Am I In Over My Head?! First Post :)

Hi lovely ladies! This is my first post and I am SO glad to be here!!
I decided after having my second child that I would leave my career and start a home daycare so I can be home with my kiddies! I have a passion for working with children. I have my ECE, B.A in Child and Family Studies and a diploma in Autism and Behavioural Science. The top half of my house has been completely turned into a daycare! This is my first week running and I have my two children (2 ½ and 10 months) and in care so far I have a 9 month old and a 2 year old. This week went GREAT! I have 2 other Mama’s starting their kids in April. I know I can have 5 children plus my own (I am in Ontario) but I didn’t know if I could handle 7 at once so I wasn’t planning on taking that many….but one thing led to another and sure enough, come April I will have 4 babies and 3 toddlers!! Am I nuts?! There is no way I will tell these parents I can’t take their child just because I am having personal issues with not knowing if I can handle this…I already promised these Moms and they have arranged their whole schedules around me and my daycare times. They are also friends of mine…I know everyone said not to take on friends but all these kids are great kids and their Moms are gems, I feel blessed they asked me!! But, does anyone else have this many children/this many babies (1 year olds) in care? Am I going to be able to do this? Going to be able to get outside with all of them ? Still be able to make sure they all have a great enriched day between diaper changes, naps and meals?! I am just second guessing myself but I am so nervous it is just going to be chaos and I won’t get to run my program how I want with all the learning activities, circle time, outdoor fun, etc!! Will they even all nap?!?! I will have 3-4 in the same room and the others spread out in other rooms. Now two of these kids are part time, so only 3 days a week will I have all 7! Advice and/or encouragement welcome!!

I have been running my home daycare for almost two months now and have five all under 18 months. The first couple of weeks with that many young ones was definitely challenging for me, however, we've now mastered an awesome routine, and I feel that is key in making it run smoothly. I think if I were in your position and had seven, I'd consider hiring a part time helper for the mornings on your busiest days. Best of luck :)

Welcome to the forum and to the daycare world. You CAN do this! I like having a young group and they all grow together year by year but when they all leave at the same time and you have to replace them all it's kind of traumatic. But first things first.

When I have lots of babies I kind of think of it as an assembly line, change them all, feed them all, get them all to bed, you know? But your best bet will be to take it slowly and forget about crafting or anything like that until you are several months in and have it all under control. You will improve and streamline your methods and routines month by month. Do food and any activity or craft prep the night before and have everything organized for your mornings.

I wouldn't want to have 7 myself but I have some friends with daycares who have one or two of their own children and they amaze me the way they handle 7 children, so yes, it can definitely be done. I hope you are having them join you one at a time because sometimes transitioning children can be exhausting.

Ask us anything and we'll try to help keep you sane, lol!

Welcome DaycareLady! Your credentials are awesome! Yes, I would concentrate in keeping all kiddies happy, fed and comfortable in their surrroundings. Don't exhaust yourself by trying to do too much. Have alot of playtime and outdoor time and don't worry about crafting or circle time for a while. Prep work is the key so you are not juggling kids and meals at the same time. Keep meals simple. Don't forget to be kind to yourself and cut yourself slack. No daycare is perfect so don't try to be. Also if hubby is around, ask him for help. My hubby does and I love the bit of break it gives me at the end of the day. Let us know how it is working out.

The ladies already gave great advice so I dont have much to add. To share my own experience, I have been running my daycare for a year. I have had a very rough time sometimes, but it all depends on the personality of the children and your own. For example too much noise or too much going on at once stresses me so... having loads of children at once was hard to keep calm and play quite, so I was stressed out. Some people don't mind, you see what I mean ?! Needless to say last summer I did take more then I could handle and burned myself out... and they werent all babies (I find that older kids are more exhausting).

I totally understand you wouldn't want to cancel any agreements you already took with parents, so just take it easy.

Also, be careful with parents, because sometimes... they are the ones that are more difficult. One daycare provider I know has her own niece as a parent and she is the worst of all the parents. Its easier to be firm with strangers then your family or friends.

Welcome to the club Daycare Lady. I'm sure that you will have no trouble with your crew - I am currently caring for three, 2 and a half year olds (I've had them since day 1) as well as one 15 month old and a 13 month old. You'll find your groove with them, and it really is easier to plan your program, and stock the toybox with toys that interest everyone/plan activities that everyone can participate in when everyone is at (roughly) the same developmental stage. :yes: Good luck, and hats off to you - I think that it's amazing that you have just openned your doors and you're already full. Way to go !:D

Great advice from all the ladies. However, I`m going to play devil`s advocate and look at this from another perspective. That's a LOT of kids and your own will surely be the most challenging with this new adjustment. That's called diving right in. Personally I couldn't handle it. I'd be worried that you're staying home to be with yours and you're going to wear yourself thin and not be able to give them what they need.

Hopefully you'll find a way to make it work. I would be completely exhausted. Where I live we're not allowed more than 2 under 18 months and I truly believe there's a reason for that. Our max is also 6 kids, including our own...until our own turn 9. Unless schedules are worked out so that you never have more than 6 at a time in the house. I cherish this rule! It has saved my sanity. I now have 4 since my 2 are in school, but under 9 and I feel like a whole new person! I'm no longer exhausted when I close the door to my last dck in the evening....I still have something left to offer my family.

If you don't feel that you can do, then you're not doing any of those parents any favours at all by saying that you'll do something that may be too demanding. Don't forget about yourself because if you're not well, noone is well!

I don't mean to be discouraging. If you can do, more power to ya! Just wanted to look at the other side of the coin.

I think having this many is totally doable. Some providers will have better coping skills with much younger ones whereas others will be better with the preschool and kindergarten aged kids.

I agree with Momof4. It's like an assembly line and as MichaelsMommy said the key is routine. You most certainly need to be consistant and run a tight ship under all circumstances otherwise the balance can tip and you are left pulling your hair out. Having kids start at this age means you can really mold them, especially the full timers. You can get them on your schedule, following you rules in no time. I also like to have the kids all at a similar age to have activities running that are at a similar developmental stage. It makes life much easier.

I have seen a friend with a similar background as you who managed centres for years start a home daycare and try to run a rich program with something constantly going on and she literally poured thoudsands into buying educational resources and spent countless evenings "overplanning" activities which ultimatly could have been simplified and still been a great activity for the kids. She burn out after only 10 weeks and was extremely sick. I think you really need to check yourself their. You can't run a home daycare program the same way as a centre runs. It doesn't mean the kiddies can't get as much enrichment, but you just don't have the same resources which include support staff to prevent burn out and anyone here will tell you that burn out for home daycare providers occurs frequently, and only through learning lessons through experience do most overcome this by learning not to shoot to high with goals for the program.

Having a group dynamic that you are describing I would be looking at interactive activities that even babies can play independently at so if you are attending needier kids, the others are still happy and entertained.

This is a great site for treasure baskets

http://countingcoconuts.blogspot.ca/...sure%20Baskets

which are an amazing activity for infants and your older kids including your older 2yr old child will still enjoy them and be able to use them at the same time. I make these up in various ways for not a lot of money and store them away, switching them up on a regular basis. Its worth looking up treasure baskets and understanding how they work.

Also sensory tubs are on this website and you can just be sure to make them with items that arent choking hazards and then they can be used similarly to the treasure baskets but you can be more involved with them and theme them more.

Good Luck with your new venture, believe in yourself, and if you need us, we are here :)

Good for you for wanting to stay home with your two. It is a tough job as I'm sure you may be finding out, will def know how tough it can be once you take on the rest. It is def doable like all the others said, BUT please be aware that alot of little ones can pose many challenges throughout your days and weeks, sometimes many challenges will arise in a matter of minutes. You need a lot of strength and patience to handle that many babies at once. I personally would not take so many babies, but if you are up for it you can handle it IF you use all your resources, this forum is a great start. Key piece of advice is: know when enough is enough, count to 10, or leave the room for a minute if you need to (making sure all little ones are safe first of course) :) it can be very stressful with that many little ones all at once.
Dont let guilt eat you up, when you feel it once your kids show signs of wanting you but you can't give them all of you because the others need you as well. That was a hard one for me when my kids were younger, at times i wondered if it was the right choice....it is though. Good luck with that many little ones, you are going to need it. we are all here if you need support or just someone to hear your cries!!!!! :D
To answer your question: YES! you are crazy....but so are we!

It's great that you were able to fill your daycare so quickly and with your background it sounds like you are well qualified and experienced with small children so you will know what to expect. Personally, I know I could not handle that many babies at once and especially if they are all starting at the same time. When I opened two years ago, I had my own two (3 and 8 months) and I took in two (a baby and a toddler) a month apart so each had time to adjust. Another month down the road and I decided to take one more who was almost 2. After that I waited almost six months before adding the fourth and another eight months to add the fifth. At one point I had three 12 month olds at once and the others were over 2 and I found that a challenge...at first it was okay, but when they all hit 16-18 months I found it quite difficult to go to the park etc as they would try to run in opposite directions etc. and all were learning bad habits from each other (hitting, screaming, biting, etc). Since that time I have decided that I don't want more than two under 18 months at one time and no more than three under the age of two. For me, this has made things run much more smoothly and I am now able to do the kinds of learning activities etc that I want to do as well as manage park outings much more easily etc. If you are going to have that many babies and toddlers you will need a 5-6 seater stroller and you may find outside time very very difficult at first as you will likely have many non-walkers or new walkers who will have trouble with the snow and slush that is still around in April. Good luck!

Thank you SOO much everyone, I really really appreciate all the advice and support and I am so thankful for this group and all of YOU! I actually cried reading the responces lol just because I haven't had anyone to talk to about this!! I am a big planner (meaning I always prepare everything the night before with my own family/kids...be it next days meals, activities, etc!). I also have an extremely supportive husband that is off work early every other day and is going to take our kids downstairs or out or will help me with the daycare kids....which makes me feel alot better! I will just have to see how it goes and hope for the best and like some of you mentioned, cut myself a break if I don't think I can handle it long term (with that many kids)! I for sure don't want to burn out, and I did make this move so I could be with my kids...but I also have to make enough money to be able to stay home with them! We have budgeted, cut back and sacrificed a lot already but I still need to bring in a certain amount of money. I couldn’t go back to my job (doing intensive one on one intervention with children with Autism) and then come home and NOT be burned out! I know times might get crazy with this many kids, and there may be times that I need to comfort another child instead of my own when they want it…but at least I am there and they can see me and it is a heck of a lot better than going back to work! I also made my hours only 7:30-5…most kids won’t be dropped off until 8:30-9 and picked up by 4:30…I think this will help too!

Your hours are so awesome, don't sweat it like others said once you get everyone on the same routine it will be smooth sailing. When I started out I had 2 under 1 year and four 2 year olds (including my own). The 1 st few months, I had some crazy busy days but once I got to know each child's habits and they got comfortable with mine it was smooth sailing.

It is so amazing the things we can do, you already have tons of patients and a special heart, it takes amazing people to work with special needs kids.

Getting a great stroller or large Wagon will be paramount for your summers though. Do you have a large back yard? That's 1/2 the battle with ones as young as yours.

Good luck!

Give yourself permission to not be perfect with programming and activities even forgetting them and just having play until you get the routines organized. As you add each new child it will be an adjustment of schedule again so take those weeks slowly.

Thats Great advise playfelt :)

Congratulations on your new endeavor ~ I am sure you are going to rock at this with your background and experience ~ it is just a matter of finding a routine and groove that supports the needs of everyone in your group and that will come with tweaking here and there initially and before you know it you will be sailing through your days!

I agree with the others on cutting yourself some slack at trying to 'do it all' in the beginning ~ when I was first starting out my focus on was the children learning to be comfortable here and find our groove together ... once we had that down pat and everyone was happy and eating and sleeping and able to get outside and back inside for just enjoy some free play time together happily without me having to give too much support to anyone ~ than I added in more supervision intense activities and options for them to explore different things!

Every time I have a newbie start I admit that 'programming' often takes a back burner to helping the new child adjust to the routines and being a part of the group and learning the social rules just with 'standard free play' options out and once that is mastered than we go back to normal program because than my attention is not so focused on supporting the newbie ... the older kids learn to be empathetic about that because hey it was not so long ago they were 'new' and needed me a little more in the beginning too ;)

Think positive and envision enjoying relaxing days being spent with your crew with everyone happily engaged throughout moving smoothly from transition to transition and that will become your reality!

Oh girls, again, thank you SOOO much!! You have no idea what each and everyone of your words mean to me! I really appreciate the support and advice!! <3