Running a home daycare is usually a step up for people who previously were working in daycare centers, that pay $8-12/hr.

It's usually not a trade up for a nanny. It may offer an equivalent salary but it's more work and you need the space for it. Maybe it would be worthwhile for some one who had been a nanny while single but now has a couple kids of her own.

A lot of wrong assumptions on the numbers on both sides of the argument here. I'll give two practical examples on the numbers, based on actual home daycares that do exist:

Example A: licensed in-home in Arlington where a solo provider can watch 3 children (regardless of age), provider is well established and doesn't have vacancies longer than a week

3 kids*$300/week*52weeks per year = $46,800
Open 7:30a - 6p M-F, 2 wks holiday per year, closes early the Friday before long weekends
Extra sitting = approx $2k/year
USDA reimbursement for meals that comply with standards (this is a reimbursement to the provider, not a direct subsidy to the client families)
Gear & toys - mostly acquired through consignment, community drop off, etc

Provider lives in subsidized apartment ($800/month), children are on medicaid, utilities are part of rent. So, monthly income is $4k and supports a family of 4 - but as you can see, both the family of the provider and the childcare itself are subsidized in one way or another.

Example B: In-home in MD, solo provider with up to 8 kids (2 of which can be under the age of 2), but vacancies are common, open 7a-6p M-F

$200/week for the infants and those spots are always filled so = $20,800 from the babies
+ $150*12 weeks of summer*6 kids = $10,800
+ $150* 40 weeks of school year *3 kids = $18,000
= $49,600/year

In terms of costs, you still get the USDA reimbursement for meals. You likely have more materials fees since you've got more kids - more wear & tear. So factor in $500 in supplies fees per year.

Appox $49k per year in take home - subsidized apartments with utilities are less likely in MD. You could talk about needing extra insurance to cover liability, but the reality is that these providers aren't doing that.

So, both home daycare providers are making just under $50k a year, working approx 11 hrs/day. They're making $15/hr. In the Arlington example, that provider gets to be home when her teenagers come home from school and the kids are old enough not to count towards her quota - so that's a perk for her. She's also her own boss, and running a really excellent home daycare. She can - and does - feel good about her work.

In the MD case, that's a really stressful job and it's almost impossible to do a decent job with that kind of ratio, but it's what the local licensing authorities allow and the market has adjusted around it - that's what home daycares in MD offer. Is that going to be more rewarding than being a nanny for a single family? I doubt it. The women who could get a $15/hr nanny job likely would take that instead of watching 5-8 kids alone in her house all day.

If they do this, then they're not "career nannies."

While that may be an option for some, being a daycare owner is simply not want I want. I love being a nanny to one child. I went back to graduate school and got a MA in Early Childhood Education and am not earning over $82,000 a year. Many of my friends from undergrad days are not earning as much in business.

No, I will never be rich and I have to care for my own retirement but this is what I have always wanted. I believe in the one-on-one care that a nanny can provide a child and the enormous teaching that takes place in such a relationship.

Just my perspective.

Anonymous wrote:Move to LA. I make $29/hr for one child.

Housing accommodations included or no?
Agency used or not?

Lol. Have you ever tried to find a high quality in-home daycare? If you nodded, then you know how fucking difficult that is. Most of the people who run them are not qualified to be well-paid nannies and the care is poor.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
A home daycare can have up to 12-13 kids. If you charge 300/week per child, and have 5 children, that is 52*300 *5 or $78k. Subtract some costs for the house you need to have, some helpers, etc. You need to know how to run a business. Manage your workers, not go bankrupt. People will be complaining about you the way nannies on this board complain about MBs. ("My boss says I can't look at my phone during work!") Are you smart enough to do this? Are you smart enough to run a business?


Now stop complaining about your pay. It's the competitive rate. If you are not smart or savvy enough to do this, then you really shouldn't be making more money.

13 kids isn't a 1 person job, it's at least 3 unless you just plan to leave them in cribs all day and watch tv while they cry. $78k divided amongst 3 people is $26,000... hardly a good paying job. And out of your $26,000 you need to pay for your house and other costs of running a business. Sounds like shit advice.

Wow.... this post really took my breath away. You should stick to nannying jobs and avoid going into any business. You should avoid nannying jobs that require tutoring too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
A home daycare can have up to 12-13 kids. If you charge 300/week per child, and have 5 children, that is 52*300 *5 or $78k. Subtract some costs for the house you need to have, some helpers, etc. You need to know how to run a business. Manage your workers, not go bankrupt. People will be complaining about you the way nannies on this board complain about MBs. ("My boss says I can't look at my phone during work!") Are you smart enough to do this? Are you smart enough to run a business?


Now stop complaining about your pay. It's the competitive rate. If you are not smart or savvy enough to do this, then you really shouldn't be making more money.

13 kids isn't a 1 person job, it's at least 3 unless you just plan to leave them in cribs all day and watch tv while they cry. $78k divided amongst 3 people is $26,000... hardly a good paying job. And out of your $26,000 you need to pay for your house and other costs of running a business. Sounds like shit advice.

78k is from 5 kids. If you get 13 kids, you get $203k.

Many good repudiations here already, but I'll add this:

I have worked in daycares in the past. I do not ever want to do that again. It is not at all the same as being a nanny, which I love. You might as well have said we should get teaching degrees, or child psych, or OT, or work at a kid gym, etc etc. There are many, many jobs one can have that include kids, but that does not mean any one of those other jobs will be a good fit. Just as someone who enjoys working with numbers may much prefer being a hedge fund manager to working as an accountant at H&R Block, or as an auditor for the IRS.