Limitations of the job

[bright sparks]

My son is 2E and I have to meet multiple times a year to address things mainly because teachers are not sticking to his IEP. It is frustrating to say the least and I feel guilty for taking time off and leaving my families stuck but then I also feel guilty about how I have to put my son 2nd behind other children. I feel your pain, I truly do but for myself it's likely a blessing that I can't sweep in and try to fix it. That would probably be a disservice to my son at his age (12) who unfortunately needs to experience these things without me in order to develop the necessary coping skills that will serve him well in life when mum isn't around to save him. That being said, when I close my doors in July, things won't be a whole lot easier as I will be over 100km away should I need to go to school for anything. Fortunately I have some good back up should my kids be ill and need collecting promptly, but even if there was an incident at school, it's for them to deal with during school hours and then communicate with me to follow up on at home. It may be a blessing in disguise Torontokids although I understand as your daughter is a lot younger she would typically be a lot more dependent on you. Going to school is your instinct but likely not necessary and there probably wouldn't be anyone available to talk with you and give you the full story. Best to schedule a telephone appointment to follow up with the adult who intervened and witnessed the events of recess.

I dropped to 4 days a week for the purpose of not having to take time off as frequently and leaving 1 day a week to try and always schedule these meetings on. This both prevents letting my families down in addition to having that window of opportunity available to give to my children and in school parent opportunities. The only time it doesn't work is if I have a specialist appointment which generally only occurs twice a year and they don't have clinic hours on Fridays.

[torontokids]

[QUOTE=bright sparks;72129]My son is 2E and I have to meet multiple times a year to address things mainly because teachers are not sticking to his IEP. It is frustrating to say the least and I feel guilty for taking time off and leaving my families stuck but then I also feel guilty about how I have to put my son 2nd behind other children. I feel your pain, I truly do but for myself it's likely a blessing that I can't sweep in and try to fix it. That would probably be a disservice to my son at his age (12) who unfortunately needs to experience these things without me in order to develop the necessary coping skills that will serve him well in life when mum isn't around to save him. That being said, when I close my doors in July, things won't be a whole lot easier as I will be over 100km away should I need to go to school for anything. Fortunately I have some good back up should my kids be ill and need collecting promptly, but even if there was an incident at school, it's for them to deal with during school hours and then communicate with me to follow up on at home. It may be a blessing in disguise Torontokids although I understand as your daughter is a lot younger she would typically be a lot more dependent on you. Going to school is your instinct but likely not necessary and there probably wouldn't be anyone available to talk with you and give you the full story. Best to schedule a telephone appointment to follow up with the adult who intervened and witnessed the events of recess. "



I totally agree with you that this prevents me from running in and saving her and this is probably a good thing, especially if I am pissed off. I think what was most frustrating was not having the option to go. Plus this situation was presented to me as something very serious and that they were very concerned about her. They weren't describing my daughter at all. I just felt sick and wanted to see her.

[MonkeyPrincess]

I felt very limited with this career of choice. I feel like I am always bound to the house. I hate winter sometimes because it's too damn cold for my liking. I don't use my van for daycare (Only in the summer when i only have older kids- they use boosters or are car seat free. Toddlers are teacher's children so they are off all summer) so I can't pack up all the kids in my van to get my kids from school, so i have to bundle the toddlers all up (takes 15 minutes 2x a day) to walk 200 feet to the bus stop. I thrive in warmer weather lol

I feel like my kids always take a back seat to the daycare kids and i hate it. Now that they are in school, it kind of defeats the purpose of me staying home to be with them eh? I feel like I don't have as much time for them as i have daycare kids here til 5-5:30 and they are all under 5. Then it's dinner, homework, bath and bed. I am tired at the end of the day. My husband is a truck driver and works wonky hours. He is often in bed before the kids so i do a lot alone. When he is off he helps though. I can't drop everything to go to the school if my kids need me. Can't go to concerts/meetings/events etc. Can't volunteer as i always wanted to.

Thats why now i only work 4 days a week. Only one dc family needed me on Fridays and they were flexible with their days so i changed their days. Now i have Fridays off to do whatever i want and i love it. I grocery shop, and sometimes go to the gym. I can go to the kid's school if they need me. After 3 yrs of daycare and virtually no time off, i changed a lot of things and now it works better for everyone.

[AcornsFalling]

I have the same feelings as the other moms on this thread.
I was a teacher before my children were born and since my daughter started K in the fall I have been trying to get hired as a teacher on call in my district. Thankfully it looks like I will be closing my daycare and starting to teach in March.
I have felt guilty that while I am home with my own kids, our time together is not what I would consider quality time, as I'm so busy making sure everyone's needs are met. We can't do the kind of activities I would love to to as they aren't age appropriate for the rest of the group.
I will have to put my son in full time daycare, but I think he will have lots of fun and I have found a great care provider. Our mornings will be much earlier to get my children off to care but it's time for DH to step up and help with the mornings now!
Not to mention the income earning potential is much greater.
Running my own daycare was a blessing so I could stay home with my son and daughter when they were babies and toddlers but now I feel that we are ready to move on to a new phase in life.
I hope you can figure out a way to make things work for your family