Starting a Home Daycare? Nobody Knows What They're Doing

Starting a Home Daycare? Nobody Knows What They're Doing

In this episode we cover how to balance a home daycare with family life without burning out, from simplifying meals to setting closing policies. We also get real about why almost nobody feels like they know what they're doing at first, and why that's okay. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Intro and the loneliness of home daycare 00:00:54 Facebook milestone and the new voicemail line 00:02:18 Voicemail: balancing daycare and family life 00:03:16 Burnout and sharing the load at home 00:06:00 Simplifying meals and meal prep 00:12:13 Laundry and getting the kids to help 00:14:54 Getting everything done by end of day 00:20:01 Keeping the car packed and ready 00:23:33 Nobody knows what they're doing 00:33:00 Home daycare is not a center 00:34:55 Licensing gray areas and supervision 00:46:14 Feeling isolated and stuck 00:48:50 Missing field trips and appointments 00:52:41 Closing without the guilt 00:57:55 Planning ahead with a weekly check in 01:01:45 Memory, hormones, and a new season of life 01:05:19 Wrap up and take care of yourselves KEY TAKEAWAYS - Simplify meals and routines. The same weekly lunch menu and easy dinners save your energy. - Share the load. Get your spouse or a trained sub involved so you can make appointments, programs, and field trips. - A home daycare is not a center. You will not pull off center level structure and crafts alone, and that is fine. - Licensing has gray areas. Good supervision is the real standard. - Almost nobody knows what they are doing at first. You learn, adapt, and figure it out. RESOURCES MENTIONED - Voicemail line, call to leave a story or question: 651-300-2277 - Website: https://www.TheDaycareSisters.com WATCH NEXT - Full Episodes playlist: NEEDED, playlist link - Related episode on burnout or licensing: NEEDED, video link ABOUT DAYCARE SISTERS We are two sisters with over 30 years of combined home daycare experience, parenting nine kids between us, sharing honest conversations for home daycare and family child care providers. Subscribe for home daycare tips, provider real talk, and family child care conversations. BUSINESS INQUIRIES www.TheDaycareSisters.com Email: info@thedaycaresisters.com #inhomedaycare #childcare #daycareprovider #homedaycare #daycaresisters #daycarelife

She Had a Law Degree in England. Now She Runs an Infant-Only Daycare in New Orleans.

In this episode, we talk with Rush, owner of Poppins Daycare in New Orleans, about running a legally unlicensed, infant-only home daycare. We cover what it's like to move from Malaysia to start a daycare business, why she chose infants only, and how licensing works differently state to state. https://www.instagram.com/hostasister https://www.facebook.com/groups/hostasister If you run a home daycare, family child care program, or work with young children, this episode will help you understand the realities of unlicensed care, infant-focused programs, and building a daycare community. Key takeaways - Unlicensed legal home daycare rules vary widely by state - Infant-only care can offer more consistency and bonding for providers - Having a reliable assistant matters for sick days and burnout 00:00 Intro and welcoming Rush 00:37 Moving from Malaysia to the US 02:09 Her sister's daycare center in Malaysia 04:06 Licensing rules in Louisiana vs Minnesota 09:57 Finding community in online provider groups 14:26 What a day looks like with infants 18:27 Why she hired an assistant 22:01 Isolation in home daycare work 25:39 Why parents are the hardest part 31:33 Contracts, handbooks, and self-taught compliance 36:51 Loving the job vs missing corporate life 44:53 Travel, vacations, and having backup care 46:08 Starting the Host A Sister travel community 52:38 Self-care means respecting boundaries 58:54 How the daycare actually started 1:01:11 Learning to manage finances and retirement alone 1:09:30 Where to find Rush and Poppins Daycare About Daycare Sisters Daycare Sisters is hosted by Brandee and Erin, two sisters who run their own home daycare businesses. They talk honestly about the realities of running a home daycare, from policies to burnout to the people who do this work every day. Subscribe for daycare operator tips, home daycare conversations, and real talk about child care. Business inquiries Email: info@thedaycaresisters.com #inhomedaycare #homedaycare #homedaycareprovider #homedaycareowner #homedaycarelife #daycaresisters #daycarelife

I Am Not As Good Of A Provider As I Used To Be

In this episode, we get honest about the year we couldn't get it together. We talk burnout, mental load, brain fog, longer hours, and the pressure to do it all as a home daycare provider. If you run a home daycare or family child care program and you have felt forgetful, stretched thin, or like you are the only one struggling to keep up, this one is for you. You are not alone. The comedian Brandee mentioned:https://www.instagram.com/momcomnyc KEY TAKEAWAYS - Feeling forgetful or burnt out does not make you a bad provider. - Small things like late pickups and longer hours add up fast and quietly. - Decision fatigue and Pinterest perfect expectations make simple things feel impossible. - It is okay to do crafts, photos, and curriculum in seasons, and to take breaks. - Re-evaluate your hours and your business before you hit a breaking point. - Be upfront with families at interviews about what you can realistically take on. - Perimenopause and brain fog are common, and you are not alone in feeling this way. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Welcome and today's topic 00:01:09 Surgery recovery and how our week went 00:09:40 Iron infusion and a son's tonsil surgery 00:12:50 Daycare Appreciation Day and parents who keep kids home 00:22:24 The year we couldn't get it together 00:24:22 Forgetting Father's Day, Mother's Day, and birthdays 00:27:47 Getting older, more tired, and feeling burnt out 00:33:10 Why our hours keep getting longer 00:38:10 Decision fatigue and the pressure to be Pinterest perfect 00:42:16 Why providers end up with so much stuff 00:57:01 The grout story and the invisible mental load 00:59:33 Easy tasks that somehow get harder 01:07:55 Is it age, perimenopause, or technology 01:15:23 Brain fog and forgetting names mid-sentence 01:20:04 Hormones, the shortage, and talking about perimenopause 01:23:49 It is okay to take a break 01:30:21 Re-evaluate your business before you burn out 01:34:36 Final thoughts and what is coming next ABOUT DAYCARE SISTERS We are two sisters and home daycare business owners with over 30 years of combined experience, parenting nine kids between us. This channel is real talk and practical support for home daycare and family child care providers.Subscribe for honest conversations, provider tips, and a reminder that you are not doing this alone. BUSINESS INQUIRIES Email: info@thedaycaresisters.comWebsite: www.TheDaycareSisters.com#homedaycare #childcareprovider #daycaresisters #homedaycareprovider #homedaycareowner #inhomedaycare #homedaycarelife #momcomedian

Running a Home Daycare with Twins

Running a home daycare is one thing. Running one while raising twins, managing a first responder husband’s schedule, and figuring out policies as you go? That’s a whole different conversation. In this episode, Brandee sits down with Danielle, a certified early childhood educator and private home daycare owner in Ontario, Canada. Danielle has been running her daycare for five years, including through a twin pregnancy, maternity leave, and solo parenting more days than she can count. CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome and meet Danielle 02:56 Having pets in the daycare, dogs, chickens, and animal safety 06:36 How the daycare is set up in the home 07:29 Licensed vs. unlicensed, how it works in Ontario vs. the U.S. 11:28 Winter outdoor policies and snow day decisions 13:12 Getting sick with no sub, and what happens when twins are sick 14:10 Running daycare solo while your husband is a first responder 15:13 Burnout, hours, and protecting yourself 18:08 Building a handbook and setting policies 21:15 Why she opened the daycare, it wasn’t a calling 27:50 Maternity leave for home daycare providers in Canada vs. the U.S. 31:19 It’s okay to complain, the provider community online 35:01 What she wishes every new provider knew 46:21 Advice for providers who have twins or take twins 50:24 Letting a family go, knowing your limits 56:12 Where to find Danielle and closing WHAT YOU’LL HEAR • What it’s really like to run a home daycare when your own kids are part of the group • How Danielle navigated licensing decisions in Canada and why she chose to stay unlicensed • How Canada’s 12-to-18-month maternity leave compares to the U.S., and what that means for infant care • Why she didn’t have a handbook when she started, and why she does now • Honest talk about burnout, long hours, and learning to set limits • How dogs, chickens, and nature became part of her daycare curriculum • What she wishes every daycare parent understood about this work CONNECT WITH DANIELLE Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sincerelydaniellee [https://www.instagram.com/sincerelydaniellee] Facebook: Search Danielle Lindsay ABOUT DAYCARE SISTERS Brandee and Erin are sisters with years of combined home daycare experience, sharing real talk for home daycare and family child care providers. Subscribe for honest conversations about running a daycare from home, building policies that work, and taking care of yourself while you take care of everyone else. www.TheDaycareSisters.com [http://www.thedaycaresisters.com/] Business inquiries: info@thedaycaresisters.com [info@thedaycaresisters.com] #homedaycare #inhomedaycare #daycarelife #childcareprovider #parenting #daycaresisters

Our Hysterectomies: Endometriosis, Prolapse, and The Doctors Who Don't Believe Us

In this episode, Brandee and Erin get personal about their hysterectomies - one sister had hers in 2022 and the other is heading into surgery the day after this recording. They cover years of being dismissed by doctors before diagnosis, the four types of hysterectomy, what recovery actually looks like, and the hard truth about taking time off when you run a home daycare.If you run a home daycare, family child care program, or you're a woman who has ever been told "you're fine" when you knew something was wrong, this episode is for you.CHAPTERS00:00:00 Intro00:01:01 Catching up on our week00:02:50 Why this episode: two sisters, two hysterectomies00:06:03 What drove each surgery: prolapse vs endometriosis00:07:19 Years of pain and being dismissed by doctors00:16:42 Finally finding a doctor who believed00:19:40 Hysterectomy history and robotic surgery00:21:54 Day surgery, waking up, and recovery expectations00:32:25 Hysterectomies are more common than you think00:36:35 The emotional side: permanence and processing00:44:21 The four types of hysterectomy00:49:24 Recovery prep: what helped and what didn't01:03:53 How a hysterectomy affects your daycare01:07:21 Time off, guilt, and why providers wait too long01:18:52 Takeaways: women supporting women01:22:58 Wrap upKEY TAKEAWAYS- If a doctor dismisses your pain, keep going until you find one who believes you and advocates for you- There are four types of hysterectomy: partial, total, total with ovaries removed, and radical - and keeping your ovaries means you should not go straight into menopause- Recovery means real lifting restrictions for up to 6 to 8 weeks, which is not optional for home daycare providers- Plan surgery around your daycare if you can: hire help, schedule over summer, or close like you would for maternity leave- Daycare providers are seen as caretakers, not people who need care - and that has to changeABOUT DAYCARE SISTERSWe're two sisters and business owners with over 30 years of combined home daycare experience, parenting nine kids between us. Home daycare can be isolating - think of this podcast as the adult conversation you didn't get all day.Subscribe for daycare operator tips, home daycare conversations, and real talk about child care.BUSINESS INQUIRIESEmail: info@thedaycaresisters.comWebsite: www.TheDaycareSisters.com#hysterectomy #womenshealth #daycaresisters #homedaycare #inhomedaycare #daycarelife #childcare