Wanting to quit..

[scharron]

Has anyone wanted to quit in the beginning and now are happy doing home daycare? I am having a really hard time. I opened a home daycare to stay home with my 2 kids and plus going back to work I would have broke even after paying daycare for them. I have one temporary child who I got in the beginning of this month and I have her for 2 months. I have another pt 12 month old who cries alot! She wants to be held all of the time which I can't do. I'm just not enjoying it. I feel like I have no other option tho :( Any advise??

[PattyCake]

I wanted to quit every day in the first three months of opening....I was head strong and took on four to start...it was overload for sure. Over time though, I developed a good routine for the kids, myself, and preparation for the week ahead in order to make things go smoother.....eventua lly once the kids and I adjusted to our routine everything started turning out to be so worth it! Transitioning for some kids is harder for some, and don't forget that it's also a transition for you too! I also found that since joining this forum was a great help to me ...lots of good advice and tips! Good luck :)

[treeholm]

First of all, keep coming here to get support!!!! I started last September, and while I enjoy it for the most part, there have been days when I questioned the wisdom of doing this..... like in February when we couldn't go outside. I kept picturing the alternative: going back into a high-powered academic position with lots of professional jealousy, bullying, politics, whiny students, having to possibly take a job in the GTA (2 hour commute even without traffic), new vehicle (mine is 14 years old with 200,000 km on it), wouldn't see my grandbabies except on weekends, and the list goes on. It takes me about 5 minutes to decide to be happy doing this LOL! I'm my own boss, make a decent income, I'm home for my grandchildren, gardening etc., get my chores done during the day so I can relax or do fun stuff after 5:30 pm in a quiet house, kids are cute, parents appreciate me, when the weather is nice I walk for over an hour with the kids in the quad stroller, spend time at the park with my friends all morning, come home and put the kids to bed after lunch.... this is so much better than my career as a professor!
The support here on this site got me started and keeps me going. That said, this may not be the career for you, and that's okay too. I would suggest you make a list of the pros and cons. You say that if you work elsewhere you will break even after daycare. That is important to remember. You might be better off staying home and working part-time somewhere so that you wouldn't need daycare. Lots of options! You may just need to do some brainstorming and deep thinking about your family's needs, your needs etc. Or you may just need a few sunny days at the park to help you like this again!

[apples and bananas]

Yes! I wanted to quit in my first little bit doing this. I didn't know how to handle parents, I spent too much focus on making everybody happy doing things their way. I worked whatever hours people needed me in fear I'd loose my clients and it sucked!

I think it takes time to develop the business you want. You need to set hours and stick with them. Take a day off here and there so you can regain your sanity. And focus on the good stuff. You're home with the kids are home from school. You book vacay whenever you want and you don't have to wait for the person with higher seniority to decide. You set your own fees. You write off a ton of stuff when it comes to taxes.

[Sandbox Sally]

I hope that you learn to enjoy the job, but I want to say that it really isn't for everyone. I have spoken with a few people who were at home with their own kids, and were looking for a way to have an income, so they started a daycare and ended up hating it. There's no shame in that. I think it's important to admit if you're in this boat, and possibly find something else.

I'm not saying that this is you, but it's better for everyone to kind of look at it and try to evaluate honestly whether you're "cut out" to care for other peoples' kids.

Good luck. :)

[godsgirl]

I was there too at the beginning. The first 3 months the kids would walk out the door and I would turn to my husband and burst into tears (my poor husband). But every time I thought about calling it quits I would look at my son and it would remind me of why I chose this profession in the first place. I'm coming up to my 1 yr anniversary of running my day home in July and I can honestly say that things have gotten so much better. I have a routine, the kids and myself have gotten to know and understand each other, I've learned what I need to do in order to take care of myself, and so on. Even still I go through those junky phases where I want to quit (this was a long cooped up winter) but then i sit down and ask myself why I started in the first place. For me the pros totally out weigh the cons. Keep plugged into this forum as somedays these ladies are the only thing that keep us sane. It's comforting knowing that we have people in our lives that are going through the exact same thing as you are. *hugs*

[torontokids]

I am always going back and forth. Those days when a kid is screaming during nap time or when you have to constantly repeat yourself. I think when you look at the big picture it can become clear to you whether it's a fit or not. I have sometimes said to myself, "OK you're going back to work (outside the home)then" or I look at job boards online and those times I did that I didn't feel relief in saying this or a desire to take one of the jobs. Instead I felt panicked and that made me realize that this is a fit for me right now.

[Artsand crafts]

When I started I got 2 wonderful kids, but after a couple of months an 11 month old enrolled and terrorized the others (pulling hair,hitting, etc). He was strong enough to try to fight the 2 year old! He cried a lot during the morning when mom left for a couple of hours. He was the first to come and the last to go home (from 7:00 to 6:00PM) and very often the mom will even pick up after business hours. During that time I was even considering to close, because I feel I wasn't good enough for this job. I am glad I did not. After a few months of hell they decided to leave and life was so much pleasant. It has been close to 6 years since and so much has changed. I can even go out during the whole morning out as a perk =)... Hang in there with the experience you will find what works best for you and your groups...

[Fearlessbaby]

Great advice- I"m also just starting - I start officially next week- I will have 2 1year olds! Feeling excited and nervous- I'm a teacher (primary) and a daycare teacher by profession but 1st time running my own daycare at home- Thank goodness for this forum!! :)

[Sandbox Sally]

Congrats, fearless!! Welcome to the ranks of the self employed, and good luck!

[playfelt]

Starting to do anything that is totally new is overwhelming till we get the hang of it and daycare is no different. It gets easier once you settle into a routine. At the same time the novelty can wear off quickly and what seemed like a good idea now comes with pitfalls not considered before such as lack of adult contact, lack of time away from our own children, wear and tear on our house, etc. If you can identify stressers and find a solution for them then you are more likely to start to enjoy doing home daycare again.

At the same time it is not wrong to say you made a mistake and really want your life to go in a different direction and then make plans to do that whether that is going back to your old job, moving on to another job outside your home, reducing the number of children you care for so that you can go out more or adding the maximum number of children so you can worry less about paying bills.

[scharron]

Thank you all for your replies!! I was liking it before this pt child started. She is 11 months old and only 2 days per week if that. Next week she is only coming 2 half days. I told her parents today (this is her 3rd week) that she isn't adjusting and she is not coming often enough and they are going to find new care. I feel a sense or relief along with stress. I have decided I am going to cut out pt alltogether and just take ft children (if i can find them!) That's another issue..I have been technically open since January and the only ft child I have is temporary. It's been so hard finding ft kids :( I really want this to be successful..I'm just feeling down and discouraged. :(

[Crayola kiddies]

part time children take much longer to transition. I too only take full time children now but when I was taking part time I insisted they come full time for the first 4 weeks and then they could go part time after that . but I found it very hard to find kids to fill the off days and for my area its just easier to take on full time kids. my part time is a minimum of 3 days per week. so 2 days and 1/2 days would be a nightmare...... good luck ....

[Momof4]

No, I never want to quit, but I do get burned out sometimes so I know I have to slow down and take care of myself and allow a few mornings in a row letting the children freeplay so I can recover and get my energy back. We all have parts of the job that drain us, for me it's interviewing which makes my days really long and transitioning new crying unhappy children. But once all of the children are happy and content I love my job every day.

There is a huge learning curve to this job and experimenting with routines until you figure out what works best for you is necessary. Try to prep food and crafts the night before but use your crockpot to save you lots of time and keep the crafts super simple. Playdo can be used over and over, washable markers are great - simple is best!

[sunnydays]

Glad you are getting rid of the part-time child...that is no fun trying to adjust a child who will not easily adjust because of such a limited time with you. I hope you get some new full-time kids soon! I only do full-time as well for the same reason.

[DaycareLady]

I opened in January and although I have worked in daycares, the school board and high stress jobs...I was totally over my head when I was full (with 5 plus my 2) in the first few weeks!! I had 3 babies (plus my own 11 month old) and 2 toddlers (plus my 2 year old) and it was NUTS! I had to really think about what I was doing and in the end I ended up letting a few go , revamping my schedule, uping my fees and reminding myself that things don't have to be perfect!! This forum is so amazing and the main reason I didn't just shut down!! It DOES get easier but remember this is YOUR business and if something isn't right, you can change it...even if it means letting a child go!!