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Well, since I'm currently transitioning a 1 year old baby I'm not too fond of that age group right now. Just kidding, but I wish he would settle down. I find that all my dckids start out at 1 year old or under since that's when the mat leave Moms return to work in our area. I do like to start children early so that they learn my rules as they learn everything. By the time they are 3 or 4 they have been here for a long time usually and are wonderful.
Sure they go through lots of phases and try to push their boundaries now and then, but I haven't had major problems. My Jeckyll/Hyde boy was a real test but he was good for me and a monster in front of his parents. Then I had a girl who was a super tattletale but I would tell her to talk to her friends instead of me about 50 times a day and we made it through. They were the worse ones.
Thankfully, I don't have school aged children in my daycare because I would NOT want to have children of that age here. I do have a 4 1/2 year old girl here every other day because she just started JK but she's been here almost 4 years already and knows what I expect from her and is a real gem.
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I really love the kids from about 2 years until 4 and maybe even 5, just as long as they haven't actually gone to school yet. Something about actually going to school changes a kid and not always for the better.
It's almost as if every time I have a child grow up with me at daycare then they head of to school and every bad habit that every other kid has seems to rub off on them, even though I know they know better. :ohmy:
I really don't like to care for babies. They seem to be all work and nothing in return. Yes, I know they smile and laugh and are cute, but I just prefer older than 24 months I guess.
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For me I like aboaut 15 months to 2 years. They are usually walking and with that finding so many new things in the day that excite them and then for the next year you can expand on that curiosity. Before that it is all just mechanical care in the sense of physical needs - diapers, food, sleep and in between you attempt to do other things but your attention becomes more on the others in care in since the babies have their personal time spent on the care needs. After age 2 you are more at the mercy of what the parents are doing at home and then heaven forbid a child goes to school. I don't even take JK/SK any more because I couldn't stand the attitude - and they moved the bus stop from the end of my driveway.
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I LOVE to see the change that kids go through from 12-18 months. When they hit about 2, I could do without the defiance and "independence" that comes along, haha!
And yes; school aged makes me shudder. The only way I will do it now is if that is the only age group I am caring for. At least then it's in limited quantities. I cannot handle babies all day, and still deal with **whine** "He said he didn't like my picturrre". Ick.
