Summer care only??

[JennJubie]

I just recieved an e-mail from someone looking for summer care for a 5 year old. She's only looking for the summer. I'm iffy on doing it. Would any of you take on a client for just the summer?

[momofnerds]

nope, unless I really needed the money. The problem I have is that all thru the year I have little kids and they are use to each other, so if I introduced someone just for the summer and then they leave it disrupts them and then they ask "where is so and so" and 5 yr olds will want more attention, they require more work too.

[Dreamalittledream]

In my experience school aged children get bored really fast...but depends on the child....she may enjoy having all of the babies around. The beauty of summer is that we tend to be outside a lot; which tends to be easier for wider age range. Big negative for me would be losing my 2+ hour brain rest in the afternoon; assuming the 5 year old would likely not nap.

[mimi]

I have taken older children only because I had the space due to my teacher clients being off. I only did it if I would have 2 the same age so they could play together otherwise if you have only 1 older child they are constantly wanting to be entertained which is really tiring.

[Monday 2 Friday Mama]

I'm with Mimi (and the other ladies) on this one. If you have another child who is the same age as this 5 year old, it might be okay for them to join your group for the summer. I would explain it to the daycare children right from Day 1 as "This is John. He's going to be part of our daycare family for the summertime and then in the fall he's going to go to school." When I was first getting started I had a five year old in my care (my other two babies were 15 months old) I'm not kidding - taking care of two toddlers was nothing compared to the amount of work that went into keeping that child happy and entertained. It was exhausting caring for him - like Mimi said you always have to entertain them ! What is it with children today being unable to use their imagination and entertain themselves a little bit ? Separate post - I know ! I decided after that to focus my energies on the 1 year to pre-K crowd, and let other people handle the 4 and up crowd.

[Monday 2 Friday Mama]

Oh - and on a different note - I would charge slightly more than your regular rates for this child. Like I said, you may find that he needs a fair bit more "stuff" to keep him entertained than you would normally budget for. (more crayons and craft supplies, he will require larger portions at snack and meal times, you may have to purchase a few age appropriate toys suitable for him depending upon what you already have in your own supplies (I have mostly baby things given the age of my group)) Let us know what you decide to do !

[mimi]

I have an almost 4 yr old dcg that has no spontaneous play abilities. I have to direct her in what she should play with. My new dcb started to day and 4 yr olds mom says "oh my, so much work" I wanted to say "are you kidding me? I'll take on another 2 babies in exchange for your daughter" I am counting the days till this dcg is gone to school!

[monkeymama]

This summer I am taking one sa just for the summer, he is 6. He is the sibling of one of my other dck which is the main reason I agreed. I have watched him a few times before and he is a really well behaved kid. He will also keep my dd (4.5 yo) company to play with during nap time...I agree with the others tho, if you have all little ones and this child will really disrupt your routine, I wouldnt do it.

[JennJubie]

I've decided not to do it. As I've said before, I follow my gut, and my gut says no. I'm not wild about the idea of only taking in some one for two months. If I'm going to fill my last space, I'd rather fill it with a client who's going to stay on past the summer!

[daycaremom9]

I usually have a couple of kids leaving for school so I leave any empty spots for somebody in the fall. I get most of my calls in the summer and the parents usually integrate the kids before they officially start.