How long have you been operating...

[GymMom]

Your dayhome and how long do you plan to keep doing it? I'm only in my second week and just wondering how long people last in this business before burning out. I am enjoying it so far - have wonderful kids and great parents, but with my own 3 kids in school full time, I have moments where I wonder if I'm crazy to be doing this.

[samantha3]

I have been doing this for two years now. Some days I love it and some days I hate it... it mostly depends on the mood/behavior of the children on those days, the parents are great. I think what gets to me most is the boredom.... no matter what I set out as a provocation I feel a lot of days just drag on and I am not 'doing' anything. I feel like I would like to go back to school to work in social services and contribute back to society but at the same time this job is pretty easy going, I get to do my own thing, I like where I live and I make pretty good money for my family. This is a tough topic! Best of luck gymmom!!

[Crayola kiddies]

I have been running my current Dayhome for 2.5 years .... I have five of my own kids ( three in school) I would like to do this for another 8-10 years.

[kidlove]

I have been going for 10 years and going strong, cant imagine doing anything else. although there are many "stresses" in this job, it's still alot less than I ever had at any outside job. Plan to do it until I can't just want to have a separate place...grinds on the "personal space". :)

[apples and bananas]

I've been doing it for just over a year. I'm a little stressed out over the last few months! But I think I'm almost past the "first year" issues and learning to control my own business. I have a 4 year plan for this daycare then I'm off to work in the family business. This just pays the rent while the business builds.

I do love it, but I don't want to do it forever. I want my house back! So many playpens and toys... the things I could do with the toy room if it wasn't a toy room.

[Momof4]

:laugh: You're only in your second week and worried about burnout? Now I'm worried about you!

I'm in my 5th year and have had ups and downs. This is an everchanging job. We perfect our routines and methods over time, families come and go, sometimes unexpectly which causes a big rip in our plans. But asking advice from our peers, such as on this forum is precious and will save you. This I know for sure.

I wouldn't be where I am today without great advice from people who had been doing home daycare for a long time. I learned to read all the advice then to do what is best in my situation. I also learned another important fact: TAKE VACATIONS!!!

[GymMom]

:laugh: You're only in your second week and worried about burnout? Now I'm worried about you!

LOL - no need to worry about me - just wondering how long the average dayhome operator thrives in this business! :) it's good to hear that some of you have been at it for a while and are still enjoying it!

[gcj]

I'm in my 5th year....where has the time gone?!? I plan on doing it for 10 more...at least. There is no other job on the planet that would give me all the perks I have doing this.
There were some rough spots, but now that my kids are both in school full time, it's smooooooooooth sailing! Don't get me wrong...I love my kids, I'm doing this for them, but the constant double standards that are inevitable when your own kids are in their own house and part of the daycare is very difficult.

[Littledragon]

Six months and I'm burning out lol but that's only because I've had a hard time starting up and I've been dealing with a psycho mom. I have no idea how long I plan on doing this, but definitely until I get pregnant again. Or my husband wins the lottery and we can both go sailing for life lol

[cfred]

I've been in it for 11 years and have just started my second one (bought a house). I don't foresee anything else and I love what I do. I get the boredom thing though. Also, as I lean to my mid 40s, I'm feeling the wear a little more than I did 10 yrs ago. Plan to reduce down to before and after school care for the 'pre-retirement' gig before heading south for ESL.

If you're burning out after 2 weeks, you're putting too much pressure on yourself. Enjoy the kids, don't stress about little stuff and maybe change your expectations in scheduling and programming. I found that too much structure and programming stressed me out immensely. Little guys are pretty easy to entertain and teach...it doesn't need to be fancy. Just go do some fun stuff and enjoy yourself :)

[Momof4]

Please remember that the first few years are the hardest until you have the wonderful families as your client base, great references who will spread word of mouth to all their friends and co-workers. I'm turning people away nonstop now because I'm always full and have families with their second babies who want to stay with me but it's complicated to hold spaces and all that.

I did put too much pressure on myself in the beginning and didn't realize that it's ok to let the children play and once in a while to let them sit in front of the tv and watch Mickey Mouse or Word World teach them about the #'s & ABC's!

[Inspired by Reggio]

I have been in the field for over 24 years now .... but only in a home based environment for the past 5 years.

Burn out is certainly common in this industry as it is a demanding job both physically and emotionally ... IME making sure to make time for YOU engaged in some hobby or activity that recharges your soul and passion in life is key so that you do not become 'consumed by work' and I know that one of my secrets to staying passionate all these years to to continually be engaging in ongoing professional develop to help stay up to date on best practice and tricks and tools to make life easier helps to keep ones program fresh and exciting and be reminded of WHY I chose to go into this field in the first place ;)