Birthday Idea for a Mom

[sunnydays]

A & B, I totally agree that flexibility is needed in home daycare. I have tons of flexibility and often do activities, crafts, etc spur of the moment because the kids ask for it or a question from a child leads to a great activity, etc etc etc. I don't think most of us have a problem with that, but rather the way it is assumed by a parent that it's no big deal to do this.
But, more importantly...I actually wasn't going to post again as this thread is getting rather long.....but I cannot let this go. You said that you don't do daycare as a "money-maker". Well, I am sorry, but I DO! There is no way, much as a I love kids, that I would take in 5 kids every day ll day if I were not making money doing it. Perhaps that' s why I value things like paid stat holidays, paid vacation days, and paid personal days and being paid a decent rate on time and without any argument from parents. I work HARD in this job. I deserve to be paid fairly and to be able to afford to support my family. That is why I am doing it. To stay home and to make a living while raising my kids. I love what I do and find it very rewarding watching the kids grow and thrive....but there is NO way I would do it for free or even for the extremely low rates some providers charge. I would find that demoralizing and it would not be worth putting all of this time and energy into. Every time a daycare provider says they are not in it for the money, we all take a collective step backwards. It reaffirms the public view that we should not want to be paid well...that the pure joy of looking at those little faces and wiping those little bums should be enough. For me, there is no job joyful enough that I would submit myself to these demands and not be financially compensated for it. If I wanted a job like that, I would be a volunteer.