Inspiring Conversations with Terry Whitworth of Kids Cabin LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Terry Whitworth

Hi Terry, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I own Kids Cabin LLC. My journey started in 2002. I was working in a doctor’s office 8 to 5. Our boys were toddlers, and I wanted to spend more time with them. My sister owned a childcare center. She asked me to come and work for her. She said this would be a good way to learn the childcare business so I could one day open my own in my home. This was a great idea because I love to teach, I’ve always wanted to own my own business and most importantly spend more time with my boys. She started me in her infant room. She trained me to be a lead teacher, taught me all the rules and regulations of childcare and we both started taking childcare college courses. We were so close and enjoyed working together. It was a win-win for us both. She was an awesome owner and director, and I made sure I gave her 100%. We worked so good together! Later she made me her assistant director. In 2004, I opened my family childcare home, Kids Cabin. So here we are 2 sisters, one is a childcare center owner, and the other is a family childcare owner. Everything was going great for a while until my sister was diagnosed with cancer. She passed away in 2019. This was the worst day of my life. Where do I go from here. We have a very close family, and we took very good care of her. I’m so glad I was able to love on her. I overheard her telling our dad not to be sad, “I lived a good life.” When I think of her, which is very often, I still remember her telling him that.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road became a little rocky for me after the passing of my beautiful sister. My parents taught us to always seek guidance, support and comfort from God through prayer and faith. Every morning, I pray, read scriptures and meditate before starting my day. I stopped taking college classes. I just couldn’t get into it anymore. My childcare students were my light during this time, they brought a lot of joy to my life. Grief, in my opinion, never goes away. It has showed me more strength, independence and resilience. I really enjoy the small moments in life. I started back taking college classes and in 2022, I graduated from Gardner-Webb University and received a bachelor’s degree in Birth-Kindergarten Education. I walked into my quiet childcare room, closed the door, sat on the floor and rewrote my vision and mission statements. I have them on the wall so when you walk through Kids Cabin’s door you will know what we stand for. In honor of my sister, Renee Lail, we adopt cancer patients every December from Hospice for Christmas. This brings us so much joy! I am so glad that I was able to PUSH through. I use by business as a platform to help people and help build our community! We are definitely your Community Family Childcare Home!!!
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Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Kids Cabin LLC is a 4-star family childcare home in North Carolina. We are home of Watermelon Fridays! We are celebrating 20 years! We offer a safe, nurturing environment. We are your non-traditional childcare home. We offer different shifts to help all parents that are working or continuing their education. We teach by using a curriculum, centers and play. We are incredibly grateful for the honor of receiving Cleveland County Community Choice Award for best childcare 2024. We were also recognized at the National Association for Family Child Care Conference 2024, featured in Bold Journey magazine and many other accomplishments. Our students and parents are our family.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
When we were little, our parents would take us on a vacation every year. This particular vacation was to Florida. We were so excited! We grew up in a small town called Lawndale, North Carolina so this was a very big deal. My dad had a pick-up truck, I believe it was a Ford. My uncle went with my dad to pick out the perfect camper to go on it for this trip. My sister and I had twin beds. My parents took one of the mattresses off and placed it in the truck. They made us a little bedroom on the back of the truck, and we even had snacks! You could not tell us this wasn’t an RV. We thought we were the bomb! Best trip ever! Disney World and Sea World was great but riding in the truck with my family was priceless.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kidscabinfamilychildcarehome.com
• Other: [email protected]