Originally Posted by Pestle:
This is your own child? This is unfortunate.
So you have a preschooler of your own inside your family day care with infants?
Did you just open your day care? There's probably a lot of jealousy going on.
I have a strict "Nobody touches the babies but me" rule. NO EXCEPTIONS. Doesn't matter if it's gentle touches or not. Anybody who touches the babies has to go sit in the quiet corner.
The day care area is gated off from the living room, and I allow my 4yo to come and go. If she gets too wild or I'm worried she's getting angry, she HAS to go. She can play quietly in the living room or go to her own room. I don't force her to participate in the day care program.
If your child isn't trustworthy or obedient enough to go play elsewhere, then unfortunately I don't see any way to keep your day care open with babies in it. You can't provide safe care for other people's children so you shouldn't take the children in, knowing that they're in danger of injury.
If your child is able to play separately, you may find that they outgrow this jealous, rough stage and can gradually be re-introduced to the day care. You might also consider switching to preschool-only care--kids those age are hard to come by and you can't charge as much, but at least you could keep making money from home, if your child has better behavior around peers.
I agree with this. Your child is TELLING you he cannot handle this. Either keep him separated, or quit caring for other children. It wouldn't take much to seriously injure an infant.