Reason to do at home daycare

You might be wondering what would possess a women in her mid 20's Start a daycare? Well, the obvious reason is that I wanted to stay home with my daughter. I grew up in a family (like so many Americans) where my mom had to work in order to keep food on the table. That meant that I was in daycare as a baby and as I got older I was a latch key kid. After school programs weren’t popular in my neighborhood so I spent most days at home watching tv. Not saying that my mom didn’t do a good job, but I want more than that for my daughter. So that’s why I decided to retire from the rat race and open up my own daycare. It was so easy and I didn’t need any money to start up. I advertised on craiglist.com and within 2 months I had 4 kids and I was making $500 more each month than when I had a fulltime job at $12.50/hr.
Here are my top 5 reasons why I started my daycare and I encourage other moms to:

Reason #1—You get to stay at home with your kids.

While I’m sure there will be days when you will wonder why you even had the little boogers, staying at home with your kids tops this list. I sure didn’t want my daughter to be raised by another caregiver. I think that America has gotten away from some of our core values about family and replaced them with the desire to attain more money. While money is good, gaining it at the sacrifice of your child’s well-being is not. That is not to say that a child cannot grow up well in a daycare setting because I know there are a lot of good daycares out there. But there just has not been enough research to show the actual effect of daycare on kids. I mean, most kids in daycare are away from their parents for 8-10 hours a day. And from the standpoint of a young child, that is a looong time. From my experience, the kids that I keep seem troubled by the separation. Sure, we have fun and play…but that is nothing compared to the smiles they get on their face when their mom comes to pick them up. I am so glad that I am able to stay at home with my daughter and be there for all of her milestones.

Reason #2—"The man" is off of your back

There is nothing like being an entrepreneur. You get to set your own hours, set your rate of pay, and if you want to walk around in your pjs all day--you can! The freedom that comes from owning your own business and being your own boss is awesome. I love that I can wake up and do whatever I want with my day. I get to decide if we go for walks, do arts and crafts, and just veg out and have a movie day.

Reason #3—You get to shape the future

Working with kids is a job that lets you literally shape the future of the world. If you were lucky enough, you may have had some adults that had a good influence on you as a kid. I am sure you still remember many of the lessons they taught you. This job allows you to a role model, a teacher, and a friend all bundled into one. I have developed a close relationship with my daycare kids. I also try to teach them things that will stick with them far after they leave my care. I know that they will face battles in life, and it feels good to know that something that I am instilling in them at a young age might help them or their children in the future.

Reason #4—You get to slow down

Although I didn’t start my daycare for this reason, having a daycare has taught me this important lesson. Before having my daughter I spent so much time running from one task to another without ever really taking time to slow down and live in the moment. I was always worried about what I was going to do next. Being at home all day allows you to slow down and live a much more casual lifestyle. Being at home has also helped me tune in to what is important in my life....and I realized that running around like a chicken with my head cut off everyday was not one of them.

Reason #5–The tax benefits

You get to write off so many things!! Literally everything that you by for your home can be deductible–groceries, mortgage, rent, new cars, electricity, toys, cable, etc.
Need I say more?

Whether you want to watch a few kids in your home or build a child care center, owning a daycare is rewarding and even lucrative. I understand that not everyone has what it takes to own one though, but I still recommend that all moms get their own business and stop working for someone else and making them rich! Not interested in daycare? Click Here! for more information on business opportunities for moms.