers, you must be able to answer them based on the policies that you have set. This will make communication paths easier for the both of you.

When coming up with the policies that you will employ, you need to do your research. You may need to read on proper childcare so that you will know which methods work best in dealing with children. It is important that you have a wide perspective in this since children may not share the same interests all the time. You can also go around the different day care centers and ask the owners what children like or dislike so that you can consider these things when you make your policies.

Hiring your employees are the next on the list. It is important that you have a staff that will help you in taking care of the children. There are certain staff to child ration that day care centers must follow to ensure that the right amount of care is given to the children. You need to make sure that you are hiring the right employees. Screen each and every one of your applicants so that you can get an idea on who are eligible to handle children. Usually this comes in a form of an interview so that you will be able to have an idea on how the person relates to other people. This is okay but it is still recommended that you conduct a background check on them. There are so many cases of child abuse in day care centers and this is the last thing that you would want to happen in your business.

Making a business plan is something that you should never forget. It does not mean that if you have not yet started your day care business, you do not need to account for the money that you have or will spend in the future. You need to take into account your primary expenses, tax expenses, equipment and even insurance costs. This will allow you to set a goal on how much you are willing to earn in order to cover these expenses. This is needed for the future, especially if you plan on expanding your day care, you will be able to know how you can utilize your profits wisely.

You need to market your day care business. Especially if it is home-based, no one will really know that you are running a day care business in your home. You need to make sure that you let the people know that you have a day care center. Since there are so many working parents these days, they are in constant search of a day care where they will be able to send their children to. They may always find it hard to enroll their child in day care centers since some of them are already full. You need to take this chance and let them know that you are available. Make sure that you come up with a creative ad that will attract any parent to contact your day care center.

Even if you may be new in the world of day care, you can make it big. With the huge demand for day care centers, you will never run out of potential customers. You should not only this when you are operating your day care. You should also consider the fact that parents also want what is best for their children and you need to make sure that you are able to give this to the children. Remember to treat them as if they are your own children. If the parents see that you are really taking care of their children, then they will continue to enroll their child in your day care. It is important that you gain the trust of your customers, and you will surely be successful in this field!

See: How to start a daycare center

Related posts:

]]> http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/success-tips-in-opening-your-in-home-day-care/feed 0 How to make your first day in daycare a success! http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/how-to-make-your-first-day-in-daycare-a-success http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/how-to-make-your-first-day-in-daycare-a-success#comments Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:33:41 +0000 Mary http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/?p=710 Related posts:]]> First day in a daycare center can be frightening and exciting at the same time. It can be a breeze for some but most parents experience hell convincing their children that they will be back to fetch them later in the afternoon. Let me share to you some of my helpful tips to prep you and your child in making that first day separation a walk in the park.

When you prepare, start early. Preparation is not just an overnight thing. To start, parents may try to slowly instill into the minds of your children what daycare is going to be like. Obviously, do not go down to the technical stuff and instead, draw a picture into their minds that a daycare will be an adventure wherein he or she will meet new friends and play a lot of games. However, it is fairly easy to overwhelm the child so never overdo it. Parents may also arrange for activities that are done at home be done at the daycare center so that first day won’t be so much of a change in routine.

As First Day is nearing, try to inculcate independence by encouraging the washing of his own hands, visitation of friends, and the like. Weeks prior to first day, regularly take your child with you to visit the daycare to allow the child to absorb the feeling of the environment. If you are already sure about the daycare center wherein you will enrol your child, settle all accounts and make sure all forms are properly filled-up.

On the eve of the first day, make sure that you prepare everything as in everything that will be needed for tomorrow’s big day. Things to pack include, foods, clothes, toys, blankets and other things deemed necessary. It is also helpful that items are labelled.

A good breakfast will surely help you sustain your energy levels as you face the big day. Don’t forget to talk to your child about how great this adventure this will be for him.

Once again, instill independence in your child by letting him pack and carry his own things. Walk your child into the daycare center holding his hand instead of carrying him in your arms.

Most daycare centers advocate settling-in period. This is the period when the parents are allowed to stay longer to interact with their child to ease separation anxiety. However, parents should also be supportive of the policy of limiting too much parent interaction as part of the child’s training. It is suggested that parents just sit back and relax and observe how their child is being treated in the daycare facility. Most of the time, the parents can observe that their child may begin with isolating himself and playing alone but gradually he may venture into joining the group. Children have their own pace and this should be respected. When the parents leave, daycare facilitators may need to distract the child by offering more exciting activities.

An essential part of daycare training is routine. Drop off can be something to establish routine. Instead of accompanying the child inside, parents may opt to train their child to be dropped off outside the daycare as time goes by.

Related posts:

]]> http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/how-to-make-your-first-day-in-daycare-a-success/feed 0