I love my job.....today.

[Daisy Duke]

Thanks for pointing that out. I was wondering. It was a tongue in cheek. Guess I will have to be more careful with my wording in future.

I suppose because 'perk' is used in business etc it got people into that mind set. Maybe I should have said " I am just starting to get over that 'advantage'.

[Inspired by Reggio]

LOL agreed Daisy ~ many a war has been started by man over the centuries over misinterpretation of words ~ great thing about women is we tend to be able to keep 'talking it out' rationally until we get it figured out that we were actually saying the same thing all along just using different words

[crafty]

For the record Daisy I totaly got what you wanted to say and 100% agree

[Daisy Duke]

Thank goodness Crafty, I was starting to think I was delusional there for awhile.

[kidlove]

Totally agree Daisy! LOVE LOVE LOVE this job too! Not only can I be the Momma I desire to be and the Wife I need to be, but I am also Blessed with all these great little personalities each and every day.....and .....I get paid for it! I have always felt it seems a little strange do to what feels like a dream and earn a paycheck too!!!!!! Enjoy your days to come Daisy!!!!

[Crayola kiddies]

I for one thought what you said was funny and in no way did I think that you really meant that it was a perk and not earned ....it's kind of like reading between the lines. I like that perk too because when I worked outside of the home I never made the kind of money I make now and I had to pay gas and daycare out of it .... So I hear ya!!!

[kidlove]

Ladies, don't forget...everyones life circumstances are very different from one another. Some of us may pay our "fair share" of the household bills and maybe others have hubbies who support the majority so it may seem as if the monies made from profit of this business are a nice "perk". I personally see nothing wrong with feeling like your paycheck is a "perk" IMO, it just means you love your job so much it "seems" as if the money is icing on the cake.

[Bugaboo]

I think stating that getting paid is a "perk" is irresponsible. There are so many posts on here about providers not getting paid on time or for the correct amount. There are posts about bounced checks and parents skipping out and providers who have to go to small claims court to get their HARD EARNED money. Ladies this is an OPEN forum. Parents with children in day care can READ EVERY SINGLE WORD posted on this forum. On the one hand thats a good thing. Understanding leads to a better business relationship which is better for all (especially the children!) However, when something gets posted about getting paid is a "perk" that really gets my back up.
How can we convince the parents that read these posts that we are running businesses. We offer a service (child care) and those who need our service (working parents) need to pay us. This is NO different than any other industry. Here's another example, recently I had to visit a lawyer for a personal reason. My lawyer seems to genuinely LOVE his job. He was very thorough with my needs and gave me solid advice. A week later in my mail box was a bill of what I owed for seeking his counsel. This lawyer provided me a service and he expects me to PAY for that. Its not a perk. The perk for this lawyer is having a Starbucks in the same building so that he can get a latte without bundling up in winter gear and heading outside. THAT's a PERK. Getting paid is necessary part of doing business with someone. Its NOT OPTIONAL.
I don't think the OP intended for this thread to be a big deal I really don't. I think she was having a good day and just wanted to share that positivity. I stand by what I said before, I think that's great. What is NOT great is the parents who read this thread and might be think that "Hey if providers think getting paid is a perk I'm going to ask for my fees to be lowered." or "I'm going to pick up late today and no way am I going to pay late fees, after all my provider loves her job so much she won't mind working an extra 20 minutes today".

The money is NOT the icing on the cake. The money IS the cake. Great families, great kids, and things like commuting to the coffee pot in your kitchen are the icing.

[Momof4]

Daisy, my issue with how you started the thread was that you made our jobs sound easy and that we don't earn our pay. Please remember that this is a public forum and parents read what we say. Do you want your clients to think that you are not working hard? Do you want your business respected and your service valued? That was why my initial response on page 1 of this thread was to ask you not to say that again, but to congratulate you on loving your job.

I love my job too and I love my commute but I work darn hard every day and spend a lot of money on organically grown and home made food and equipment and toys and craft and creating supplies. Then after the children leave I have to clean my whole house and do two sinks full of dishes and I'm really tired at the end of the day.

I just want respect for my work and a good reputation for quality service. I hope you have a lot of really great days like you did yesterday but never underestimate your worth or your work.

[mustbenuts]

PERK: noun, something extra that someone receives in addition to regular pay for doing a job. Synonyms include: dividend, donative, extra, gratuity, gravy, bonus, perquisite, throw-in, tip

I love that the OP loves her job but my pay is none of the above. Using the term "perk" seems innocent but Bugaboo is right, parents on this forum may see the use of that term differently than it was intended. It is a continuous and hard battle to be recognized as professionals in this industry and comments like that only set us back. Misconceptions feed on seemingly innocent remarks like this.