What's the perfect number of kids...

What do yo find is your ideal number of kids to have in your care, including your own little ones? I am just starting out and have just 1 p/t 10 month old (my own kids are all in school), but I have 4 interviews set up for this week. I don't know if it's a good idea to take on the max. number of kids right away so I want to have a number in mind before I start interviewing - I don't want to get overwhelmed and burnt out. I'm thinking 4 total for now including p/t and f/t kids. Is that a good place to start? Or do you find it easier with more kids?

3 under 2 yrs old.

It depends on the kids too, and how you transition them in. I currently have 3 under 2 and 1 that's almost 3. 3 of them come full time and one part time. So my worst day is 4. It's one too many for my taste. You need to transition them in one at a time. Get one comfy and then do it again with another one. I transitioned 2 one year olds in at the same time and never again! UGH!

I have four plus my own just turned 3 yr old.... I have two under two, one under three, and one just turned three. I'm interviewing for my last spot and I'm hoping for a just under or just over one yr old . I guess it all depends on the ages as I wouldn't want 5 one yr olds and it also depends on your own confidence level.

I do enjoy being "full" having 6 kids in the house (but that is from a "business" point of view-making the most money) if I was to choose my most loved number of kids? I would have to say 4 is easy peasy and very comfortable for me.

I like to have my enrollment full with 5 children at all times, but it doesn't bother me if one of the children is a part-timer so that sometimes I get an easy day with only 4. Kidlove said it - for business reasons it's good to be full at all time because you never know when somebody might make some kind of announcement that will affect your income.

I'm kind of like Kidlove in the sense of if I am going to go to all the trouble to do meals and stories and "work" my daycare I might as well get the maximum pay for it - hence all spaces need to be filled. As far as my own kids they were always just extras that hung around with my daycare all day. The more you have make sure you take some of the income to make it go easier such as using part of it to treat yourself or ordering pizza and a movie on Friday nights or buying a new piece of equipment or toy that makes the day go easier. Even something as simple as extra bibs and washclothes or changes of sheets so you can put off laundry if you want to can help make that extra child easier to fit in.

Age mix of course is the biggest control on how many kids is ideal in the sense of how much of the time they rely on me and how much they can do for themselves.

That's a great point playfelt... it makes it so much easier when you take a portion of your income and do some fun stuff or buy some fun stuff! I can survive on 3 kids, I can maintain my fun lifestyle on 4! :)

this summer i had 5 dck plus my own two. it was too much. my dd starts school next week and i dck is decreasing to pt. the $$ hasnt been worth my increased stress level. plus, the kids have been used to lots of outings and activities and those are limited with that many children.

Yes, Momof4, I'm just starting out, and just enough to make ends meet in this economy is living on the edge a bit too much. If a family makes an announcement that changes income, it's better to have a bit of a buffer. I'd go for what pays the bills and a bit extra, children of similar ages so they play well together with similar activities, and good families. Luck seems to play a large roll in this...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Grass Roots Gal

Yes, Momof4, I'm just starting out, and just enough to make ends meet in this economy is living on the edge a bit too much. If a family makes an announcement that changes income, it's better to have a bit of a buffer. I'd go for what pays the bills and a bit extra, children of similar ages so they play well together with similar activities, and good families. Luck seems to play a large roll in this...

---

Oh you are so right, I'm having a lean couple of months right now. I'm full, but two of the children are part-time right now and going to be full-time soon, but in the meantime, it's rough on my budget. One of my Mom's is pregnant so that means another change next year. That's the nature of the business that we learn about with practice, always expect the unexpected. I'm sure you will be great.