How Many Kids?
 

I was just curious how many kids you all watch, particularly in home providers. I am licensed to watch up to 6 kids, and I’ve had 6 kids in attendance all summer with 3 going to school this year, so now I’m down to 3, some of which are part time. I wouldn’t mind taking on 1 more to put me at 4. To me anything over that is overwhelming. I would be ok financially but I get the feeling parents don’t like it unless I have a house full of kids. They seem to think more kids equals more fun for their child but I don’t see it that way. Does anyone else keep their attendance under what is allowed? I think I’m leaning towards having a smaller group.

I have 7. 2 are my own. I'd prefer to have 5... maybe 6 total. 7 gets a little crazy but isn't too bad in the summer when we can be outside! I'm licensed to watch 7 plus 2 school age (5+). So 9 total but I'm not going to take any school age right now.

I'm licensed for 8, but only have 2, by choice.

Some prefer a smaller ratio for more hands-on attention for their child.

Some prefer a higher ratio for a social group for their child.

Some prefer a higher ratio for a social group for themselves.

Some never even give ratio a second thought other than *can they afford it. Generally, higher ratio = lower price.

Lower ratio is the goal of the "Quality" movement but IMHO 6/1 is a low ratio.

I prefer 8/1, mixed ages. Kids play with kids (not adults), older kids model wanted behaviors for youngers, learn better through teaching (learn one, do one, teach one likethis), develop empathy, problem-solving and independence. Youngers more readily follow olders, they love it.

I think everyone has a favorite way of doing things. All are great for some kids, nothing fits all kids. All have a place. :Sunny:

Lic for 8, prefer 6. 2 of my 8 have to be school aged. :P

If I could have 8 preschoolers I’d be in heaven. I think we do better with a larger group.

Legally unlicensed at 4. I prefer and schedule 3 each day with a 4th on occasion.

I am licensed for 8+2 school age. I try to keep my numbers to 6 on a regular basis (but do an occasional day with 7 or 8 if there's no school, etc.) I figured out when working in a center with my own small classroom that somewhere between 6 and 7 kiddos is the line between a good day and a bad day, and I prefer most of my days to be good days...
Do what you feel comfortable managing. If parents don't like it, they will find somewhere else and parents who do want a smaller group will find you.

For those of you that can have more than 6, do you have an assistant or is it just you? I couldn’t imagine doing that myself!

I don't have to, I can have all 10 with school-agers by myself, but, um, yeah, no, gets too hectic for my taste and I just find it a little too much to keep track of for me. Six is fine, more is too much. I'm not quite as observant/as stern a disciplinarian as I would need to be for that. ;)

In Australia you can only have four under school age and 3 over, so never more than 7. I have four under school age and will NEVER do over :lol:

Originally Posted by Unregistered:
I was just curious how many kids you all watch, particularly in home providers. I am licensed to watch up to 6 kids, and I’ve had 6 kids in attendance all summer with 3 going to school this year, so now I’m down to 3, some of which are part time. I wouldn’t mind taking on 1 more to put me at 4. To me anything over that is overwhelming. I would be ok financially but I get the feeling parents don’t like it unless I have a house full of kids. They seem to think more kids equals more fun for their child but I don’t see it that way. Does anyone else keep their attendance under what is allowed? I think I’m leaning towards having a smaller group.

I'm licensed to have 6 children here at any given time. I like to have as close to 6 as possible but a lot depends on the ages of the kids. I don't rush out to fill spots if I have a lot of younger kids or infants in the mix or if some of the personalities make for a challenging day.

As far as what parents want...I always remind myself that I can't be all things to all people so I need to please myself. If you're comfortable with 4 or fewer, stick with it. There are a lot of parents out there that like a smaller group for their kids.

I closed in dec but I had a 10:2 ratio. All kids under 24 months

Originally Posted by Unregistered:
For those of you that can have more than 6, do you have an assistant or is it just you? I couldn’t imagine doing that myself!

I find 12 to be much easier than 6. I'm licensed for 12 plus 2 before and after school. I have 16 enrolled, 2 are before school kids, 2 are after school kids. I sometimes have 12 at once, but I have 6 arrive at 5:30am, and 4 of them are gone by the time my other kids arrive (they leave for school). Today, I had 7 kids plus 2 after school, and the day was so quiet and slow!

I find that with 12, they entertain each other more, and it is EASIER to give one-on-one when necessary because they're not all competing for my attention at once-they play while I feed a bottle to a baby or work on writing the alphabet with a preschooler. I used to have 6 kids, and when I went up in numbers, I found that my job got easier!

In my state, you can care for less than 5 without a license. I care for a max of 4. Right now, I'm down to 2 since my 3rd DCK just left for school and I've pretty much held the 4th spot for my own little one that is now 9 months (she doesn't count in the ratio, I just didn't want to overwhelm myself and short change everyone in the process.) Typically, I find that having all 4 is nice, the day goes fast, there's a lot to do and they pretty keep each other quite entertained. I once looked into moving up to the 5-7 children license and just felt I would be stretching myself too thin. I have 2 homeschooling teens and doing this allows me a nice balance of home life and work life. Going to 7 children would definitely change that balance.

My DCP's don't seem to care. I think they like the small ratio.

Originally Posted by knoxmomof2:
In my state, you can care for less than 5 without a license. I care for a max of 4. Right now, I'm down to 2 since my 3rd DCK just left for school and I've pretty much held the 4th spot for my own little one that is now 9 months (she doesn't count in the ratio, I just didn't want to overwhelm myself and short change everyone in the process.) Typically, I find that having all 4 is nice, the day goes fast, there's a lot to do and they pretty keep each other quite entertained. I once looked into moving up to the 5-7 children license and just felt I would be stretching myself too thin. I have 2 homeschooling teens and doing this allows me a nice balance of home life and work life. Going to 7 children would definitely change that balance.

My DCP's don't seem to care. I think they like the small ratio.

I like my 1:4 ratio also... in Knoxville you can get licensed. It turns out if you live inside Alcoa city limits, you can't get a home daycare license according to DHS, heard from the mouth of a Blount Co inspector - they only license centers here (I live 2 blocks inside Alcoa limits in Blount Co, but different city address)

In Vt., we home providers can have 6 FT(with only 2 under 2 yo) and 4 SA dcks.
My insurance co., though, says I can have no more than 6 at any one time. Right now, I have 2 FT, an infant coming in a couple weeks when 1 of those turns 2 yo, and then 2 that are in FT school. There were times when I had 10 dcks here all summer by myself. With the right mix of kiddos, I would love it but it seemed like there were always issues with certain dcks which created problems within the whole group. :(
Ideally, (I think) I would love to have 4 ft dcks 3 yo and under. I love the younger ones.
I only had 2 littles before the other 2, 4 and 5 yos, came in from school, and we had such a wonderful morning!!! Best day I've had in I don't know how long. As soon as the 4 and 5 yos came in, all he!! broke loose again. Running, screaming, pushing hands on, not listening. And of course it gets the littles all riled up. :mad:

Originally Posted by Josiegirl:
In Vt., we home providers can have 6 FT(with only 2 under 2 yo) and 4 SA dcks.
My insurance co., though, says I can have no more than 6 at any one time. Right now, I have 2 FT, an infant coming in a couple weeks when 1 of those turns 2 yo, and then 2 that are in FT school. There were times when I had 10 dcks here all summer by myself. With the right mix of kiddos, I would love it but it seemed like there were always issues with certain dcks which created problems within the whole group. :(
Ideally, (I think) I would love to have 4 ft dcks 3 yo and under. I love the younger ones.
I only had 2 littles before the other 2, 4 and 5 yos, came in from school, and we had such a wonderful morning!!! Best day I've had in I don't know how long. As soon as the 4 and 5 yos came in, all he!! broke loose again. Running, screaming, pushing hands on, not listening. And of course it gets the littles all riled up. :mad:

And your issues are partially why I stopped taking older kids lol... I do nothing but under 24 months and have for the last 10 years - 1:4 ratio and I'm perfectly happy

I am licensed for 10, and the amount of each age level depends on how many infants I have. (Infants are defined as under 18 months)

Right now I have one 13 month old, 5 between 2 and 4. Then I have 3 school age that come at 3:30 when school gets out.

Like BlackCat said, different families are looking for different ratios. Some like big groups of kids, some like small groups.
Find what you like to and then market it. If you like small numbers, then advertise it that way. "Low provider to child ratios to provide lots of individual attention and care!" Then, you will be attracting the families that want the care you provide.

I am only allowed 5 but had 6 over the summer with my 9 yr old (she doesn’t count in ratios). For me it depends on the group.

Licensed for 8, currently have 3 :ouch:

If I was doing general mixed age group I would be happiest with 6, 5 if I had an infant, 4 if multiple infants. If I can fill my openings with school age/ after pre-K I'll try to max out at 8.

I am licensed for 8 and currently have ...
7 month old
12 month old
2 year old
2 year old (my own)
3 year old
5 year old in kinder (here 1:30pm, my own)
8 year old in 2nd grade (here at 3pm, my own)
13 year old in 8th grade (here at 4pm, my own, doesn't count towards my ratios.
Everyone is full time.

I'm licensed for 6. I have 6 before school and after school but only 3 during the school day. I love it. Lots of hands on time and I can individualize my care much better.

12+4SA
I have 12 and keep the SA spots for siblings of current customers.

Licensed for 16.
Four kids can be under age 2.
Two providers if the headcount is over 8.