This is likely a TLDR post on daycare.
The difference is, she's not a not-for-profit business like so many daycares. She ponies up the dough and is responsible for her decisions, she doesn't have some board to go to if something messes up and there is a need for money.
You may be surprised to learn my daughter is one of the Top 15 daycare providers in the state of Nebraska. She is on the Buffett Initiative which leads the way of innovation in child care. Running 2 businesses, attending a meeting in Norfolk one night, and then the next weekend for a 2 day seminar in Denver, etc. etc. Conducting classes to her employees, on a weeknight, out of her pocket to pay them to be there, receiving the needed educational credits for personal improvments to further advance her business and making her employees part of that reason. You would be surprised at the size of the bonuses she gives some of these hard working daycare teachers. She has built a tremendous staff.
She typically WORKS from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. every night Mon - Friday. Then on the weekends shops Sam's Club for food items, writes multiple grants, tries to keep those female employees staffed well enough that she is in compliance in every room, unlike many daycares.
Runs two difference transportation units taking and picking up kids from 8 different schools. She advises the School Board on issues they are going to face next year in the area of transportation. You think a 4 day week for kids is a bitch, wait til the government pulls the money on transportation. Then parents can figure out how to get their kids the old fashioned way.
As a side note, during the Covid bullsh*t, in our city of 50,000 plus citizens, she was the ONLY daycare in the city that did not shut down for one single day. Yeah, I helped her write the protocol, and after months others asked her how she did it, she explained how it could be done totally within the rules and for the safety of all. All the while daycares were shutting down, going out of business, and failing daycares still exist to this day.
As far as the women just watching the kids play and take naps, you and I know that isn't the case. I can promise you, if the babies are down for a nap, those employees are cleaning and making sure things are well kept. You'll never walk into my daughter's daycare and get his by that smell of filth that most daycares have.
My wife volunteers in the infant room. Try dealing with 8 little ones from age 2 months to 9 months and see how long you or I stay sane with the amount of crying those little ones can provide. Who can blame the little ones when they are moved from their home into an unknown environment? My wife was the top rated "teacher"in Nebraska during the last weeklong inspection by the State.
When you invest over a million dollars in just one facility, you tend to pay attention to details. So, in addition to playing an occassional horserace, I am her consultant on grant writing and disbursing large amounts of monies for large improvements. My daughter was the Executive Director of Childcare at age 23 with 70 employees and over 300 kids under her guidance. She's now gonna be 49 years old in July. Many of the kids she now has are sons and daughters of kids that she provided daycare for when they were younger.
Is it any wonder both daycares are filled to capacity every single day, has a waiting list of over 150 kids that would like to be under her system of childcare? When she took over a large, miserably failing daycare last August, it was licensed for 91 kids, they were lucky to get 40 kids in there. Employees stood around, none of the bills got paid, the previous owner was behind on everything, the employees didn't even receive regular paychecks.
Within 3 months, my daughter spent over $ 611,000.00 in improvements to the entire facility, the employees get paid every other week, those women in that newer facility had never had even a Christmas party, yet, last year they had 2, one for the employees, and one for the employees and their spouses. Every single employee has received a raise(s), and she now has over 100 kids on the waiting list just to get in that facility. It's not an easy gig, and it takes a LOT of her skin in the game. But, it's something she loves and she's damn good at it.
There's another lonnnnggg winded reply. LOL
