Am I crazy?

[MommaL]

[QUOTE=flowerchild;81 051
They get bitten and hit a lot. This past summer, my daughter was crying to me one morning that she "didn't want DCK to come because she hits me." It broke my heart.[/QUOTE]

I just wanted to say that my kids get hit, bitten and kicked at the daycare they are at now too. Both of my kids have cried about not wanting to go to daycare because they don't like a particular kid there or because they'd rather stay home. When it comes to daycare, I don't think this can ever be completely avoided, no matter whether it's your own daycare or somewhere else. At least when it's my own daycare, I can hug my child if they are hurting and deal with the situation as I see fit. Right now, I have no control over it.

[flowerchild]

I just wanted to say that my kids get hit, bitten and kicked at the daycare they are at now too. Both of my kids have cried about not wanting to go to daycare because they don't like a particular kid there or because they'd rather stay home. When it comes to daycare, I don't think this can ever be completely avoided, no matter whether it's your own daycare or somewhere else. At least when it's my own daycare, I can hug my child if they are hurting and deal with the situation as I see fit. Right now, I have no control over it.

I realize that my kids would have to deal with stuff like that regardless of what childcare situation they were in. I've had kids in daycare too.

I deal with those types of behaviours as I see fit and I comfort my kids when it happens, but it doesn't change the fact that it happens to them and in their own home which is suppose to be their safe place. I don't know how old your children are, but if they are young, they don't understand the business/daycare aspect of it - they just see that mom lets these kids come over and these kids keep hurting them. When one of my daycare kids was going through a particularly brutal biting/hitting phase, my daughter started acting out too. A lot of anger and aggression towards me. When we had holidays shortly after and there was no daycare kids, all of that went away.

I'm glad you have a separate space for your daycare. My home is not big enough to have a dedicated daycare space nor is it big enough to have two sets of toys, so my home is my daycare. I have the upstairs off limits except for nap times, so my kids can go up to their rooms if they need their own space and they can keep their "special" toys up there. Its the best that I can do for them that way.

I know it sounds like I'm being really negative and that I think this job is horrible. I don't. There are lots of aspects of it that I love, but I just don't want you to go into this thinking that it is going to be perfect. It's a great job but a tough job. I could be wrong, but I'm getting a bit of a vibe from your posts that you may think starting your daycare will be a fix-all and that all the frustration etc you have with being a working parent at your current job will go away. If you start a HDC, you will still be a working parent, you will just have your children with you at work.

[MommaL]

I could be wrong, but I'm getting a bit of a vibe from your posts that you may think starting your daycare will be a fix-all and that all the frustration etc you have with being a working parent at your current job will go away. If you start a HDC, you will still be a working parent, you will just have your children with you at work.

I don't feel this way at all. That's why my initial post was asking if I'm crazy LOL. I know it's a tough job with its own set of challenges. I know that for every pro, there's going to be a con. I truly admire all the daycare providers out there. I guess I'm just thinking out loud (or in this case writing down) how I hope to deal with some of the challenges that so many daycare providers face.

Thanks again to everyone for posting. It's honestly been very helpful to me.

[Wonderwiper]

Of course you're crazy ha ha!!!

Totally kidding! No one can know how you will feel except you!!

I love my daycare but a big factor in that is probably the fact that I don't have to pay the bills in my household. Money stress has a major effect on job satisfaction.

What this means for me is that I can be and am extremely fussy about who I take on as clients. Your clients will make or break you. I have never chased a payment, terminated, disliked or felt unappreciated by a client. It also means that I would not hesitate for a second to end things with a client if I was ever disrespected.

Also, I personally would never be able to have my daycare in my families space. It just doesn't work for me. My basement daycare is massive and filled with toys that are mine, not my childrens. Even nap time is downstairs. If I don't want to tidy up I just go upstairs and shut the door!! Daycare is closed when we are upstairs. My kids never come down in the evening or weekends.

I wouldn't trade having my girls home with me for anything!! I don't think my daycare has taken anything way from them. I can and do snuggle with them all the time!

My oldest is in SK now. I make arrangements to attend very special things at school, just as I would if I worked out of the home. I can't go to everything. Most parents I know can't go to everything either....they can't just take days off all the time.

Like any job, one size does not fit all. You have to make everything work for you right from the start.

[MsBell]

For sure one pro is the tiny commute! Especially in the winter months. But I will point out that for me, unless I just throw something in the oven of have a crockpot meal going, cooking/preparing dinner for my family during daycare hours is near impossible. It is the end of the day, and the kids are wanting to go home, I find the last hour of my day, the hardest and the hour that takes the most of my attention. I would LOVE to close at 5, but I dont think I would ever get enough clients, and I open at 730 am, I work out in the mornings and could not consider starting earlier so that I could close earlier.The same applies for cleaning, you can wipe up here and there, but real cleaning will have to be done after hours, and you will not believe how messy your house gets when you plus a number of kids are there all day.
A dedicated daycare space would be a dream, and very likely make a huge difference to how I feel about being "stuck" in this career. My work is always in my face, I MUST clean it constantly,(I would LOVE to just shut the door!) I do however keep my basement as family space, no dck allowed.My daycare space in on my main level, the main room is open with all the toys, but we use my dinning room, kitchen and bathroom for daycare.
I am glad that the impact that daycare has on your own children was brought up, I find that as my kids get older, the harder is can be for them (somedays harder then others)
Please keep in mind, I am a single mom, with two very active kids, and a dud ex . I find that I am stuck because the income is great, I am my own boss, and I am home for my kids, no commute. Cons, I work a least 60+ hours a week (50 daycare hours, plus shopping, organsizing and cleaning), I am always at work (Although I do have a rule that weekends are daycare free, I dont take on the phone, do paperwork, have interviews or anything that involves Daycare Fri afternoon until Monday morning), I find MOST people think my job is "easier" than it is, even teachers at my kids school will often say things like "Oh your at home all day..." as if I am sitting eating bon bons, I also have one parent that likes to say "you have the best job, you get to play all day!" to which, I let her know that she could do it to if she so desired.

also just wanted to ad, I do find parents can be rather invasive. I understand the desire to know that person you choose to leave your child with, but it can still be unsettling. I have had parents (both while I have their child in care, as well as just at interviews ) ask me personal health questions (like why? do I have a doc appt), about my dating life, questions about my extended family, my childrens school grades, my future plans, will I marry again, have more children etc (One father asked me "how good my birth control was" because they didn't want me to be pregnant while watching their boy, I told him my doctor assured me my tubal ligation was a success, needless to say, I didn't take them on. So that can be another CON to consider, you will have to open yourself up to these people as well as your spouse and children

[babywhisperer]

Let me add, I have loved my home daycare career for the most part. There are a lot of challenges, but it can work. My biggest challenge has been the parents HAHA! I was the same age as the parents when I started out, now I am grandma age The change in parenting styles has been crazy! Kids are on the most part allowed to rule their house, so getting them to conform at daycare is sometimes difficult. Routine, routine, routine!!!!! Take all the instructions parents give you with a grain of salt and do what works best for the group.
My kids were okay with the daycare as young ones (as I said I started about 3 years before I had kids, so they grew up from about 6 weeks with HDC). I think when they started to get older it became less appealing to them. They would have to wait until the dc kids went home to tell me about their day. Always noise in the house when trying to study or do homework. The days they do get to sleep in, parents knocking at the door at 6:30am. That kind of thing. We have an open concept home, so even though the daycare is separate (walkout basement) the noise travels.
Would I do it again, yes. It has been worth going through the cons. Will my kids ever run a HDC, no way HAHA!
Also, if you get a chance to put your kids into preschool, do it, they need to learn to take instruction from other adults before they start school.
Okay, I'm done....I think