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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Just thinking out loud (sorry its long)
mamamanda 08:35 AM 08-05-2014
So, I'm getting ready to go on maternity leave and definitely need to make some changes when I come back. I love children. I enjoy their company, and my heart's desire is to be at home to raise my own little ones and pass on my values to them. That is my primary motivation in doing childcare. However, I find myself more and more burnt out lately. It probably has a lot to do with the permissive parenting I see and the behavior issues that causes for me throughout the day. By the time the dcks go home, I'm too tired & frustrated to be the kind of mom I want to be to my own children. Some of that could just be pregnancy related b/c I'm so tired due to being 9 months along, but I've felt this way to some degree for a while. So I'm trying to decide what I want to do when its time to get back to work after the baby is born. I've already talked to my current families and they know I am definitely taking a 6 week maternity leave b/c I need the break for my family. I currently see 3 options, some more realistic than others. 1) My favorite part of the day is teaching preschool. I'm currently one semester away from an elementary education degree and most of those credits would transfer if I wanted to do an ECE degree. I've thought about just doing preschool during the morning hours and not doing full day care, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. Would parents bring their children to an in home preschool if they weren't leaving them all day? Do any of you do that or anything similar? I'm thinking that way I could teach which is the part of childcare I really love, I could still be home with my kids, and be off in the afternoons to focus on my family with preparing healthy meals, housework, etc. (All the things that are a struggle now.) 2) I might consider just doing infant care. Preparing for my own infant, I'm pretty well set up for infant care, but I don't really know how that works. Do you typically say cut off age is 1 year, or 2? Also, I have a newly turned 3 y.o. so I'm not sure how that would be for him. 3) I could just be more strict with interviews and only take families that mesh well with our own family. I guess a fourth option would be continuing with the families I have, but creating a much more detailed handbook and contract and truly enforcing my policies which would probably result in losing at least my full time family b/c we have had many issues already over them not being willing to enforce any form of discipline with their children. Well, lots to think about. Sometimes it just helps to talk it out. Thanks!
Kabob 08:52 AM 08-05-2014
I totally get where you're coming from. I had my baby 2 months ago and right before I had her I was feeling the same way, especially after dealing with one particularly terrible family.
What worked for me was to crunch my numbers and figure out that I only needed 2 full time children to make the bills work so that's what I've been doing for now and that's been awesome. I got to take out the toys I had to hide from the previous kids and I do a lot more fun activities and things are much more chill here. Plus I have kids that mesh very well with my own children and parents that follow my rules. So basically rebuilding and simplifying worked for me and now I'm interviewing very carefully...and if I start to feel that way again, I'll address it immediately instead of putting if off since I'm no longer waiting for maternity leave.
As for preschool, I think that sounds like something that could work for you. Around here, people send their kids to preschool for mornings only and even then it's only every other day. So, check out preschools in your area and see what they typically schedule. Crunch your numbers and figure out if that's something you can financially swing. Obviously, you enjoy it so I say go for the degree...I mean worst case scenario is it makes you look really good on a resume or for future daycare families.
Sometimes it does help bouncing ideas off of others...I'm interested to see what others say since I've been considering an ECE degree too...
What worked for me was to crunch my numbers and figure out that I only needed 2 full time children to make the bills work so that's what I've been doing for now and that's been awesome. I got to take out the toys I had to hide from the previous kids and I do a lot more fun activities and things are much more chill here. Plus I have kids that mesh very well with my own children and parents that follow my rules. So basically rebuilding and simplifying worked for me and now I'm interviewing very carefully...and if I start to feel that way again, I'll address it immediately instead of putting if off since I'm no longer waiting for maternity leave.
As for preschool, I think that sounds like something that could work for you. Around here, people send their kids to preschool for mornings only and even then it's only every other day. So, check out preschools in your area and see what they typically schedule. Crunch your numbers and figure out if that's something you can financially swing. Obviously, you enjoy it so I say go for the degree...I mean worst case scenario is it makes you look really good on a resume or for future daycare families.
Sometimes it does help bouncing ideas off of others...I'm interested to see what others say since I've been considering an ECE degree too...
Blackcat31 11:36 AM 08-05-2014
Originally Posted by mamamanda:
So, I'm getting ready to go on maternity leave and definitely need to make some changes when I come back. I love children. I enjoy their company, and my heart's desire is to be at home to raise my own little ones and pass on my values to them. That is my primary motivation in doing childcare. However, I find myself more and more burnt out lately. It probably has a lot to do with the permissive parenting I see and the behavior issues that causes for me throughout the day. By the time the dcks go home, I'm too tired & frustrated to be the kind of mom I want to be to my own children. Some of that could just be pregnancy related b/c I'm so tired due to being 9 months along, but I've felt this way to some degree for a while. So I'm trying to decide what I want to do when its time to get back to work after the baby is born. I've already talked to my current families and they know I am definitely taking a 6 week maternity leave b/c I need the break for my family. I currently see 3 options, some more realistic than others. 1) My favorite part of the day is teaching preschool. I'm currently one semester away from an elementary education degree and most of those credits would transfer if I wanted to do an ECE degree. I've thought about just doing preschool during the morning hours and not doing full day care, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. Would parents bring their children to an in home preschool if they weren't leaving them all day? Do any of you do that or anything similar? I'm thinking that way I could teach which is the part of childcare I really love, I could still be home with my kids, and be off in the afternoons to focus on my family with preparing healthy meals, housework, etc. (All the things that are a struggle now.) 2) I might consider just doing infant care. Preparing for my own infant, I'm pretty well set up for infant care, but I don't really know how that works. Do you typically say cut off age is 1 year, or 2? Also, I have a newly turned 3 y.o. so I'm not sure how that would be for him. 3) I could just be more strict with interviews and only take families that mesh well with our own family. I guess a fourth option would be continuing with the families I have, but creating a much more detailed handbook and contract and truly enforcing my policies which would probably result in losing at least my full time family b/c we have had many issues already over them not being willing to enforce any form of discipline with their children. Well, lots to think about. Sometimes it just helps to talk it out. Thanks!
Contact Kendallina from the forum. https://www.daycare.com/forum/member.php?u=33420So, I'm getting ready to go on maternity leave and definitely need to make some changes when I come back. I love children. I enjoy their company, and my heart's desire is to be at home to raise my own little ones and pass on my values to them. That is my primary motivation in doing childcare. However, I find myself more and more burnt out lately. It probably has a lot to do with the permissive parenting I see and the behavior issues that causes for me throughout the day. By the time the dcks go home, I'm too tired & frustrated to be the kind of mom I want to be to my own children. Some of that could just be pregnancy related b/c I'm so tired due to being 9 months along, but I've felt this way to some degree for a while. So I'm trying to decide what I want to do when its time to get back to work after the baby is born. I've already talked to my current families and they know I am definitely taking a 6 week maternity leave b/c I need the break for my family. I currently see 3 options, some more realistic than others. 1) My favorite part of the day is teaching preschool. I'm currently one semester away from an elementary education degree and most of those credits would transfer if I wanted to do an ECE degree. I've thought about just doing preschool during the morning hours and not doing full day care, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. Would parents bring their children to an in home preschool if they weren't leaving them all day? Do any of you do that or anything similar? I'm thinking that way I could teach which is the part of childcare I really love, I could still be home with my kids, and be off in the afternoons to focus on my family with preparing healthy meals, housework, etc. (All the things that are a struggle now.) 2) I might consider just doing infant care. Preparing for my own infant, I'm pretty well set up for infant care, but I don't really know how that works. Do you typically say cut off age is 1 year, or 2? Also, I have a newly turned 3 y.o. so I'm not sure how that would be for him. 3) I could just be more strict with interviews and only take families that mesh well with our own family. I guess a fourth option would be continuing with the families I have, but creating a much more detailed handbook and contract and truly enforcing my policies which would probably result in losing at least my full time family b/c we have had many issues already over them not being willing to enforce any form of discipline with their children. Well, lots to think about. Sometimes it just helps to talk it out. Thanks!
She runs a home based preschool.
Older kids M,W,F and younger ones T/Th I believe....
mamamanda 12:30 PM 08-05-2014
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Contact Kendallina from the forum. https://www.daycare.com/forum/member.php?u=33420
She runs a home based preschool.
Older kids M,W,F and younger ones T/Th I believe....
Thank you Black Cat.Contact Kendallina from the forum. https://www.daycare.com/forum/member.php?u=33420
She runs a home based preschool.
Older kids M,W,F and younger ones T/Th I believe....
Heidi 12:39 PM 08-05-2014
I think first you need to look at your budget. How much do you really need to make? What if you cut back on something else? If you've got less kids, could you cook more from scratch, do some gardening/canning, etc. Would you enjoy that?
The other thing is your hours. I'd consider shortening those, if possible. I'm not sure what they are now, but you could just say "starting after my maternity leave, I will only be available until 4:30". Maybe making some tuition adjustments would help, like a sliding fee scale for after a certain time.
I'm hoping that the "worst" family is also the one that's there the latest?
Another idea: Get a "mother's helper" or assistant one morning a week. Let them take over the daycare for a few hours, and take your children to another part of the house.
Or, how about going to 4 days? Is that an option? My rate for 4 days is $120, and for 5 is $140, so those that are here 4 days really pay almost as much as 5.
The other thing is your hours. I'd consider shortening those, if possible. I'm not sure what they are now, but you could just say "starting after my maternity leave, I will only be available until 4:30". Maybe making some tuition adjustments would help, like a sliding fee scale for after a certain time.
I'm hoping that the "worst" family is also the one that's there the latest?
Another idea: Get a "mother's helper" or assistant one morning a week. Let them take over the daycare for a few hours, and take your children to another part of the house.
Or, how about going to 4 days? Is that an option? My rate for 4 days is $120, and for 5 is $140, so those that are here 4 days really pay almost as much as 5.
mamamanda 05:26 AM 08-07-2014
Originally Posted by Heidi:
I think first you need to look at your budget. How much do you really need to make? What if you cut back on something else? If you've got less kids, could you cook more from scratch, do some gardening/canning, etc. Would you enjoy that?
The other thing is your hours. I'd consider shortening those, if possible. I'm not sure what they are now, but you could just say "starting after my maternity leave, I will only be available until 4:30". Maybe making some tuition adjustments would help, like a sliding fee scale for after a certain time.
I'm hoping that the "worst" family is also the one that's there the latest?
Another idea: Get a "mother's helper" or assistant one morning a week. Let them take over the daycare for a few hours, and take your children to another part of the house.
Or, how about going to 4 days? Is that an option? My rate for 4 days is $120, and for 5 is $140, so those that are here 4 days really pay almost as much as 5.
I really like the idea of hiring a mother's helper. I did that during early I think first you need to look at your budget. How much do you really need to make? What if you cut back on something else? If you've got less kids, could you cook more from scratch, do some gardening/canning, etc. Would you enjoy that?
The other thing is your hours. I'd consider shortening those, if possible. I'm not sure what they are now, but you could just say "starting after my maternity leave, I will only be available until 4:30". Maybe making some tuition adjustments would help, like a sliding fee scale for after a certain time.
I'm hoping that the "worst" family is also the one that's there the latest?
Another idea: Get a "mother's helper" or assistant one morning a week. Let them take over the daycare for a few hours, and take your children to another part of the house.
Or, how about going to 4 days? Is that an option? My rate for 4 days is $120, and for 5 is $140, so those that are here 4 days really pay almost as much as 5.
pregnancy and it was wonderful, but I hadn't thought about it as a permanent option. The "worst" family is the latest, so changing hours might work too. I do love to can and cook from scratch, but my dh is very concerned about finances and he wouldn't consider just cutting back in that way a feasible option. He likes to see the money coming in. I think I've already cut down the number of dck I have as far as I realistically can. Thank you for the suggestions! You had some great ones.