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

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

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