Running a home daycare is isolating, exhausting, and a lot harder than anyone admits, especially when you can’t afford to quit.
The Daycare Sisters Podcast, hosted by two sisters with 30+ years of real in-home daycare experience, says the things you think but never say out loud so you can stop beating yourself up and feel less alone in this job.
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You Called Saying Fight The Correction Order, I'm Scared Of Retaliation
Monday, September 28, 2026 • Duration 01:23:27
Should you fight a licensing correction order? We’re breaking down how to handle surprise inspections and daycare stress.Getting a licensing correction order can feel like a direct hit to your confidence, especially when you’re already an isolated home daycare provider. We’re talking through the reality of visits that flag things that have passed for years, and whether it’s actually worth the fight to push back.Whether you’re dealing with provider burnout or just trying to navigate the complex world of daycare licensing, you aren't alone. We’re two sisters with 30 years of experience, and we know exactly how heavy it feels when you're caught between business demands and the fear of losing your license.Leave us a voicemail at 651-300-2277 with your own licensing stories. Subscribe for weekly home daycare conversations and honest talk about the profession.0:00 Navigating the Daycare Life1:24 When the Kids Are Just Off2:30 Sickness and Pain Tolerance5:36 The Struggle of Rainy Days7:41 Panic Cleaning for Homecoming12:07 Planning Outfits Years in Advance14:04 The Voicemail That Changed Everything23:37 The Fear of the Licenser52:53 The Shift Toward Childcare CentersKEY TAKEAWAYS- You have 20 days to request reconsideration of a correction order. The request goes to the state, and the state questions your licensor before it asks for your side.- Send your story with pictures and measurements: where the kids are, who is supervising, and why the item was out of reach.- You can dispute a correction order on the spot when the licensor tells you about it.- "Small hazards" are not defined in the rules. Supervision is the real question.- This is a Minnesota home daycare. Check your own state's process before you act.WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUProviders: have you appealed a correction order? How did it go, and was there any fallout later? Gen Z moms: are you choosing a center or a home daycare, and why? Call 651-300-2277.WATCH NEXTFull Episodes playlist: NEEDED (playlist link)Related episode: NEEDED (link)ABOUT THE DAYCARE SISTERSBrandee and Erin are sisters, business owners, and home daycare providers parenting nine kids with over 30 years of experience between them. A chatty podcast to have on while you make lunch, tidy up, or answer a spam call just to talk to a grown-up.CONNECTWebsite: https://www.TheDaycareSisters.comEmail: info@thedaycaresisters.comVoicemail: 651-300-2277#homedaycare #inhomedaycare #daycareprovider #daycarelife #dayhome #childminder #familydaycare #toddleractivities #toddlerlearning #toddlermom #momlife #momhumor #canadianmom #ukmums #aussiemum
Minnesota Lost Half Its Home Daycares Since 2010, After 30 Years We'd Leave Too If We Could
Monday, September 21, 2026 • Duration 01:12:53
Leave us a voicemail at 651-300-2277. Your question could help thousands of providers.
Why are child care providers leaving the profession? We talk through a surprise correction order for paper clips and bobby pins, licensing cuts, empty enrollment spots, and whether we'd quit if we could.
If you run a home daycare or family child care program and feel the pressure building, you're not alone.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:30 Our week and how one kid changes the whole group
04:00 Sick week and a diaper disaster
08:34 Licensing visit and when a second adult matters
17:34 A correction order for paper clips and bobby pins
28:07 Warning or write-up?
35:55 Licensers are being cut
38:44 Minnesota keeps losing family child care providers
41:44 Rules vs enforcement
44:01 Could more write-ups hurt every provider?
48:44 Why enrollment calls slowed down
52:12 Rates, nanny shares, and grandparents
53:40 Are Gen Z parents choosing centers?
57:41 Would we quit if we could?
1:02:40 Struggling to fill spots
1:07:40 Does provider age matter to parents?
1:10:33 Is your waitlist still long?
1:12:15 Outro
You Left Voicemails, A New Daycare Teacher Feels She Messes Up Constantly, After 30 Years So Do We
Monday, September 14, 2026 • Duration 01:24:19
Leave us a voicemail at 651-300-2277. Your question could help thousands of providers.
Brandee and Erin answer three voicemails: a brand new daycare teacher who feels like she makes mistakes over and over, a Massachusetts provider comparing her playground and infant supervision rules to Minnesota's new ones, and a preschool teacher with a three year old who calmly flips and throws furniture.
If you run a home daycare, work in a center, or you are in your first months with kids, this one covers mistakes, rules that do not make sense, and behavior nobody prepared you for.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro and the voicemail format
01:55 Call 1 setup: starting out in a center
06:33 I feel like I mess up constantly
07:29 Why that feeling is normal in your first year
11:36 Maybe it is the age group, not you
13:16 Ask your lead teacher what to work on
17:57 It might not be the right center
18:28 Mindset shift: you are still learning
20:14 Trainings build confidence
26:56 Call 2: Massachusetts rules vs Minnesota
30:56 Fall zones, mulch depth, and swing set clearance
33:43 Why we got rid of the swings
38:44 Baby monitors and wording nobody can explain
45:06 Under six months, direct sight, first six weeks
52:58 Fire drill timing trick with a lock screen screenshot
I Lost 5 Daycare Kids in One Week. Same 50 hours, half the pay.
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 • Duration 01:10:36
Leave us a voicemail at 651-300-2277. Your question could help thousands of providers.
One of us lost five daycare kids in two weeks, four to kindergarten and one who only comes in summer, and almost half her income went with them. Same hours, longer days, smaller paycheck. This episode is what we actually do when that happens.
If you run a home daycare or family child care program, this one is about planning for the next enrollment drop before it lands: saving while you are full, building a three-month emergency fund, cutting the food bill, and filling spots.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro: lost five kids, and what to do when it happens to you
01:20 Housekeeping: yes, we talk over each other
02:22 This week: down to five kids, and why five is harder than six
07:21 It was planned. It still hits: almost half the income, same hours
11:39 Ratio math: no under-twos until October, no working alone until January
13:19 Planned vs unplanned: losing four kids at the end of COVID
14:26 Save while you are full: retirement, emergency money, $800 brakes
16:22 Parents, tell your provider early
16:51 Bonus weeks and provider networking for extra income
18:24 Pay housing before food
20:27 Grocery strategy: only what you need, bulk, buy ahead, teenagers
24:12 Garden, CSA pick-your-own, and a farm-to-table grant
28:59 Eat the freezer and cheap vegetarian meals
31:46 Homemade tortillas, pasta, and bread at nap time
After 30 Years In Home Daycare, The Comment That Finally Set Us Off
Monday, August 31, 2026 • Duration 01:05:44
Leave us a voicemail at 651-300-2277. Your question could help thousands of providers.
Brandee and Erin posted a short clip asking parents to pick their kids up by closing time. The comments turned into an argument between providers and parents. In this episode they read through what people actually said and talk about what respect looks like at the end of a daycare day.
If you run a home daycare or a family child care program, this one covers closing time boundaries, late pickup, communication with parents, and why "out the door" and "in the door" are not the same thing.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:49 Subscribe and Channel Update
01:49 Kids Coming Back After Summer
03:42 Minnesota State Fair Traditions
08:28 The Pickup Time Reel Went Viral
09:24 Providers Choose Their Own Hours
11:10 Leaving While Parents Buckle Up
12:20 Getting Our Own Kids to Activities
14:20 Parents Who Chat at Closing Time
16:00 Parents Who Wait in the Car
18:26 Communication and Kids Who Wait
21:29 Bold Ways Providers Handle Late Pickups
23:46 Sports Nights and Carpool Juggling
27:07 Nudging Late Parents Out the Door
29:31 The Work After Closing Time
31:00 Early Pickups and Closing Time
34:29 When You Need Longer Daycare Hours
Bored School Agers, No Naps, And The Slow Build Of Summer Burnout
Monday, August 24, 2026 • Duration 01:10:06
Leave us a voicemail at 651-300-2277. Your question could help thousands of providers.
Summer is supposed to be the break that fixes everything. It is not. Brandee and Erin talk about late summer burnout in home daycare: the stretch where kids leave for kindergarten, the school calendar takes over, the licensor is coming, and the income drops right when the work feels heaviest.
If you run a home daycare or family child care program, this one is for the season you are in right now.
CHAPTERS
00:00:00 Intro: never alone but always lonely
00:02:30 Subscribe ask and how to use these chapters
00:04:30 Why we picked summer burnout this week
00:07:30 Kids leaving for kindergarten and the ones left behind
00:11:00 Minnesota school calendars and the pre Labor Day start
00:16:00 Stuck at home: camps, drop off windows, and your own kids
00:22:00 Bored school agers and the same toys for five years
00:28:00 Licensor visits and the stress of being watched
00:34:00 Self destructing emails and paperwork that will not open
00:38:30 Parents on vacation who still send their kids
00:42:00 Working right up to every holiday
00:46:00 Open houses at four, sports, and the fall pileup
00:50:30 Getting parents out the door on time
00:54:00 Packing the car for every season and reusing last year's notebooks
00:57:30 Why a week off does not fix burnout
She Built A Duplex Daycare In Her Backyard And Filled Every Spot Opening Day
Friday, August 21, 2026 • Duration 01:19:00
Leave us a voicemail at 651-300-2277. Your question could help thousands of providers.
Linda Hopkins has run a home daycare in Indiana for 26 years. She started on Halloween day, grew from one child to 32 across a licensed duplex she built off her back door, and in a few months she will be running the daycare alone for the first time since she opened.
In this conversation she talks about the burnout that sent her to a counselor, the crying baby she should have been honest with a parent about, why she stopped giving out her personal phone number, and the regret she still carries about the time she gave away.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro0:29 How She Got Started in Child Care2:50 Indiana Licensing and 32 Kids4:44 Building a Daycare Duplex6:25 Scaling Down After 20207:34 Getting Her GED and CDA12:06 Online vs In-Person Training13:37 Losing Privacy in a Home Daycare16:47 Staffing a Home Daycare19:33 Losing Staff and Working Alone21:34 Putting Yourself First as a Provider22:44 Burnout and a Crying Baby24:18 Terminating a Family and What Changed26:34 Preventing Burnout With Boundaries29:40 Parents Who Show Up Early32:39 The Lunch Problem Behind Body Bib34:42 Turning an Idea Into a Product37:35 Childcare Conferences and Travel39:05 The Food Program for Providers40:33 Relicensing and Running Two Businesses43:46 Daycare Contracts and Handbooks44:46 Daycare Taxes and Business Expenses48:19 Retirement Planning for Providers49:53 Selling a Home Daycare Business53:04 Loneliness in Home Daycare55:02 Provider Support on Social Media58:14 Treating Daycare Like a Business59:24 Parking Lot Safety and House Rules1:02:39 Advice for New Daycare Providers1:04:11 Getting a Separate Daycare Phone1:09:06 Her Biggest Regret as a Provider1:11:08 Parents Who Respect Your Time1:13:10 What Providers Carry Behind the Smile1:16:45 Balancing Family and Daycare1:18:28 Where to Find Linda Online
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Chatting About The New Minnesota Laws Part 2 — No More Microwaving Plastic Bottles Or Containers
Monday, August 17, 2026 • Duration 57:56
For easier ways to listen: https://www.TheDaycareSisters.com
Chatting About The New Minnesota Laws Part 2 — No More Microwaving Plastic Bottles Or Containers
Leave us a voicemail at 651-300-2277. Your question could help thousands of providers.
This episode starts with a heavy topic. We talk about the murder-suicide at a Hopkins, Minnesota home daycare that took the life of provider Kristen Brown and her young daughter, and we share domestic violence hotline numbers for the US, Australia, and Canada. Then we get back into part two of our breakdown of Minnesota's new family child care licensing rules, covering attendance, paperwork, firearm storage, sick child policy, well water and radon disclosure, food safety, and pets.
If you run a home daycare or family child care program in Minnesota, or anywhere providers are watching new rules roll out, this episode will help you figure out what's actually changing and what's still unclear.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro1:10 Minnesota Daycare Tragedy2:52 Remembering Kristen and Eevee4:17 Domestic Violence Hotline Numbers6:24 New Minnesota Daycare Law6:57 New Attendance Requirements9:10 Late Pickup Story10:29 Updating the Policy Handbook10:52 Screen Time Policies14:36 Firearms and Social Media Rules16:57 New Fire and Storm Drill Rules18:47 Confusion Over Documenting Drill Times24:04 Required Parent Access Rules24:48 New Firearm Storage Law27:09 Care of Sick Children29:39 Reportable Disease Requirements32:03 Reporting to the Commissioner33:50 COVID Reporting Comparisons37:44 Compliance Timeline and Costs41:58 Well Water Testing Rules43:16 Radon Testing Rules44:52 Food and Plastic Container Rules48:32 Pet Rules During Mealtime51:52 Wrapping Up New Rules54:03 Health Update and Recovery57:29 Closing and Contact Info
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Everyone will be required to take daily attendance with check in and check out times, not just providers who take grant funding
Firearm and ammunition storage rules changed, guns and ammo can be stored together but must be unloaded and in a locked area inaccessible to children
The New Minnesota Laws Part 1: Inside The 56 Pages That Change Home Daycare Next July
Tuesday, August 4, 2026 • Duration 01:26:12
Leave us a voicemail at 651-300-2277. Your question could help thousands of providers.
Minnesota's family child care licensing standards are being rewritten, and the new rules take effect July 1, 2027. Brandee and Erin read all 56 pages of Article 13 and pulled out the changes that will actually land on home daycare providers.
This is part one. We get into capacity classes, training hours, outdoor play space and fencing, water hazards, supervision, and sleeping infant checks. Part two covers what needs to change in your policy handbook.
We are providers, not lawyers. Some of this language is genuinely unclear and we say so when we are not sure. If you read it differently, leave a comment or call the voicemail line.
00:00 Intro00:56 The New Minnesota Daycare Law02:42 Our Interpretation, Not Legal Advice04:31 How the Bill Passed and Where to Find It07:00 Daycare Capacity Changes08:14 New License Categories C1 to C509:09 What the C5 License Requires12:32 Taking School Agers in Home Daycare13:20 Would the C5 Work for Us15:40 What Counts as Ground Level17:58 Indoor and Outdoor Space Requirements19:13 How Other States Handle Staff21:39 Using a Helper as a Second Adult22:48 Training Hours Drop to 1024:05 Required Annual Trainings25:06 New Fire Safety Training29:20 The Same Trainings Every Year31:17 Tracking Training Hours in Develop32:53 Licensing Year Changes to January35:00 Training Confusion Before July37:34 Car Seat Training Requirement43:05 Outdoor Play Space Rules44:18 Fences and Traffic Hazards46:26 Decks, Gates, and Playground Barriers51:45 Laws Written Without Provider Input55:17 Pools, Hot Tubs, and Water Hazards1:01:00 What These Changes Cost Providers1:03:30 New Supervision Rules1:04:47 What Immediately Means1:06:49 How Will These Rules Be Monitored1:09:22 Household Members and Your Own Kids1:10:24 Sleeping Baby Checks Now Encouraged1:13:39 Rules for Baby Monitors1:20:22 Advice for New Daycare Providers1:22:51 Part Two Preview and Final Thoughts
KEY TAKEAWAYS
He Left Microsoft, She Left US Bank, Now They Run A Home Daycare Together (Oh, And He's In A Rock Band)
Friday, July 31, 2026 • Duration 01:24:34
Leave us a voicemail at 651-300-2277. Your question could help thousands of providers.
For the first time on the podcast, Brandee and Erin sit down with a husband and wife team who run a licensed home daycare together in North Dakota. Twelve and a half years in, they have cut their hours twice, dropped curriculum entirely, and moved to a two day a week summer schedule that most providers assume families would never accept.
They walk through how they split the day between them, how they told parents a full year before the schedule change, what they charge for summer care, why they price below everyone around them, and why they have never once had a payment problem.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- A two day a week summer schedule can hold your families if you give them enough notice
- Charging a percentage of the weekly rate keeps summer pricing fair when you cut days
- Long hours are usually a boundary problem, not a demand problem
- Play based care and everyday conversation teach more than worksheets for kids under five
- Kindergarten teachers want manners, independence, and the ability to ask for help without crying
- Referrals fill spots faster than advertising when families trust you
- Two adults in one program only works if you talk all day and back each other up in front of parents
FOLLOW OUR GUESTS
Ditching Delmer on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DitchingDelmer
Daycare page: NEEDED
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- One child can shift the whole group, even when your numbers drop.
- A licensing visit can flag things that passed inspection for years.
- Correction orders use broad labels like "small hazards," so parents can't see what was actually found.
- Softer enrollment may come from free preschool, remote work, rising costs, and families having fewer kids.
- Providers, tell us whether your waitlist is still long or quietly disappeared.
1:14:46 When parents need to hear it from someone else
1:17:23 Document it and find the pattern
1:21:01 Tell us what you would do
1:23:56 Outro
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Feeling like you constantly mess up in your first months of child care is normal, and experienced providers still make mistakes
- The age group matters, some people are built for infants and others for preschool
- Ask your lead teacher or director what to work on instead of guessing
- Playground fall zones and swing set clearance are why a lot of providers pull their equipment
- Minnesota's new infant supervision wording is still unclear and providers are waiting on clarification
- Screenshot your phone lock screen at the start and end of a fire drill to log the time
- A doorbell camera fills in attendance times when a parent forgets to sign in
- Behavior that only shows up at daycare needs the director involved, not just the teacher
- Documenting the pattern is what turns a behavior complaint into a solvable problem
ABOUT
The Daycare Sisters are Brandee and Erin, two sisters and home daycare providers with over 30 years of combined experience. They talk through the real parts of the job for providers who spend all day with kids and no time with other adults.
CONNECT
Website: https://www.TheDaycareSisters.com
Email: info@thedaycaresisters.com
Voicemail: 651-300-2277
Subscribe for home daycare conversations, provider advice, and honest talk about child care.
- Parent Aware, Minnesota's early childhood quality rating and improvement system: https://www.parentaware.org/programs/
- Farm-to-table food grant through Think Small: NEEDED grant name and link
WATCH NEXT
- Full Episodes playlist: NEEDED link
- Related episode: NEEDED link
ABOUT THE DAYCARE SISTERS
Brandee and Erin are two sisters, business owners, and home daycare providers with over 30 years of experience between them, parenting nine kids of their own. Isolation is the dirty little secret of home daycare, and nobody should feel alone doing the work they love.
Subscribe for home daycare real talk, provider business tips, and the stuff nobody tells you about running child care from your house.
01:00:30 Losing five kids and the income hit nobody sees
01:03:30 Recap: caretakers, take care of yourselves
KEY TAKEAWAYS
A summer break does not cure burnout. It postpones it.
School age kids get bored fast when you cannot leave the house and cannot run a school age program alongside infants and toddlers.
The stress of a licensing visit is mostly anticipation, not preparation.
Losing several kids to kindergarten at once is a schedule change and an income change at the same time.
Fall open houses, sports, and band schedules collide with daycare closing time. Tell parents early and repeat it.
The mental load of planning, paperwork, and prep is real labor even when nobody sees it.
ABOUT THE SHOW
Two sisters, both home daycare owners, parenting nine kids between them with over 30 years of family child care experience. Honest conversation for providers who are never alone but often lonely. Put it on while you make lunch.
Fire and storm drills now require logging the caregiver's name and how long evacuation took, which raised real questions the hosts couldn't fully answer
Providers can no longer restrict when parents access the daycare during care hours
Sick child exclusion is now tied to Minnesota's reportable disease rules and commissioner of health guidance, which the hosts found vague in places
Plastic bottles, sippy cups, and food containers can no longer be warmed in the microwave
Pets must be kept away from food prep, storage, and serving areas unless caged or kenneled
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Minnesota Day One Crisis Line: call 1-866-223-1111 or text 612-399-9995
National Domestic Violence Hotline: call 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788
1800RESPECT (Australia): call 1800 737 732 or text 0458 737 732, chat at https://www.1800respect.org.au
Sheltersafe (Canada): https://www.sheltersafe.ca
ABOUT DAYCARE SISTERS
Brandee and Erin are sisters, home daycare business owners, and parents to nine kids between them, with over 30 years of home daycare experience. They talk through the real, unfiltered side of running a home daycare, for providers who want honest conversation instead of polished advice.
Subscribe for daycare operator tips, home daycare conversations, and real talk about child care.
- The new family child care licensing standards were enacted in 2026 as Chapter 127, Article 13, and the tentative effective date is July 1, 2027
- Capacity classes are restructured from A, B, C1 to C3, and D into A and C1 through C5, with more infants and toddlers allowed in the middle classes
- The top class requires a second adult, added experience or credentials, and care on a single ground level, which limits basement and upper level use
- A helper can substitute for a second adult caregiver only when there is no more than one infant, one newborn, or one toddler
- Annual training drops from 16 hours to 10, with required annual trainings in child development, supervision, SUID, and abusive head trauma
- Fire safety and fire marshal training is added on a five year cycle, along with health and safety training
- Everyone moves to a January 1 through December 31 licensing year, which makes the 2027 transition year confusing
- Outdoor play areas must be protected from traffic and hazards, and a continuous fence or natural barrier is required where hazards are present
- Platforms 30 inches or higher need a continuous protective barrier, and openings between 3.5 and 9 inches are not allowed
- Water hazards including pools, hot tubs, stationary wading pools, and fish ponds need a permanent barrier at least four feet high, and a locking hot tub cover no longer count
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Full session law, Laws of Minnesota 2026, Chapter 127. Scroll to Article 13 for family child care:
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