One of the most popular ways of making money from home is starting your own day care. Many moms wish to stay home with their children, but can’t afford to be without an income. Day cares are in high demand due to the increase in families that need two incomes, as well as the increase in single parent households. Many working parents would like to leave their children with someone who is close to their own home, and someone who is likely to give their child plenty of personal attention, so the demand for privately owned day cares isn’t expected to decrease in the near future.

Experts agree that the most important years in a child’s life are the years from the ages of one through six. If you are offering a child not only a safe, loving environment, but one that stimulates their growing curiosity and imagination, you are offering a very important service. If you love children and are blessed with an abundance of patience, this could be the right field for you.

The first thing you will need to do is find out what the licensing and other requirements are in your own state. When you contact your state’s day care licensing agency, they will probably send you a package of information that includes a list of the regulations and what steps you need to take, along with an application. For a state by state list of contact information, visit http://nrc.uchsc.edu/STATES/states.htm.

Once you know the basic licensing requirements, you will need to make a business plan to make decisions on other aspects of your business. For example, you need to have a plan in place regarding the following:

• First aid
• What hours you will offer your service
• Child-proofing your home
• What you will offer for meals and snacks
• What type of stimulation you will offer the children, such as what toys, how much outdoor time, what craft or educational projects, etc.
• Policies regarding families with more than one child
• Nap times
• Behavior management

There are few more rewarding ways to make a living than by sharing the joys and growth of children. This is an opportunity to influence developing minds for a lifetime, and to offer a valuable service to other parents.

Other resources

Here are a few other resources for information on starting your own day care.

The National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center (NCCIC) provides comprehensive child care information resources. Visit their website at http://www.nccic.org/.

For information on U.S. government child care information, visit http://childcare.gov/.