Setting Up Your Child Care Home
 For Informational Purposes Only

Children learn from everything around them. When you set up your child care home to provide a comfortable, pleasing, and safe space, children play and learn better. You can arrange your home to meet both your family's needs and the children's needs.

The most important thing to remember is that your home should be safe and clean. Before any children come into your home, you must childproof it.
  • Put covers on all electrical outlets.
     
  • Put poisons, such as bleach, ammonia, detergent, and plant food, out of the reach of children.
     
  • Put breakable objects, sharp things, and houseplants out of reach.
     
  • Make sure the play area is clean. Vacuum rugs daily if you have infants and toddlers. Sweep often. Infants and toddlers put everything in their mouths.
Set up activity areas in your home. Activity areas for children should include a place for messy play, like art or water activities; a place for loud, active play, like jumping, rolling, and dancing; a space for working or playing quietly; a place to pretend; a place to relax or be alone; a place to eat; and a place to rest or sleep.

1. A PLACE FOR MESSY PLAY: Children enjoy messy play if they sit in chairs or on the floor. Messy play is safest and easiest to clean up in the kitchen, or it can be done outside in good weather. Keep some of the following things in the messy play area:
  • dishpans or washtubs, paint brushes, paints, shaving cream, food coloring, magic markers, paper, towels, and kitchen utensils such as rolling pins, measuring cups and spoons, and egg beaters
     
  • low table with chairs or cushions or child seats on chairs of a standard table set
     
  • towels to mop up water on the floor
     
  • old sheets, drop cloths, or newspapers to put under messy activities
     
  • sink nearby for washing sponges and wash cloths so the children can help clean up
2. A PLACE FOR LOUD, ACTIVE PLAY: Children need to move a lot. Every day change the way you set up your activity space a little to keep it interesting to the children. If you have enough room, a living room or den would be a good place for active play. The active play area should be away from your quiet space but where you can watch and supervise the children. Keep some of the following things in the active play area:
  • mattress, pillows, or cushions for jumping
     
  • boards for making balance beams and ramps
     
  • large appliance boxes for crawling into
     
  • scarves for running and dancing with
     
  • ropes for jump rope
     
  • a big, open space to move in
     
  • blankets for hiding or rolling in
     
  • a radio or stereo for music to dance to
3. A PLACE FOR QUIET PLAY: The quiet work space can be a corner in the kitchen so you can watch children while you make a snack. Place toys on a low shelf or in boxes, buckets, or baskets on the floor so children can find toys easily. If the toys are in the same place each day, the children can remember where to find them. Put the same type of toy in same box each day. For example, store all the beads in one box and all the blocks in another. Be sure to keep toys with small pieces away from infants and toddlers. Keep this area away from noisy play. Keep some of the following things in the quiet play area:
  • beads, buttons, spools, puzzles, peg, blocks, stacking toys
     
  • rug or table with chairs for sitting
     
4. A PLACE FOR PRETENDING: This space should be away from noisy areas. It could be in a corner or behind a couch. Keep some of the following things in the pretend play area:
  • large cardboard boxes for making pretend cars, stoves, desks, etc.
     
  • toy telephones
     
  • baskets, dolls, hats, and old clothes for dress up
     
  • old pots and pans
     
  • blankets to put over tables to make a house, cave, bus, tent
     
5. A PLACE TO RELAX OR BE ALONE: If you have infants and toddlers, have lots of soft places for sitting, resting, looking at books, or cuddling. Use bright fabrics. Use this space as your book area. Keep your books on a shelf close to the floor or in a basket so children can see them. They should be in a place children can reach. Have a rocking chair to rock young children to sleep. Let older children sit in it and read. Keep some of the following things in the relaxing area:
 
  • soft pillows or a mattress in a corner
     
  • a colorful sheet to put over a table to make a tent
     
  • soft pillows in a big, cardboard appliance box
     
6. A PLACE TO EAT: Keep some of the following things in the eating area:
 
  • child-size tables or regular tables and chairs with booster seats
     
  • a drop cloth or plastic tablecloth under the table to keep the floor clean
     
  • high chairs for infants and toddlers
     
  • a washcloth and toothbrush for each child, with his or her name on them
     
7. A PLACE TO SLEEP: You should have a quiet place for each child to sleep. The child should sleep in the same place each day. Buy sleep mats or cots if you do not have enough beds. Play quiet music so children do not hear noise from outside.
 

Legal:

Please note that the child care providers listed with TLC Child Care Locators (ChildCareCenters.org) are listings only and are not recommendations.  The information provided by TLC Child Care Locators is believed to have come from reliable sources, including the facilities themselves or those open to the public domain.  However, the facilities shown are listings only.  In no way does TLC Child Care Locators, any site partners, or any sponsors endorse, license, nor otherwise recommend lists found on TLC Child Care Locators Web Site.  TLC Child Care Locators exists as a first step for parents, and is not intended as a recommendation of any kind.  We encourage you to contact the sources themselves for the most accurate information.  We also encourage you to contact local Day Care Licensing Agencies to check records of Child Care Providers that you are considering.