I don't have a specific number of days I take but I do have in my contract that I will give 2 week's notice for my vacation or days off, but I usually give 3 months for vacation. There have only been a few times where I have only given a month and it was for specialist appointments. Thankfully, nobody has ever really said anything. I did have one mom who mentioned that putting her child into a centre dc would help them out because they wouldn't have to find alternate care for when staff went on holidays. That's understandable and I didn't take it a rude comment.

If I were you I would just politely say, "I have been doing this for 28 years and like any other job, I feel I deserve some holidays." The fact that you even answer them will likely shut them up.

I think parents who try to make us feel guilty are the ones who are perhaps jealous. I have always had parents (or at least one parent) who get paid sick days and holidays. I fully know that there are plenty of jobs that don't offer either but then hdc probably isn't the best choice for them.