Daycare Worker That Just Wants To Quit

[bananapanda]

I've been out for two days because I had a nosebleed yesterday morning and it was so bad I've been stomach-sick since. My mother just came down with a stomach bug and she works at the same daycare.
All our kids are so bad and we're over capacity on easy days. *sigh*
I'm making minimum wage working only about 7 hours a day (35 hours a week max, but I don't work a full 7 hours every day) and our checks never add up to our pay.
These past two days I've been out and now my boss apparently made a comment about "interviewing people who actually want to work", though she knows exactly what's going on. I just don't think being nauseous around kids is a good idea, especially if my mother's sick too- that makes me think it could be a stomach bug and contagious, and we just got rid of one of those last week after having sick kids for two weeks straight.
Half my coworkers are family of the boss or have been there since the place opened, so they can get away with doing 5% of what I do and getting paid about 150% of what I'm paid. Monday and Tuesday, my co-teacher sat on her phone all morning while I took care of twenty three-year-olds by myself, but she's the boss's granddaughter so if I say anything it's somehow my fault and she's fine. She did nothing all morning, except make cute lil apple hats for the kids and decide to redecorate the room a bit (which I had to do while watching the kids) and take selfies.
So... Between sick kids, over-working, being one of two coworkers to clean the whole place all week, and having it hinted I'll be replaced for missing two days when I'm always there when needed and always in pain and pulling muscles and getting bitten and doing 1000x more than I'm getting paid for...
I just have no motivation to work anymore.
What do you guys think? I don't really have an easy way to get somewhere else but I'm desperate enough to try anything at this point if it means not putting up with this struggle every day.
And now it's 5 a.m. and I can't sleep from stress and work is in two hours! Gahh I hate this.
Guys, what would you do?

[Josiegirl]

Can you find another center to work at? Is it feasible to be legally unlicensed and do it in your own home?
I've got nothing else. It's a hard enough job to do as it is but everybody needs their morale boosted to keep at it and it doesn't sound like you have that from anyone at work. No inspiration. No kind words. No support.
Good luck and hope things get better for you!! Welcome to the forum!

[storybookending]

I had the same feelings when I worked at a center. I only worked part time because they had to pay insurance for anyone over 30 hours for 3 consecutive years. So all the new hires or seasonal employees got to work 40 hours a week over people that had been there for years, knew the job and actually did things the right way. There is so much staff turnaround, and still is because of this. I made more than minimum wage (barely) but it still wasn't enough. If I didn't also have a part time nanny job while doing this I would not have been able to stay as long as I did. I still should have left earlier than I did.

As someone who has been there if you can get out I would leave. People ask me all the time if I miss it and I don't lie, I don't, it's great to be free of that place. I run into parents all the time that still miss me, comment on how the new teachers are fine but it's not the same and honestly I take that as validation that I was being underpaid for the services I provided. I still stay employeed and work one Saturday a month for 3 hours of drop in care. The ONLY reason I do this is because my center is connected to a YMCA and employees get a free membership. My shift is this weekend and while I dread it every time it comes up the free membership is still worth it to me.