Should I fill to my absolute max?

[Dayhome Mamma]

As of this March I now have 5 full time children each day-3 that I get paid for + my own two, one is 3 hrs/week, and the other two are 2 and 3 days - so usually 6 per day, 7 for 3 hours once a week. (I also have hired two assistants that work with me on alternate shifts, so that i don't take care of more than 5 on my own)
Here's where it gets more complicated.
One of my full time children that just started may or may not be leaving. (the commute is turning out to be a bit much....i had warned the mom before hand but I truly do like her and her son is now fully adjusted with us.) So she was going to be looking for potential places but said that if she doesn't find anything sufficient then she will just live with having to drive. She's already met with one person and it went bad so she said she was sorry that she had even mentioned it, that initially she didn't want to start looking and me not knowing cause she felt like it'd be like cheating on me So she said the idea was dead, she has no leads, she's just not keen on trying to find anyone for now. But it could happen. I'm assuming now that it won't be until we get closer to fall/winter when the driving gets worst. So I told her she was totally free to still continue of course and to give me at least a month's notice, but longer if she could.
As this was all happening, i had another potential client contact me who one of the moms referred. She needs part time care, 3 days at the most per week which is the minimum that I would take, but I wasn't going to take anymore part time.
I know that I could squeeze her in though on the days that one of my other part time kids isn't here and make use of that last bit of space, even if my wavering full time child stays. But this would put me at my ultimate max and make it even more crucial for my assistants to not be missing any days.

So my question is should I or shouldn't I?

I have always planned on keeping the numbers small enough so that I could still handle things on my own if one of my assistants doesn't show up. With this new addition, I would have to add more time/days to my assistants positions which means more money from my pocket but also more full time help every single day of the week. Which would be real nice. But if they decided to not show up for work for whatever reason, then I would have one crazy busy day!
What would you do? would you go to the max?
I feel like yes,I might as well because it would cushion my income for when/ if the other full time child left, and it would allow me to have full time assistants every single day. But no, because we don't really need to be more busy at this time. It would mean that I would have 7 children here almost every day. seems like a lot to commit to.

[fruitloop]

How old are your children? Are you with an agency? If you're not with an agency, you are allowed 6 children not including your own. I personally would do it, especially if I had an assistant. How old are the kids in your care?

[fruitloop]

Also be careful with the assistants. They then become your employee and you are responsible for paying their ei, cpp, etc. You might want to look into that.

[playfelt]

Go with what you feel you can handle. The ratios are set based on some proven somehow formula of what a person can manage of course the needs of each child is different making some more work than others as well as some ages more work than others.

I am mom to 4 - started care when my second was 4 months old and other two were born into the daycare and have always tried to stay full with 5 additional children which is the law in Ontario. I have found that once you can manage 3-4 you can manage any number - the idea here being you are out of hands and have to determine other methods such as using a stroller longer or expecting children to come when called or learn patience of more than 20 seconds and with your own patience they will learn to function as a group. Never had an assistant and the only relief I got was that my kids eventually started school and were gone part of the day.

That is not to say that everyone feels comfortable with such a large group and the caregiver being happy is more important. Also knowing that you might be losing a child is a good reason to add another one to the group just in case. Then when it does happen you can decide at that point if you want to replace or go back to less children in the group. One thing I did find was that keeping the age range as narrow as possible led to the easiest days as in having 5 babies/todlers was easier than 2 babies, 2preschoolers and an afterschooler as I was pulled in too many directions. Starting all young they just grew up together and for a period of time we never did a craft or played dressup until the group evolved into that kind of play.

[mom-in-alberta]

If you feel like you can do it, I say go for it. But if it means you depend on a lot of outside factors, such as assistants MUST be available, and nobody else's schedule can change and certain kids MUST get picked up at certain times, and so on.... then I might rethink it. Things don't always go the way they are supposed to, and you don't want to put yourself in a pinch.

[Cocoon]

Try. You wouldn't know unless you try. Talk to your assistance and let them know you won't be happy if they don't show up on the days they suppost to be there. Even if they don't show up you will have hectic days here and there. And also if the children under your care are not all babies I'm sure you will be just fine. I personally would try and see if I can do it.

I don't know how many you are allow to care but make sure you don't go over your limit as one of the families I met said that they will be reporting some day home as they belive she is taking too much kids and the place was very small.

Cocoon

[Momof4]

I think you ladies who have a full daycare and your own children are super women! I like the days when I have 4 children in care because 5 children is a LOT of work, so I can't imagine more than that.

[playfelt]

One of the differences is that when we have our own 4 kids in daycare it usually means we have one at each age level so when we add our max of kids it doesn't really matter the ages because we are already set up for that age, have experience in what to expect of children that age and with a large family generally have the space to accommodate that many kids which makes a huge difference.

[mom-in-alberta]

Yeah... what Playfelt said. Hahaha...

[Dayhome Mamma]

I think you ladies who have a full daycare and your own children are super women! I like the days when I have 4 children in care because 5 children is a LOT of work, so I can't imagine more than that.

thanks Momof4. It is a lot of work!. Even with just my own children, when I had my first and only one, I couldn't even wrap my head around how people went about having a second! And then I was pregnant 4 months later so I had no choice but to learn....And now, here I am taking care of 5 on my own which I now find comfortable. Its amazing how we are able to grow and manage more with experience.