by Sara Williams

Created on: August 01, 2009

There are many reasons to consider starting an at-home daycare center. Perhaps the most common reason women go into the home daycare business is to stay at home with their own children. While caring for others' children may seem as simple an arrangement as the traditional babysitting jobs of your youth, running an at-home child-care business is the same as being self-employed in many other fields. There are professional and legal issues, as well as the fact that having other people's children in your home may completely change how your own living space needs to be set up.

Before starting an at-home child-care business, ask yourself, "Why?" Do you have children of your own, who you wish to be around? Do you love children and would like to have a little extra spending cash in exchange for caring for them? One thing is certain, you will never get rich by running a daycare. For many child care workers, becoming a nanny makes more sense money-wise, especially if they do not have children of their own. Yet for those who do have kids, you can cut your own daycare costs out of the equation and add a small second income to the family's resources.

Also, be aware that running an at-home daycare is a lot of work. It involves, at the least, cooking, cleaning, and engaging the children in age-appropriate activities. You must also find clients on your own, usually by posting classified ads either in a newspaper, online, or in your local advertiser. Getting clients takes time and patience, especially at first, and it only becomes easier as word-of-mouth gets around.

Do you want to be a licensed home daycare? Each state has its own laws regarding licensure, but in most cases, there is a limit on how many children outside of your own relatives that you can legally care for before a license becomes required. In New York, for example, the limit is two. For those who want to care for more children at the same time, or who want to provide parents with added assurance of their qualifications, a license may be necessary. State daycare licensing agencies will set regulations on the number of children allowed, a maximum number of children under two, whether or not your own children count in maximum numbers, mandatory health check-ups and even fingerprinting (not just for you, but anyone else living in the same house), and how your house is set up. Furthermore, they may require regular training classes, such as CPR and first aid, but these may also include classes

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