I love my job.....today.

[Daisy Duke]

I am in my 4th year doing this business and I can tell you that I am doing a lot better than I would be if I was working away from the home full time.
I am not a newbie that is for sure.

[fruitloop]

Ya, I agree with Momof4 and alittleluie. I, for the most part, love this job and the perks that come with it but being paid is not 1 of the perks. I'm running a business and offering a service to families. I work long hard hours and provide very good quality care/foods to my clients...I deserve to get paid...not a "perk" of the job. Commuting to my coffee pot or not having to drive to work in the crappy weather is a perk.

It is nice to be in control isn't it?

Momof4, sorry to hear that you are not making enough to survive but to tell you the truth the money I'm making with 2 kids(right now I have only 2 kids in my care) I think I'm earning enough to support 2 adults family. If I take care of 5 kids I think I would consider myself well off I don't know but I think there is good in fact very good money in this business. Especially, if you have child/ren and you don't want to work outside home.

I'm sorry Cocoon but your statement is ridiculous. You can not honestly tell me that from taking in 2 kids you earn enough to support 2 adult families. I call BS! Unless you are charging each family over $1000/month (or more actually after you subtract all your overhead), that is impossible. I have 6 families in care right now and I am far from well off. I'm not hurting for money but I wouldn't say well off. Once you subtract your groceries, your extra heat/gas/etc/ that you use and all the supplies you buy for daycare use, your income is dwindled down to 1/4 - 1/2 of what your families actually give you. Unless you are feeding your kids crap food and not doing anything at all with them, your statement is false, sorry.

[fruitloop]

I also wanted to add that I think it's great that after 4 years you love your job still Daisy Duke.

[Daisy Duke]

Getting paid to stay home with my own children is a perk in my book.

Look what I started, sorry guys. I was just having a good day.

Like I said I am not new to this, been at it for 4 years. Ups, downs, love it.
And I am making darn good money too.

[Daisy Duke]

but who can say that they get hugs and love from their co-workers ??

That is cute. lol I know today after nap time I had 3 all wanting cuddles at the same time.

[Bugaboo]

I think its awesome that you love your job and you are having a positive day! Those days are awesome! I do agree with the others though. Getting paid is NOT and never EVER will be a perk. I love this job. But it is a JOB. I am a worker not a volunteer. I provide a service to working families and I provide a safe and nurturing environment for their children to flourish in-- I expect and demand to be compensated fairly for this.
There are several perks to this job: I love that I don't have to commute in horrible weather. I love that I can tuck my sons in for their naps and kiss them when they wake. I love that I can get dinner prepared during nap time, I love that I can start a load of wash in the morning and fold it during nap time so that I don't have to do it in the evening, there are so many other awesome perks to this job I could go on forever.

And side note... I am in the same boat as Fruitloop- I run a full day home and I have to budget to make my personal financial commitments and yet still buy craft materials and wholesome nutritious food for my day home children. If Cocoon is able to do this with a small number of children good for you, but I'm not buying it either.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Ya I agree ... I could not survive on my income alone and pay our bills as they stand either we would have to seriously cut our standard of living just to keep the roof over our head and my program would have to drastically be cut back if I did not have my spouses income to rely on ~ I have a special Celiac / Diabetic diet to follow that does not allow me to cheap out on groceries or eat processed foods ~ last year my total groceries between daycare and home was almost $21,000 so no way would TWO children support our family and allow me to stay healthy

I get that depending on the area you live in home childcare providers can charge almost as much as centre care ~ so over $200 a week ... so with two children at $200 a week that would be $20,000 a year assuming you only take two weeks vacation so if you were to keep your budget for program next to nothing so you can KEEP all that money for your own family budget than I can see supporting two adults on that but IMO you'd have to own your home already or something cause most people would loose 1/2 that to mortgage or rent alone ... not sure where you live by in my home town the average 'rent' is about $800 a month unless you are lucky to have a rent controlled unit or a landlord who is 'absentee' aka they do not do a whole lot of improvements on the units and you still have to pay utilities, eat, medical expenses, transportation and so forth not to mention phone, cable and other extras ... it would be pretty tight to support two adults on what was left after rent/mortgage!

I have peers who are single income household and manage on a childcare income ~ some are in inexpensive all inclusive rental units which help cause utilities alone can be a huge expense in this industry with all the hot water and toilet flushing and having to light and heat all day long being home or others have access to another source of steady income (child support and so forth) to help make those ends meet for sure ~ so YES it can be done.

We do make a FAIR wage but I hate the implication we are raking it in ... last year my hourly wage after expenses was LESS than minimum wage and I was FULL all year long ... sure I got a lot of non financial perks that make this job worth while ... better work life balance and less stress being my own boss are priceless to me but the fact remains I could make more money working OUTSIDE the home in a retail job or other service industry ... been a long time since I have heard society refer to wages in retail as GOOD MONEY

Mind you I do not have 'wee children at home' to factor in the saved daycare as part of my income equation so I get that for those with young children adding in how much is saved in those costs would pump up how much you are making on paper to well over minimum wage for sure depending on how many children you have needing childcare still!

[Daisy Duke]

My original post was meant because I was happy to be home that day. Not to be driving in the cold and snow and to be home for my kids when they came home from school. Happy to be doing what I love and getting paid for it.

Thanks but my reality is still that I would have to pay for child care for two children then pay for gas every day to drive into the city. Not worth it.

[Inspired by Reggio]

LOL ~ oh I agree Daisy it is definitely a pro to be getting paid to do something I really enjoy doing ... sure makes getting up to work each day much easier and in my career I have left better paying jobs I hated because no amount of $$ was worth dreading going to work each day ... I do not live to work I work to live and if work is diminishing my quality of life well what is the point?

I love spending my days with children ~ I am a career early childhood educator ~ I often joke with my spouse when we win the lottery I would volunteer with children in someway cause I would need my fix ... but I would not do THIS JOB without remuneration cause as a volunteer I could pick and choose which aspects of help I was interested in offering ... focusing on doing all the things I love and taking a pass on those parts I dislike aka no more changing other kids poopy explosion diapers or cleaning up their puke not for FREE someone getting paid can do that part of the job

[fruitloop]

Happy to be doing what I love and getting paid for it.

.

That's awesome, it really is. But, it's not what you said in your original post. You said "And people are always giving me money! I am just starting to get over that perk. lol " and THAT is what people are having the issue with...that getting paid to do your job is a perk when in fact it is not a perk of the job. Volunteering to do this job for free and then families just giving you money out of the blue is a perk. That's all we're say'in The fact you love your job is FANTASTIC Daisy Duke!