When you prepare your house for home daycare, you need to have several precautions and procedures in place. Take a look at our tips to prepare your house from the whirlwind of little hands and curious young minds.
Consider your space
Determine where your children will be accommodated in your home. Please note that your family will not have direct access to this space during daycare opening hours. Then, zone the space. Determine where the children will play, study, eat, perform hygiene procedures, rest (I mean naps). Make sure you have enough space to keep the kids comfortable all day.
Ensure safety
A clean, safe home is of utmost importance, so regardless of size, you need to ensure everything in your house is adequately organized, with all potentially dangerous items out of harm’s reach. Buy sturdy furniture for your kids. Provide unique protective covers for cabinets and shelving with sharp corners. Pay attention to the distance between objects; the space should not be cluttered.
Purchase simple, educational toys
You don’t need to go overboard when setting up your home daycare, but carefully consider the types of toys and learning equipment you should be investing in. A child learns through play, so make sure you’re purchasing a good mixture of indoor and outdoor equipment for various ages.
Provide a place to walk
Walking on the street is an essential component of a kid’s development and health. Therefore, pay attention to your backyard. Define a play space in your backyard. Provide measures to create a comfortable and safe environment for children. Take care of soft flooring, walkways, benches, landscaping. Next, place children’s sports and playgrounds, and they must be reliable and secure. Take care of outdoor toys. Street games should be aimed not only at entertainment but also at the development of children.
Establish the rules and regulations
Ensure you have established a strict set of rules and regulations, adhering to health, safety, behaviour and emergency situations. This is not only an essential element in the running of a professional business but reassures parents that you have the appropriate steps in place for all cases, including maintaining a high level of care for their child. This includes monitoring the behaviour of their child and reporting back on any highlights or areas of concern.
Adopt a sick-child policy
Inconvenient as it may be to some parents, a sick-child policy ensures your home daycare remains a healthy, happy environment. Keeping sick children away from each other makes sense, so ensure you have a strict set of rules in place for illnesses and the length of time a child is to stay home for if an infection is contracted.
Insurance
Even if your home is already insured, you have to get separate insurance for your daycare business. You can get General Liability insurance to protect your business in case of physical injury, personal injury (reputational harm), and property damage. You can also look into getting an Errors and Omissions Insurance that can protect you in case of unforeseen mistakes in the future regarding the terms of your business.
Starting an in-home daycare will bring significant changes to your household, but it doesn’t have to throw your family into upheaval. With the proper preparation, you can run a successful and financially rewarding business out of your home with a minimal negative impact on the rest of your family and household.
