Other mummy, I know what you mean. I wish my clients would bring it up too so I could respoind to it rather than have fears lodge themselves in their heads. I would like to think they have anough confidence and trust in me not to worry too much, but who knows really? I have my two nephews visiting right now and they are 8 and 12...the 8 year old has been hanging out with us a lot this week because I have one child away this week (and he may be away next week too). If my dcb comes back and I am at my full 5 again, I know I will not be able to have my younger nephew come on outings with us unless his older brother comes as his babysitter...but even then I am worried people will think I am over-ratio (his brother is huge and looks more like 18, so I am hoping that will help). I did have on dc dad ask about my nephew's age...maybe he was just curious, but maybe he was wondering if I have too many kids. I am VERY careful about these things although to be honest, having my nephew actually helps because he is very helpful with the little ones and he keeps my 5 year old busy. This is a very sad case of a little one dying...every parent's worst nightmare. Whatever the cause of death, people are now going to link it to unlicensed daycare...that is the line being used. I watched the daycare centre from my son's school arrive at the splashpad today...I couldn't even count the number of 2 and 3 year olds I saw there and it was chaos! Yes, there were the correct number of caregivers...but how do they manage to keep track of all those kids? It seems pretty chaotic to me. When I go to the park with my 5 dck's and my own 2, I am in tune with each one. I know who is likely to raun away, who is prone to being too much of a risk taker on the playstructure, who I have to worry about less as they will sit playing in the sand the whole time, etc. I can recognize instantly each child's voice or cry even if there are other kids at the park. This is because I have a bond with each one and I know them extremely well. They also know what to expect from me. The point about birthday parties is a good one. I am allowed to host a party of 20 kids alone and parents don't stay, I don't know the kids, it is usually mass chaos, but this is okay.