Best and worst part of your job

[gcj]

best part is being at home...with my kids!
worst part...is more of a challenge for me. It's not being bitter about parents who leave their kids here longer than necessary....on a regular basis. Like picking them up 2 hours after they finish work...4/5 days. Or being on mat leave and sending the older child all day EVERY day. That's SO hard for me to accept. I know it's my job...no matter what the parents are doing with their time, but it's really hard for me to get over, since I'm welcoming all these other kids into my home just so I can afford to be home with mine. (or perhaps that's the wrong reason to be doing it)

[mlc1982]

I love being home with my kids. I don't love spending most of my day cleaning up after kids and also losing my freedom to go out as I please during the day.

[Spixie33]

best part is being at home...with my kids!
worst part...is more of a challenge for me. It's not being bitter about parents who leave their kids here longer than necessary....on a regular basis. Like picking them up 2 hours after they finish work...4/5 days. Or being on mat leave and sending the older child all day EVERY day. That's SO hard for me to accept. I know it's my job...no matter what the parents are doing with their time, but it's really hard for me to get over, since I'm welcoming all these other kids into my home just so I can afford to be home with mine. (or perhaps that's the wrong reason to be doing it)

GCJ -- I sometimes wonder some of the same stuff.

I had parents leave their child with me for the child's birthday when the parents both had the day off. Instead they wanted to clean their house for a party during weekend. They didn't even come pick the child up early in order to spend some of the child's actual birthday together. When I was working I took off for my children's bdays and stayed home with them and made a special day for them

Also...if the parent has the day off but sends their child the whole day as per usual.I can understand parents sometimes might need the day to take care of errands or things without their child but i can't imagine being off the whole day and not wanting to see my child even 1 hour sooner, a half day or anything. I sometimes joke to my hubby that parents really don't seem to want their children because they wait right until the 5:30 on the dot mark to come pick up even when they told me that morning they were off. When they are that exact to time it out to the last minute - then it is definitely deliberate.

I had days off when I worked outside the home where I would either keep the child home with me and spend some bonding time or send them and then come earlier. I would feel guilty for missing the whole day if I was off.

I had a couple come looking for daycare because mom was due to have a baby and didn't think she could stimulate her existing child at home and take care of the baby. For some reason...I think that the child would benefit way more from bonding with its mom and the new baby than learning ABCs and songs at daycare. I loved being off with BOTH my kids when I had 2. I felt so bad during the interview imagining that this poor 1st born must think that the new baby is pushing him out of his house and he is not allowed to be there while the new baby is.

But I guess we just have to go with it and no think of those things. At the end of the day - it is our business in a financial sense but none of our business what the parents decide to do or not do for their kids or with their kids

[gcj]

I live in Quebec where we have $7 daycare for anyone...there's not minimum salary...parents could be a lawyer and a Dr and still qualify for $7 daycare! Which unfortunately encourages parents to overuse daycare. I'd say about 95% of mom's home on mat leave send their 1st born to daycare full time. They justify because they don't want to lose their spot in daycare and "they want to give the baby the same one on one attention" that the 1st born had! PLEASE! Oh well. Not the poor kids fault.

[Spixie33]

I live in Quebec where we have $7 daycare for anyone...there's not minimum salary...parents could be a lawyer and a Dr and still qualify for $7 daycare! Which unfortunately encourages parents to overuse daycare. I'd say about 95% of mom's home on mat leave send their 1st born to daycare full time. They justify because they don't want to lose their spot in daycare and "they want to give the baby the same one on one attention" that the 1st born had! PLEASE! Oh well. Not the poor kids fault.

Wow ! $7 a day. So how does it work with the government then?
Does every daycare have to be licensed and then the government subsidizes the difference in fees??

[mom-in-alberta]

Yup, definitely a sore spot with me, too!! >
I just think that it's sad. I used to care for three kids, and their mom was a single mom with a full time job. I understood that she needed "her" time, but when she had a day off, they were still here for 9 and a half to ten hours in a day. Hey, no matter to me, since she had paid me for that day.... but what are your kids thinking?? Mom has the day off (and they were older, so they knew she wasn't working) but chooses not to spend even an extra hour with them. She totally timed it to pick them up at exactly 5:30 on the dot.
This is why we end up with kids just desperately seeking attention when they come to our home... because they sure aren't getting it at home. Sad.

[gcj]

Wow ! $7 a day. So how does it work with the government then?
Does every daycare have to be licensed and then the government subsidizes the difference in fees??

Well, there are also private daycares, too, since the gov't can't subsidize all of them. But there are a lot of subsidized....I started out private, and was on a waiting list for about 2 years to be "accreditted" by the gov't. The only difference it really makes for me is less turn over. When you're private, parents are often just waiting for a $7 spot.

[horsegirl]

Best: home with my adopted children, being home when they come home from school, the forever friends that my children have made in the daycare, and the smiles, hugs and laughes that the children I look after offer me.
Worst: some parents attitudes, not being able to attend school field trips and functions, some children's attitudes (taught to them by their parents).

It is a very emotional time when a child leaves because they are old enough to care for themselves. It is like having my own child move out.

[dodge__driver11]

Best part: When the daycare kids do funny stuff or laugh

Worst Part: 1) Advertising/interviews 2) The mess and seeing your house get torn apart/damaged or books or toys broken 3) working all day with the daycare and then at night still have to do housework and prep for the next day. It makes for very long and exhausting days

Totally with Spixie on that one

[Momof4]

Best part - being self employed means working with people you like and the horrible people can take a hike!

Worst part- new babies who are transitionng into my daycare not eating or sleeping for ? months!