I personally feel the 4 to 1 ratio my state allows with a max of 4 under two is ideal for that age so yes I think what you are presenting in the first post is too many.

Most providers I know who do infant only charge significantly more to make up for the low ratios. That said what it seems like you want to do - 10 kids with an assistant would be better suited as a mixed age 0-5 home day care or a toddler/preschool program.

I run a home based preschool and I love it!!! I do not charge less than preschools in my area but I do take them at 2 and do not require they be potty trained. I also offer better parent communication and tons of documentation of what their child does in their days here. It does take longer to fill spots...... where if I did an infant program I would already be full with a wait list.

Does your state allow you to have that many children under 2 years old?

How many children do you need to have enrolled in order to afford the assistant?

How many children can you have on site alone IF the assistant is sick, etc.? I worry about being out of licensing ratios with assistants based on past threads on here.... what would your back up be?

Can you really handle 8 infants all crying at the same time? (Even with an assistant that would drive me crazy)

What sort of care can you offer 5 infants at once? Will you be baby wearing, allowing them to eat/sleep/diaper on the babies schedule or on your schedule? etc.

My child started walking confidently at 9 months but you say you don't want children walking, wwyd with an early walker, kick them out?

I am not looking for answers to these questions they are just questions I would ask yourself while you are in the planning stages. In my area people want very low ratios for infants and I like one of one care for infants so I would certainly not enroll my child somewhere with more than 4 infants present.

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