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The decision has been made, the full time job discarded and you are starting your day care however, you're only now realizing what you've let yourself in for. Weighty questions must be tackled, decisions must be made e.g. Montessori day care or Steiner, daycare franchises or go it alone and the to do list continues to grow.

Turnkey, tried and tested, lots of hand holding - all make a day care franchise vey appealing. Customer loyalty is more easily acquired thanks to instant brand recognition. Licensing, staff/owner training, building selection, getting funding, the building process and actually opening your business will be covered in the development process.

Packages may also include design templates for buildings, proprietary curriculum plus ongoing training and support for owners and staff. Operations manuals will make hitting the ground running a breeze and having the use of a recognized brand for advertising may well mean a busy opening day. Some deals even offer home office support.

There is no doubting the appeal of all of the above. However, franchises are extremely pricey and require an upfront financial commitment plus proof of a healthy net worth (and that's before you even open your doors). Now, where did I leave that goose with the golden egg laying capabilities??

Onwards to the curriculum consideration. There are many, excellent programs to choose from so you really need to do some thorough research to establish which method might best suit your day care (or you could just draw straws :-)). Ever thoughtful, I've compiled a list of the better known programs with a short synopsis to help you on your way:

- Play based - children learn through focused play - Montessori - teacher observes the development, supporting the child but not getting in the way of, nor interfering in the child's ability to perceive the real world - Waldorf Method - based on the concept that the children must love to learn therefore they learn through play, imitation and imagination. - High/Scope - children learn through doing. They have responsibility for their own work and teachers facilitate - Reggio Emilio - focuses on the natural development of the child in relation to their environment - Piaget - children develop best through interaction with both teachers and peers - Steiner - based on the belief that education should be designed to meet the changing needs of children as they develop

If you do have a large cache of dosh but not a lot of spare time then daycare franchises will have definite appeal for you. Your curriculum definitely requires lots of thought and whilst I find my Montessori day care to be a wonderful learning environment, so to are many of the other excellent programs.