Lower ratio = less work?

[Lee-Bee]

Personally, I think one day care child or 6 makes no difference. Day care operating hours are the same regardless of the number present - and I have day care hours which I don't extend.

Just throwing a completely different idea out there..have you considered before and after school children only? Of course, shorter hours of care means lower income but it doesn't sound like the income level is a concern, more so the need to have independent funds.

If you think that would better suit you, determine your opening time for drop off, determine your closing time for pick up and don't be afraid to decline potential clients who want/need care outside of those hours. Depending on the hours your local school starts and finishes, it might mean working 4-5 hours a day tops, which leaves you time for your own child/your household responsibilities, and then once they leave at the end of the day, it's just your family time again. You might find the reduced hours would be less stressful.

Just throwing that out there as an idea.

I did consider the idea of before and after care...but it seemed like more work than taking on one child the same age as my daughter (18months). While it meant I had the middle of the day free it meant getting up early to get the before care going and being open later for after care. I wasn't really keen on that right now. But I do wonder if I will move into that next school year when my daughter is a bit older and will enjoy being with the older kids.

I had one of my old daycare families very keen to have me care for their child 3 days a week, I'll only be open 8-4:30 (8.5 instead of my old 10hr days) and they are providing a new car seat for me. So we will go out to library and playgroups and run errands. They will both nap in afternoon and the 2 girls were very good independent players and got along great (as great as 2 toddlers could). So I am pretty confident it will work out. I am excited to have less work load but still have a friend come for my daughter...who is very social. The family was great to work with in the past and are very receptive to my recommendations etc so I feel it is a good family to continue care with. The family knows it is no longer daycare but rather family care...so relaxed, informal days. I will be free to get some stuff done around the house when the kids play etc.

Hopefully it works out.

On a side note, things are going really well here. We've made great progress already with counselling. We just went on vacation (he travelled for work and took us then we went to a resort for 3 nights). We have made huge changes here at home in regards to who does what (shifting a lot of childcare to him and clarifying expectations).

I am doing great, feeling much more human and capable of my roles now that my focus is back to being mom and wife and not business owner (caregiver of 5 under 20months), mom and wife.

Lots of stuff to continue working on but we've made great strides already :-)

I would out playing on the driveway with my daughter today when a neighbor stopped to say hi...she asked where the daycare kids were. When I told her I close the daycare...she said good for me. Enjoy my family etc. it felt good to hear.