How many kids can you handle?

LOL yes how many kids I can 'handle' and how many kids I feel are 'ideal' are two different answers .... in centre care as a new graduate I was often left with 7 infants under the age of 15 months on my own for two hours at the end of the day or over lunch breaks because they had not clarified in the DNA back than that you could not do 2/3 ratio with infants and my old boss could not do MATH to realize that 2/3 of a 3:10 ratio was not 7 ... but technically I could 'handle' it as in they were kept fed, changed and safe through assembly line care but it NO was not an ideal ratio ... even having a 1:3 ratio for infants is not ideal cause it is often assembly line care even then cause you just do not have enough hands to cuddle and snuggle and feed them ;)

My ideal ratio is 4 children with only 2 of them being under 2 and the rest over because my back cannot handle too many wee ones needing lifting/carrying. I say 4 because the days I only have 4 seem to flow so nice and smoothly with the kids pairing off and no 'third wheel' fights but I typcially have always had 5 cause that is how many I am allowed and I cannot say 'no' if someone comes a looking and I have the space cause well 1 more income is nice for savings and for the past 5 years I have been full 99% of the time with little need to advertize for openings clients would have me full again with referrals ... so admittedly right now I am really enjoying being 'low' for a change cause I just had most of my original clients all head off to school full time!