Originally Posted by Crystal:
Professionalmom....let's start by saying, I never claimed to "KNOW EVERYTHING" my goodness, what is this, high school?
So, you're right, YOU didn't earn $2 per hour. If you try to get clientele and run an 8-5 business, it's not going to happen. Those are the hours parents are generally at work....they need care from minimum of 7-6, generally. So, you ended up going for the more varied hours and would have only a few children at a time, working around the clock, so it doesn't add up to $2-3 per hour. BUT, most providers do have set hours, where they have the whole group together at one time, so THEY do and are making more than $2 per hour. I suppose I could have broken it down, that we don't all have 10 kids, but I was just generalizing, as most of us have somewhere between 6-14 kids...I have 14. So, I was kinda averaging it out, to make it simple....although you see I did also say 5 kids.... never said everyone has 10 kids or everyone makes $20 per hour.
Also,I have to say, anybody who runs a childcare program needs to treat it as any other business. You set up a budget....if you aren't making enough money to purchase supplies, etc. you change your budget and buy what the program can afford....just as with a household budget....you don't buy new markers and paint if you cannot afford them. Why run your business into the gorund and end up losing money simply to purchase supplies that we can live without.
One request, if you want to COMPLETELY derail a thread that has a legitimite discussion occurring, please start a new thread. This thread was about higher education.
First, I did not derail this thread, if that was what you were saying. If it wasn't directed at me, then I apologize.
Second, I did not mean YOU were acting like YOU know everything. It was a generalization of people who assume that a provider makes $2 per hour for $6 kids and that equals out to $12 per hour and then don't seem to understand why daycare providers claim that they are so underpaid.
Sure, you may have 14 kids. But do you have an assistant? If so, then you are operating at a ratio of 7 kids per adult and you are not pocketing the amount from all 14 kids because you have an employee to pay our of those earnings. If you are watching 14 kids all by yourself, then that's another story because in every jurisdiction I have heard about, that is way over the legal ratio. But I doubt it's just you because I doubt you'd go over state law like that.
Actually, I was not being irresponsible with my budget. I had supplies like paper, ink, etc. But I also had expenses like utilities. Now I know some people will jump on my case saying, "deducting part of your utilities is a bonus of this job". If I worked out of the home, no one would be there to turn on lights, flush the toilet, use water to wash hands, etc. for at least 9 hours each day. But with the daycare, our utility bills went up significantly. Why? Because the house was "in use". So, yes, I have every right to deduct that added expense from my income, as well as other items. There is a "cost to doing business". I cut corners where ever possible. I was NEVER irresponsible in my budgeting or spending. But I still lost a big chunk to "running the business", even though I am a pro at squeezing a penny until it bleeds.
As for the hours I kept, I tried to find regular day clients that were M-F. But with the economy, I would have only had 3 kids (with 1 or 2 of them PT). I had to allow for more hours. It wasn't like I had 1 kid for 4 hours, then another. Many of the schedules overlapped, but some were midday kids, not really days or evenings. So I couldn't even do a first shift and a second shift. Granted there are many providers that do have 4-6 kids at one time and only work 50 hours a week. But, with the economy the way it is right now, many providers, especially in MI have had to extend their hours and STILL do not have a full rooster!
So, it's easy to make it "look" like easy money doing daycare (on paper at least). But the reality of it is not so cut and dry. And it's not the same for everyone (5 DC kids all on the same M-F 7am - 5pm schedule). That's not the case for every provider. If it were then I would agree with what you said about it being more than $2 per hour.
What I took offense with was a provider making it sound like being a provider is an easy way to make a really great income when, in most cases, that is NOT the case. If it is for you, then great! Good for you.
Finally, I was not personally attacking you. I was just explaining that the math YOU provided was not the entire picture. Like you said, not all providers have 10 kids. Most state regulations actually limit it to 6-8 kids per adult. So you were exaggerating. Then you made the assumption that the kids were all there for basically the same amount of time, days, and hours. Then you failed to take "business expenses" into account, which is something employees in other businesses do NOT have to pay for (the corporation does). So, it's not like your get $2 per hour per kid in your pocket. But that's how you made it sound.