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Total burn out
Hi Ladies
I have been running my home day care for about 1.5 yrs before this I worked in licensed child care centres for 10 years
I really enjoyed it at first not now though, the last 2-3 months I have dreaded hearing the door open in the morning but some how find away to slap on a sweet smile and welcome everyone in !
Im so exhausted and hate every minute of every day right now
HELP !
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The Following User Says Thank You to wonders For This Useful Post:
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Euphoric !
Sorry to hear you are going through this wonders. Has anything changed for you that has made you feel this way? What made you decide to do home daycare?
I am sure most of us have not felt like opening our doors some days. This business is exhausting enough as it is, and if your heart is not into it any more, I can understand why you are tired.
It was a great move to visit this forum. Always full of good advice (most of the time) I am sure you may find some providers who have felt the same way give you some advice on how to get your daycare groove back - if that's what you want to do.
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The group of kids we have in care can so make it not fun and there isn't always something we can put our finger on either that is the issue. I know when we went to younger and younger children I missed all of the preschool circletimes and crafts and games and discussions and learning I had been doing but then Jr Kindergarten became mainstream and parents putting their kids into daycare centers for nursery school year meaning my home was only appealing to the infants and toddlers left. It took me a few years to come to the realization that ok I needed to ditch any previous notions and methods and just accept my new reality and embrace it and eventually I started to see the miracles of a child putting things in and out of bins and making a tower of blocks 4 high instead of 3 but it for sure did not happen overnight.
When we have a parent that is annoying us that makes it tough too. The last couple months I have found the kids to be more tired, more whiney, more grumpy, more demanding and not sure if it is weather/seasonal or not but I have talked to a lot of caregiver friends feeling the same things. For sure this could be part of your problem too - again that you are dealing with a less than ideal group situation.
I think too when we have our own kids and stay home we do not get the breaks we got when working outside the home. Even if it was in daycare it didn't include your own kids in the same room usually and for that you get that mental and physical break from them. Otherwise it seems like your kids are stalking you - even when you try to escape to the bathroom.
Make sure the demands you are putting on yourself are reasonable and if it comes down to deciding you need to make changes then that is what you should do. Your happiness matters too.
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The Following User Says Thank You to playfelt For This Useful Post:
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Expansive...
The first months I started I wanted to close. I had an 11 mos that was terrorizing the other kids and he was here 11 hours (that was when I had to open from 7am to 6pm because of agency rules). Mom sometimes even picked him up 30 min or 1 hr later. I did not know any other provider or any of these forums. I did not know how to handle the situation and felt very stressed. Fortunately mom decided to leave (reasons unrelated to daycare) after a few months and then everything changed. I was left with 2 well behaved children and parents that were running from work to spend time with their kids. If that would have happened now. I would have terminated the kid in the spot (after me a nanny quit and he was terminated by 2 daycare centers). I would have also would been firm with the mom about my closing time and would had given her literature about how parents that spend more time with their kids and make them feel wanted usually are better behaved.
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I have found that for me, when I'm feeling that way, that I'm in a rut. So I plan something fun and different - beach day, water play, an outing whatever. Just something that I'm looking forward to. And then I work really hard to enjoy it.
And yeah, the mix of kids can really matter to. Some kids are a bad fit for some houses and caregiving styles and may need to be asked to move somewhere that would be a better fit for them. I especially see this with the older kids - they really need to spend some time with their peers and if I can't arrange that (and I can't always) they can become really unhappy and awful to deal with. I've suggested a move to the local Boys and Girls club for a few of them.
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I can SO relate!
I opened in January and have been going going going with 1 day off (for a funeral at that) and am beginning to feel "burnt out" as well. I think the most important thing is to not try and be superwoman! I know I get really stressed when my house is a mess or I feel guilty when I don't do alot of programming with these wee ones... now I know that its okay! Its okay to have days when we don't "feel like" opening our doors. Thats one of many things that is fantastic about our job! We are able to have lazy days where we do LOTS of free play and other days when we are feeling motivated to have lots of days with programming.
Don't beat yourself up!
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The Following User Says Thank You to Sassygirl For This Useful Post:
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Euphoric !
What some of the other said - there are kids who don't mesh well with some groups. When I have such a child, I do really wake up dreading my job every day, which sucks because it's also my home. I am very lucky to have a great group of kids, and am loving my job again.
I would spend some time evaluating what is feeling wrong to you. If it's routine, we can help you mix it up. If it's boredom, maybe you can get out to the park with other providers? If it's kid based, I would explore what can be done with that. To be honest, I ended up terminating a family because I couldn't enjoy my days with the child in our group. It brought everyone down, and we had to make the change. Easier said than done, I know, but sometimes you have to do what's best to make everyone happy again.
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Is it the children? Or the parents? Or do you need to change up your days? Do you need a better routine so you are enjoying yourself? Do you push yourself to work too hard or do you give yourself a break? I have about a million more questions, but you get the idea, can you pinpoint what is making you feel so bad so we can help you better please?
I go through funks like everyone else, sometimes it lasts a few weeks, sometimes just a rainy, dreary day here and there. But I figure out what's wrong with me and fix it. Basically, I love my job. Today we spent the morning at the park and had a lovely lunch out of the house and I needed it after 2 days stuck in the house due to rain and high humidity. That's when I get down. Today I love my job.
Last edited by Momof4; 07-11-2013 at 02:25 PM.
Frederick Douglass
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.
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It might help to take on a little project unrelated to the daycare.
Maybe try out a new fitness routine or try yoga (sooooooooo helpful for me when I'm stressed out).
I like to redecorate, or plan to redecorate even if I can't do it immediately. It helps to have something to look forward to "one day" and it breaks up the monotony of the day when I can think "I get to work on this tonight/this weekend."
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