I was wondering how those of you, who just take children 18 mo and under, do it. I am finding dealing with multi-age groups to be too challenging for me these days. Or maybe it's just the group I have?
It used to be I'd have 1 dck who bucked the rules but it seems like nobody's listening or doing what I ask them to anymore. All my energy goes towards getting them to pick up after themselves or get ready to go outside or not tease/run/call people names/instigate/take toys/cry and whine,etc. And now the 19 mo who I dearly love, is hitting my dogs, scratching the 11 mo and pulling hair. I cannot keep up with it all.
It's draining me physically and mentally and causing major burn-out. Yesterday I had finally corralled them all into the living room so that we could get jackets on. I overheard the 4 1/2 yo asking the 3 yos whether they liked me or not. Then she speaks up and says 'they said they don't like you'. And she's always glaring at me when I expect her to sit and eat snack or use the bathroom or not run through the house. She's a very strong willed child and so is her sister, the 19 mo. And she's become the leader of the pack.
So I need to make a decision as to whether I can keep dealing with this particular group of kids or if I should try and focus on infant-18 mo only. I can take 3 under 2 yos. I cannot imagine much outside time.
Also wondering what equipment you need duplicates of; I have some but would probably have to redo my whole dc area.
I'd love to hear pros and cons, plus what your day looks like, as far as any type of schedule or getting outside. Thanks!!