Is this a viable business idea? (aimed at mums!)

[desperatehousewife21]

I've had this idea in my head for ages now please don't steal it

It would be a place mums can come to when they're feeling particularly worn out and need a break. it would have relaxation rooms with a bed and sofa. they could have the room for an hour to do whatever they feel would relax them I.e sleep/ rest/ read/ even have a cuppa tea while their children were being looked after in another area/ room by childcare assistants.
The rooms would obv only be allowed for one person to use at a time!

Is this viable or am I living in a dreamworld!?

I would have DEF paid for this when mine were babies.

All thoughts welcome

I wouldn't pay for the use of a bed/room/sofa when I have my own for free at home. I can always pay to send dc to a cm if I needed to pay for a break

guessing this would be expensive?

aimed at 'mums'....not very inclusive is it.

No matter how tired I was I'd never be able to fall asleep in a random building during the day while my DC was next door with strangers (to all intents and purposes) I'd also worry about my handbag etc and probably feel a bit scummy tbh.

Sorry- I don't think I would pay for this. I can't think of any people who would.

I wouldn't use it either. Settling my dc with someone they didn't know seems like more trouble than it's worth.

You couldn't properly relax as you would be wondering how it was going. And I speak as someone who had absolutely no one to look after my dc.

You would get more 'space' from them by putting the TV on or taking them to the park.

Also it would be really hard to look after as you would have to clean the room thoroughly and change the sheets.

Where I live (Australia) there is a thing called occasional care where it's a nursery I suppose with the same staff every day and you can book in every day if you want or just nice to go to the dentist in peace.

At least that way if you want to relax you can go home.

Once, not nice.

Thanks for your replies I just had no idea if people would go for this or not so to get some feedback (even negative ) is what I wanted.

Obv it wouldn't only be for mums, anyone at all could use it if they needed to but I was thinking its mainly mums who need the break.

The rooms can be locked and they'd be decorated with soft lighting/ calming music if desired. a bit like how a spa/ salon is.

The childcare room side of things would have properly trained carers and would be fully equipped with toys/ toilets/ fun things!

Personally I'd never relax enough to get the benefit, despite mood lighting and excellent staff, but that's maybe just me.

Actually i think you should have it as mums only or you risk the possibility of being used as a shagging destination. All that soft music and low lighting.

Nope - would prefer an on-spec creche type thing where you drop the little one off very near the shopping center - go do a couple of hours shopping/get a hair cut and come back and pick them up...

Before I had kids I probably would have thought this was an OK idea. But with kids, I realise that the difficulty of settling children with strangers in strange setting just for a random hour would not be realistic - it would be something that I'd only realistically do in a real emergency where eg I just needed to ensure the safety of one DC while I tended to another DC.

and where would this be based?

OK so steering more towards just the childcare aspect of it for an as and when type thing.

Hmm very interesting to hear replies though! maybe I'll look into just the childcare side then.

and would you also cater for disabled children of all ages,older children,troublesome teens,sick children,children with sn......this is where most 'mums' need a decent break

It would initially be based in town so it was easily accessible.

I think you'd struggle to compete with the alternatives - creches in shopping centres or spas, or just getting a babysitter to come and taking an hour out.

I also think that there is probably a bit of a martyr element to contend with. Parents get tired and would probably die for an hour to themselves some days, but I think it'd be a big jump to get them to hand over responsibility for an hour, even if they really needed the rest.

That said, there is a sure start centre near me that has a Mums room with tea/coffee/etc, and the children stay outside and do baby massage with nursery workers, so maybe it does make a profit.

YES! Like a mini spa? Hell yes

BUT you'd need to market it well and it would depend where it was based, I can see it working really well in certain areas of London for example.

I wouldn't either. I would leave my dc with qualified strangers in an emergency or if I had to do something like have an X-ray but it's not worth the hassle so you can have a lie down.

You would have to sound proof the rooms so people couldn't hear the dc!

This is where the research into the childcare part would need to be wider as I'm guessing normal nusuries/ creches etc would only take them up to a certain age depending on how many carers worked there but I would try to cater for up to 11/12?

Yes Dame that's what I pictured in my head!

Maybe it would need to offer more for the mums/ carers than just a room with a bed. maybe a nail/ hair salon/ massage etc

I think a spa/gym/retail area with ad hoc affordable childcare would be a much more viable alterantive.

14 years ago when dd was little I used to use a 'drop-in' style creche in my local shopping centre while I had lunch with a friend who worked there. Was bliss Only rule was that I must stay in the shopping centre for the duration so I could be tannoyed if necessary. They also used to have playgroups etc on the site.

I loved it, but sadly it closed before next dc arrived.

In fact if you provided waxing, threading,massage, facials etc I think you'd have a queue round the block. I would be more likely to go somewhere for a reason rather than just to relax which seems like more of an indulgence when you are a mum.

Don't do the bed. How will you clean the sheets between people?

Occasional and flexible childcare so the person can use it when they want is more beneficial. To get into nursery I had to go on a waiting list that was two years' long and I had to choose exactly the times and days I needed. Flexible and consistent cc would have been handy.

Hard to do though, as the big problem I guess is knowing how many staff you need for any day. Once it's full though, I guess it could be full. If it's not you'll be paying anyway.

OK so maybe a spa type place with the ad hoc childcare but as it prob wouldn't be in a shopping centre they would need to stay in the building.

Or if it was in London/ major town they would have to have a mobile to be contactable.

I don't think parents could leave the building tbh.

Yes same with me Dame as atm I can only do those things when dh can have dcs or take them with me which is just a no no.

OK so offer as and when cc with a spa element so would need childcare assistants and beauticians neither which I am trained as