Hey Ladies!
So this may be quite a touchy subject but I have a question on how you ladies keep your cool throughout the day.

I can't be the only dayhome provider who cares for certain children who seem to push your buttons ALL DAY LONG and no amount of timeouts, talking to, loss of privileges, rewards seem to work. With this specific boy somedays I have had to literally put him in timeout and just walk away because he makes my blood boil some days. The worst part is that he honestly isn't that bad. But he goes through these spurts that last a month or two where I am tempted to terminate him and then he goes back to being 'normal'.

I've had days where I feel my insides boiling because all the children seem to all at once misbehave or are crying or screaming, etc and I just say 'ENOUGH!! Everyone in your highchairs!!' and I buckle everyone in their seats so they can't touch each other, jump off furniture, fight, scream, etc. This way we all take a breather and just stop whatever it is that we are doing and reset.

I plan my day with snacks, crafts, sensory stuff, lots of outdoor time, and it just seems that it keeps them for a handful of minutes and then they take off again. My witching hour seems to be at 11ish when I am trying to get lunch on their plates (it's always pretty much prepared because it's normally leftovers so I can't prep anymore than I already am). I've tried giving them stuff to do while they wait and they aren't interested. The junky thing that seems to work this summer is putting the tv on for the 15 minutes to keep them stationary while I get their plates together. I hate it! But it buys me a couple minutes and then they start all over again and we are driving each other crazy again. I serve lunch and go into the bathroom to take a couple deep breaths.

Some days I ask myself if I am the only one who's home feels like a gong show when the dayhome opens for the day. I know that I am going through a slump right now (like any job. I've been open for over a year and all my kidlets have been with me since the beginning) but these past couple months I am using all my strength to keep my cool.

The worst part is that by the end of the day when the kids leave I'm completely spent and all my 'irritableness' gets dumped on my own family. I've heard that most day home providers quit within the first year and those who stick it out get better with handling all the stress with time. After almost a year and a half, I'm starting to feel the opposite but I refuse to give up because I know that I can do this and this is what I want to do.


Anybody go through the same thing? Do you have any tips on keeping your cool when there is so much demand throughout the day?
Thanks in advance