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View Full Version : Do any of you care for a certain age group only? 0-3 or 3-8?



unalindura77
13-03-2014, 01:51 PM
I'm thinking of doing a 0-3 only, as I have an assistant now and all my toys/resources are geared towards this age group.

Do any of you do this?

I don't have many enquiries for over 3's and to be honest, don't know if I could handle babies and over 3's too. I don't fancy doing nursery pick ups either...

QualityCare
13-03-2014, 02:05 PM
I don't take on any children who are already at nursery or school, l will do nursery pick ups for children who have been with me but will only go to one nursery to drop off or pick up. Will not do after school care either. So basically yes 0- (l can take funding so) 5yrs.

unalindura77
13-03-2014, 02:07 PM
Thanks QC - do you find it hard to juggle babies with +3's?

Mouse
13-03-2014, 02:13 PM
I only look after pre-school children and don't do any nursery runs.

I usually have children start with me as babies then they stay until they either go to school or go to nursery. If parents want them to go to nursery they usually do it for the days the child doesn't come to me, so I still keep them for the other days.

As I offer the 3 & 4 year old funding there's really no need for them to go to nursery during a day with me, so I'm not prepared to drop them off or pick them up from one.

I much prefer the younger age group, although I do think limiting it to only 0-3 might be too small a range. What would you do when the child got to 3? What if the parent didn't want them to go to a nursery? If there isn't a big call for care for babies in your area, you could be limiting your market even more. Then a parent of say, an 18 month old, might not want to come to you when they know they would have to leave when the child got to 3. At least saying they leave when they go to school you have a more natural end to their time with you.

FussyElmo
13-03-2014, 02:20 PM
Would you really want to give notice to a child you have had for several years (say from 1) because they have hit 3. If I was a perspective parent I wouldn't sign with you if I thought I would have to uproot them at 3 and then again when they start school.

I do understand about schools runs if you don't have to do them.

I think the main problem with saying 0-3 is people may be put off. What about your current parents did they sign with you knowing you wanted to do a certain age?

QualityCare
13-03-2014, 02:23 PM
No l like the mix of ages at the moment l have 2 2yr olds and a 4yr old, it usually works out that l have 2 the same age and 1 older or younger, this works as it teaches the older ones to be mindful of young children and that their needs are different ie l've seen it, you've got, l want it, i l show them that they only have to give the younger ones something else before the taking and crying starts. Also having younger ones makes older ones realise they can't have all my attention all of the time, something l find alot of children havn't come across before at home. Having all the same age would, l think, lead to alot of competitiveness between them.

unalindura77
13-03-2014, 02:24 PM
No Fussy, I've only been doing this for 6 months so I didn't think of this when I was starting out. Definitely don't want to be collecting children from nursery in the middle of the day as I think it would limit us.

In the area I'm in, no one seems to want +3 childcare, only nursery pick ups or school runs.....

unalindura77
13-03-2014, 02:25 PM
Would you really want to give notice to a child you have had for several years (say from 1) because they have hit 3. If I was a perspective parent I wouldn't sign with you if I thought I would have to uproot them at 3 and then again when they start school.

I do understand about schools runs if you don't have to do them.

I think the main problem with saying 0-3 is people may be put off. What about your current parents did they sign with you knowing you wanted to do a certain age?

Errrrr in one case yes! But generally, no

Mouse
13-03-2014, 02:50 PM
I've seen your other post now and would say don't limit yourself just to get rid of one child.

Having a range of ages is really quite manageable. It's not any different to having a couple of your own kids when there's likely to be an age gap.

Although you might not get many enquiries now for over 3s, the children you have starting as babies will be 3 one day and may well stay with you.

unalindura77
13-03-2014, 03:28 PM
Thanks mouse and all xxx

NinkyNonk
14-03-2014, 07:59 AM
Sorry to hijack but I'm just starting out and want to concentrate on pre school age...ie no school picks ups etc. Should I start this when I advertise, or not? Not quite sure how I'd word it?

Mouse
14-03-2014, 08:07 AM
Sorry to hijack but I'm just starting out and want to concentrate on pre school age...ie no school picks ups etc. Should I start this when I advertise, or not? Not quite sure how I'd word it?

Those that advertise and offer a school pick up tend to put the name of the school in their ads. If you don't want to do a school pick up, don't name a school! If anyone enquiries, just say you don't do a school pick up.

Word your advert as "vacancies available for 0-5year olds"

MAWI
14-03-2014, 08:24 AM
Sorry to hijack but I'm just starting out and want to concentrate on pre school age...ie no school picks ups etc. Should I start this when I advertise, or not? Not quite sure how I'd word it?

Would you offer Preschool pick ups though?

You may limit yourself too much and end up with little business especially when starting up.

With regards to looking after preschool aged only- On my Accreditation course, there was a lady that was adamanted she was only looking after Pre-school children and that the business would work, set up only for pre-schoolers and Unfortunately it didn't and she quit before she even got started. Not saying that will happen to you(demand may be different and you may already have children in place) Also, depends on what you offer compared to your local preschools. A lot of parents want the Pre-school environment even for a few hours for the larger group socialisation.

Also, You might find that the enquiries just don't come in like that. Pre-school is my ideal
age group too, however I found that it was mostly babies that my enquirers came from possibly with a sibling that was in preschool and needed a few hours here and there or school holidays only. The babies are usually the life blood of your business especially if they stay with you. If you took on 3 x 2 year olds now it won't be long and they will be preschool age.

I had a period of around 18 months where I had 4 preschoolers everyday but 3 of them were with me from babies- best time of childminding and don't think it would ever work out like that again for me but would love it if it did. They are a great age to work with.

I'm only looking after under fives now. I don't offer school pick ups or drop offs ( been there done that so many times). I just do not have the space for all the varying resources and don't want to get tied down to school runs/ pick ups. So far this week, it has been relatively stress free not having to worry about morning, lunch and school/preschool pick up. I used to think I was in a revolving door!

Good luck with it all and I hope the business comes in for you.

jackie 7
14-03-2014, 08:55 AM
I seem to have just under 3's but have said I will do after school for a boy I had. It would be 3 days s week but only of he gets into a local school. When I didn't have mindees I was very tempted to have after schoolies.

NinkyNonk
14-03-2014, 12:30 PM
Great, thanks for the advice ladies. Sorry I probably worded myself wrong...in an ideal world I would have any age from baby to school, so not just toddlers and up. I'm happy to do preschool runs, I just don't want to do school runs. That's my plan anyway - like you say it might not be that easy but I guess I can change that if I need to. :-)