Starting Your Family Day Care Business:

Five Common Misconceptions

Sitting in the brightly-lit meeting room, notebook in hand, I waited for the Family Day care Orientation meeting to begin. About thirty others waited with me, all wearing the same hopeful, anticipatory expression. I imagine they all shared with me their own variation of the "day care dream."

It was going to be such fun! I could earn an income and still be at home with my kids. I imagined the darling little preschoolers coming to my door every morning, eager to begin another fun day. I could envision my family room all set up with a child size table and chairs and shelves filled with books and toys, sunshine streaming through the windows. We would have a full day of games and songs, arts and crafts, meals and snacks, and a lengthy nap, during which I would do all of my housework. The parents would all be so happy to have such a loving, caring place to bring their children; they would gladly pay top dollar for such service!

Somehow these daydreams never involved any fighting, crying, kicking, screaming, biting, spitting, hitting, temper tantrums or rainy days!

Okay, maybe I wasn't really that unrealistic, after all I do have children of my own, but I did have some pretty impractical thoughts about my future child care career. In time I discovered that while childcare is truly a rewarding and important job, it can also be frustrating, exhausting and under appreciated.

Looking back at my own experience, there were a few things that I wish I'd been better prepared for when I was just getting started. The following are five common misconceptions about what it's like to have your own day care business.