Is it worth it??

[DaycareLady]

I have my ECE and tons of other education geared towards working with children of all abilities...I decided I would open my own home daycare 8 months ago to stay home with my 2 kids. I really thought it would be the "best of both worlds" being a stay at home mom while also bringing in money watching other kids. It was NOT what I expected it to be AT ALL. I had an amazing playroom, a great bunch of kids, awesome parents and even with all of that it was HARD! The super long hours, no break, no vacation pay or paid days off, no benefits, constant cleaning, cooking, bum changing, dealing with multiple behaviours and parents "parenting" styles, never having a day where I got off "early" or spending quality time with my own children, parents bringing sick children despite my policy, parents pulling child out for a center spot/moving/another pregnancy and leaving me scrambling to find a replacement, children not adjusting, working my butt off and parents still just seeing me as a "babysitter", parents leaving children here from the moment I open to the moment I close so they can get their grocery shopping done/go to the gym/go shopping etc. My children adjusted well but having to share their toys, their home, their mommy, and required to be "friends" with whoever came into their space...some days it was tough and tugged at my heart strings MORE than if I had decided to work part time and still have some quality filled days with them. Needless to say, I gave it a good go, had a great schedule and program but in the end it was just NOT for me! Someone on here said it best to me, "it's quality not quantity". So now my two are in daycare part time and I work and get to spend lots of QUALITY time with them on my off time and it is beautiful.
I have a lot of respect for the ladies on here that have been doing it for years and still love it! I am not trying to be negative I just wanted to show the other side! There are lots of benefits like tons of money saved in childcare and making more than you would if you worked...but at the end of the day no one wants a Mama who is burnt out.