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Starting Your Own Daycare

Working parents often pay hundreds of dollars a week in childcare.
But what if you could save on those costs and make some additional money as well?
Daycare providers can potentially make thousands of dollars a month right from home.
But they`re more than just baby sitters.
They`re also expected to provide nutrition and learning in a safe environment.
Young parents wrestle with the choice of either going back to work or staying home with the kids. There is a third choice, however... Opening up your house to a few more kids.
"I was a stay-at-home mom and my husband changed jobs, so I was looking for something to be able to bring some extra income in. And our children were young and so my husband suggested trying daycare," Sandy Fix said. Fix has run a daycare out of her home for the past 17 years.
The demand for childcare is growing all around North Dakota. This week, Perfect Start daycare and preschool opened in its new larger home on third street in Bismarck.
"Because previously, we had a license for 18, and we had a waiting list up to two and a half years," Principal Katie Oakland said.

Perfect Start is now licensed for 51 kids. Oakland has years of child development training, but the Department of Human Services offers more help to those who are just starting out.

"We`re able to offer over 60 free online training courses that range from child development to health and safety to operating a child care business," Jennifer Barry said. Barry is the early childhood services administrator with the state department of human services.

Fix says one pleasant aspect of the job is being your own boss. But don`t count on having a lot of vacation time, since you`re watching the kids of working parents. Which means you work when they work.

"You`re going to give up some evenings, you`re going to give up some Saturdays for training," Fix said.

"You`re probably going to spend a good two hours per day on paperwork. I think that`s why so many of us are insomniacs," Renee Baumiller said. Baumiller runs Pebbles Daycare in Bismarck.

Daycare providers say you won`t get rich working in childcare, but you will get to spend more time with your own kids. And you`ll save on the cost of paying another daycare, which will leave plenty of change in your pocket.

Right now, the demand is especially high for infant care.

As a daycare provider, you will also need to carry insurance and you`ll need to be CPR certified every year.