Deciding which services to offer your childcare clients can seem simple, full and or part-time right? Well, that’s not how the superstores do it. They offer many more products than small boutiques and bring in more clients simply because they have more. Likewise, you may find having more services to offer your clients can lead to more childcare enrollment. Speaking of which, here’s a list of 10 childcare services I have added to my business over time: Yes, I said ten!
Offering more than one type of childcare service can be beneficial to a daycare owner in a variety of ways. For starters, it allows them to reach a larger audience by providing services that suit the needs of different families. Offering multiple services also gives daycare owners the opportunity to diversify their revenue streams, as parents may be willing to pay more for specialized services. Additionally, it can provide parents with more options for their children, allowing them to find the best fit for their family. In this post, we will cover 10 child care service types a daycare owner may want to offer.
Other Services?
When I started my childcare, I thought the same thing. I mean what else was there other than Full or Part-time childcare? I soon found out.
There are actually quite a few other child care services to offer. Here’s my list of 8 child care services to offer.
Other Child Care Services to Offer
Eight different services! Yep, and actually, I even found a couple more. So let’s examine how they work.
10 Child Care Services your Child Care Can Offer
- Drop-in/backup – From my intern days, I realized that there was a whole other market out there. There were stay-at-home moms, freelancers, and entertainment industry types that had a need for childcare. Just maybe not on a daily basis. I quickly added drop-in and backup care to my list of childcare services. It was rather easy I just set a daily rate for these non-regular clients. Side note: since these are not regular clients I find it best to require cash payment. And have a strict cancellation policy.
- Half-day – Offering a half-day service came after an oops moment. I remember one little boy that was particularly difficult to get down at naptime. It was a fight every time he attended. At the time it didn’t even occur to me that perhaps a half-day schedule would be better for him. I’m embarrassed to say that it didn’t hit me that I should’ve offered that option to the parents. That is until the mom announced that she leaving. She was enrolling the little boy in another school that had a half-day program. OK so now I would have a half-day program. I actually offer a morning half-day with an afternoon add-on for an additional fee.
- After school – Before leaving your care some clients may inquire whether you offer after-school services. While this is another service to add to your menu, there are some considerations that should be made. Decide whether or not it is actually worth the fee that you will charge. The scheduling to offer school pick-ups could also be an issue. As you will usually have children that are in the all-day program so you will have to account for coverage and supervision while you are away doing pickups. Lastly, if you have multiple clients that go to different schools it might be rather difficult to make pick-ups at multiple locations.
- Seasonal – With many school systems offering on/off-track schedules nowadays, the need for seasonal care is definitely there. Often times there are considerable gaps in the school year where parents will need to find childcare alternatives. By offering seasonal care you can enjoy a potential increase in income at certain points of the year.
- Babysitting – To be honest most care providers have such a long workday and week. So not many would even consider offering babysitting services as well. Not to mention, we try desperately to shed the “babysitter” stigma. So you might want to punt this by simply being a referral service. If parents inquire about babysitting after hours, you can turn this into an opportunity for your assistant. She could make some extra income. Having an in-house referral service is an added benefit for the parents that you serve. Because the children are already familiar with the care providers.
- Date night – To be honest this is a new one for me. I recently had a parent mention that the local YMCA offered date night babysitting about once a quarter. She suggested that I might think about offering that service as well. Once again considering that this might be another opportunity for my assistant to make extra money. Or alternatively, as a fundraiser for the childcare, I have made plans to incorporate this into my services as well.
- Vacation coverage – In this post, I will address making fellow providers into collaborators rather than rivals. This is actually an extension of that. Taking vacations can often be very difficult for home childcare providers. Parents express concerns about finding alternative care while you’re gone. Additionally, there is a real concern about whether clients might leave your business if they find a temporary solution that they like better. Reaching out to other providers in your community that you trust and inquiring about a temporary vacation coverage agreement for clients who might be in need of temporary coverage is another option to provide increased and seasonal income for their business and possibly yours as well.
- Temporary care – When I started I noticed that in my area many of the larger daycares had waiting lists. Well, what were the parents on the waiting lists going to do until a spot opened up? At the time, I thought well maybe if I offered to provide temporary childcare some clients might wind up staying. So in my I ads, I specifically addressed that I was filling a need for those parents in limbo.
- Holiday care – Much like seasonal care, during the various holidays when the schools are out, I make a specific effort to reach out to new as well as former clients of older children to inquire if they need coverage during the Spring, Summer, or Winter break periods.
- Parenting classes/certification – Finally another service you might offer would be parenting classes or certification classes such as CPR and first aid. Offering such a service has a dual benefit as it also gives credibility and professionalism to your business.
More is More!
So there are 10 different services that you can add to your business. And with only minor tweaks to the services you already offer. But by doing so, you may serve to address many of the childcare needs of the parents in your community.
Ultimately, providing multiple services can be a great way for daycare owners to build a successful business and serve their community in the most effective way possible.
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What services do you currently or plan to offer? Could you add a few more?
One Response
Thanks for the reminder that it’s also important to assess the afterschool activities when planning to find good childcare services. I want to look for a good one soon because my daughter surprisingly is quite receptive whenever I try to teach her how to read. I think she is ready to start her education sooner or later.