I am wondering how many people watch children and have assistants or some type of help from another person.

Do you have a full time assistant, part-time, help for a few hours a day or week, help only on field trips or with special projects, cleaning help, etc.

I have mostly done it all myself but for a few years had a home schooled neighbor come 2 or 3 days a week for 2 hours a day. That was great. She started when she was 12 and then went to traditional high school and helped some in the summer and even in college off and on.

That was very part time but still nice.

It just seems so many have help here and except for her it had never even occurred to me to get some. Wouldn't have paid me but still.... So anyway, just wondering. She came to me. I didn't seek her out. I thought "Hey, that is a great idea!"

Laurel

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no, but I only have 3 kids, with a 4th to start in winter, & one of those is my 2.5 yr old. My older son will help when he's home from school. He goes to a residential boarding high school attached to a college an hr away & is a senior. He comes home when college is closed for extended weekends and holidays. My husband is als home at 4, so he'll help as well.

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I can't stand being so cooped up and have someone starting soon for just a few hours a week so I can get out a little.

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I would love help just to have someone (older) to interact with
..but I wouldn't know who to trust, I've heard stories from other providers that hired the wrong people and when they fired them those ex employees caused all kinds of problems, calling DHS, the dkf and false accusing them allover the net ..I don't need this, I can handle the job perfectly on my own

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Can I ask how you got your help? I'm thinking about trying to hire help in the chance we have another baby and I want more of a "maternity leave" but not sure how to do so!

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In 21 years ..
The only people I've ever had assist me are daycare mom's.
A mom that is a college student...so she has certain days she is not in class... things like that.
Then I would only use them if I needed to make a doctor appointment...and I would try to schedule it for naptime so all they had to do was watch them breath and make sure the house didn't burn down.
Five years ago, my daughter's best friend from high school, pregnant... single..working full time at the local family owned grocery store up the street... needed childcare for the new baby..
and was going to be on childcare assistance program.
I offered to let her work for me in the daycare.. 1 day per week.. Wednesday.. her day off from the grocery store.
It helped her offset her PARENT FEE...
I worked with her side by side for 1 full year before I would leave her unattended...
Her son is 4 now... she works 3 Wednesday's 1 off...
The other daycare parents know her and trust her. The children know her, trust her, love her.
Some weeks I make appointments... nails.. hair... foot doctor ... (old lady daycare feet) some weeks I just step in to my laundry room and catch up on ironing... and listen to my ipod....
Now and then we have to have a 'tune up' on things.. nothing major..
I'm just very OCD about mopping my floor with wash cloths after every meal.. and she was slacking on that... Wasn't bagging the diaper trash at the end of the day.. wasn't washing the cups in bleachy water...
I'd leave for an appointment..
Arrive back after closing time.. and have an hour of clean up work to do.. I wasn't loving that.. but I have her on track now...
I have no idea what I'll do when her son leaves for school...

CRY

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I am just now hiring an assistant/sub for my daycare. She is someone that I know personally (interviewed a couple others who replied to my ad, but it wasn't going to work with them). She will only be coming in 2 or 3 mornings a month so that I can help out with taking my daughter to preschool and going on field trips with her. I am SO excited!! Haha.

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We have a large license, which requires two adults present.

We also have help who comes in 3 afternoons a week, from 3-close, so that we can schedule dr. Appt's or leave to run errands. Our part-time help is in college, so we work around her schedule.

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I do not have help....other than my DH who comes in for lunch daily. There are times he can't make it due to his own workload but for the most part he comes in everyday and helps out with lunch time.

Once we get the kids fed and down for rest time, he and I eat our lunch together.

I care for 10 children (ages 1-4) every day. We are legally allowed to have 10 with NO assistant.

Once you get a good routine going, it's all good.

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The first few years I was opened I did it all myself. And it was very hard! My first assistant was okay, nice to the kids, but didn't take direction well. I got smart and picky. My last two have been AMAZING! Having them allows me to make appointments, volunteer in my own kid's classrooms, or just catch a break in my 11 hour work day. Having done it both ways, I won't go back. Now, mine are only here when I need them and are no where near full time.

Just today I had a dentist appointment and stopped for coffee afterwards by *myself* that didn't stink at all

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That would make me nervous. I'd want to be in the house. Even when I go to a doctor's appointment with my husband watching them (he is my legal sub), I make my appointment for their nap time. I just feel like I should be there.

My provider friend has someone watch hers while she goes out so I'm not against it but it just wouldn't make being out enjoyable for me cause I'd be worrying if something is going on back home.

Laurel

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Oh I know that was great when my helper came. She was 12 going on 20.

I even liked when my granddaughter who will be 8 next week came this summer. I had someone who could actually hold a conversation with me.

Laurel

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I'm moving to your state!

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We have to have a legal sub per licensing but it is more or less a useless rule. For most of us it is a husband or grown children or a neighbor but they have jobs too. In an emergency, I don't see how they could be 'on call' anyway.

My husband watches them if I have an appointment but that is not often at all. I try to make my appointments on Saturday or after hours. I could also just close but I don't. I also leave him with them at nap time. It is just easier all the way around. He would do fine with them though.

Laurel

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I wish! I can only have up to 6 kids by myself and one is my own so it wouldn't do me any good financially to pay someone to come over.
Well I do have my sister who is qualified to come over and take over for me if I need, and I call her my "assistant" but I only have her come if I have an appointment or if one of my kids has an appointment and my dh can't take them. And she is a RN and my sis so I totally trust her to be here.

Here, anyone who watched the kids except in an extreme emergency has to be qualified in order to be here if I am not. That means background checks, fingerprinted, cpr (every year), first aid (every 3 years), 6 hours of training a year, blood borne pathogen and shaken baby syndrome trained (can't think of what else right now) needs to be done.

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yup I'd take a good conversation with an 8yr old any day

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It sounds like you have help. Lunch and nap time is when I'd want help the most.

Laurel

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10!? I don't think I could do that all by myself! Well maybe if they were all at least 2.5 or 3, but even then, I don't know!

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What are their situations that they can just work occasionally? I could see maybe a college student or grandma maybe.

Laurel

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Anyone who watches children for me here is considered a sub. They have to take a 6 hour training class (just once), be fingerprinted and background checked, cpr, first aid every 2 years, have character references. Plus I have to have one sub to operate. Most of us use our husbands or a friend or neighbor and they have their own jobs.

Laurel

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That would be nice! I can't even use my husband unless he goes through all of the qualifications! My licensor even said that unless you have to go to the hospital, it's not an emergency. I do have to have 1 or 2 emergency people who live no more than 10 minutes away.
It's so weird how it's different in different states! You would think that (most) rules for childcare would be universal.

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Me too!

Laurel

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Oh I meant that my husband 'does' have to go through all of the qualifications as does a friend or neighbor.

Laurel

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We can have 10 but because of the age restrictions for certain ages some would have to be school age and the only way that would work would is if I would have only 5 full time younger ones rather than 6. Adding on 4 school agers doesn't make sense if you have to give up one year round full time child to do it.

Can your 10 be any age?

Laurel

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oh I see!

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I had 12 last year alone. (my regular 10 plus 2 Kindy aged kids that didn't actually go to school due to early birthdays)

Our kids are considered school age May 1st in the year they are eligible to attend NOT whether they actually attend or not.

Yes, there are age limits to the group we can have.

My license reads 14 maximum with no more than 10 under school age of which no more than 4 shall be infants and toddlers of which no more than 3 can be infants.

(infants are up to 12 months/toddlers are 12-24 months/preschoolers are 2 -5)

Depending on the number of infants and toddlers you have in care, you can either have 6 or 8 preschoolers.

I have 2 kids age 1 yr old and 8 kids ages 2-4.

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Wow! 12 is a lot! I can have 8, 2 of them school-aged. And my homeschooled daughter (and any other school-aged kids not enrolled in school) has to be considered one of the younger 6, no matter how old! (Isn't that insane? So if, for example, I had 8 10-year-olds, homeschooled, and no other kids, that would be "too many" kids.)

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I don't have anyone that regularly comes to help. My husband and mom have both taken all classes to legally run their own daycare, so they fill in for me if I need to leave or get sick. If my husband is off work, he will help that day. My mom is retired, so if she is bored she comes and helps

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Maybe it's because I've only done this for 2 years now, but I could never do it alone! We have 12 kids, with 9-12 a day and they're all under the age of 3yrs old with 3 of them under a year. The only times we need 2 people is meals, diaper changes, and getting down for nap. How do you all do those with just one person? Especially with babies and kids learning to crawl and walk. I can't trust one boy in a room by himself because he bites and hits. But I really don't like to leave any of them in a room alone and our potty room is in the back and the play room is in the front. We're hurting for money right now so if I could cut back on payroll that would be a huge help! I just don't want to go insane trying to do all this by myself.

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Wow that's a lot! More kudos to you for being such a great provider !

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raitos here in my state are 6 to 1 with the age group that I have. Currently I have 12 enrolled, so I must have 2 adults here at all times once I go over 6 kids.

Both of my employees are PT and my husband fills in when he can.

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One is a former Kindergarten teacher turned SAHM and the other is a TA in our school district. One works during the school year when her kids are in school, the other comes in the summers.

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Yes, I have a full time assistant because I have a large license that rquires two people. The only problem I'm having is hanging onto a sub that doesn't go get another job.
My husband will be taking over as assistant in a couple months and I think I would like to have a part time assistant just so I can keep her around for appts, errands, subbing, so on.

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Hopefully she gets bored a lot!

Laurel

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Because legally we can't watch 12 children. The most I have ever watched is 6 and only 3 could be under a year old....by law. Even 6 was tough cause I had 5 of those 6 in diapers. That is when I did have a little help from the girl I mentioned though.

Laurel

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Oh okay, that sounds perfect!

Laurel

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My husband works from home (for another full time job) so while he still has to get his work done, and has periods of time when he can't be disturbed, a lot of his time is flexible, so I can schedule appointments during his flex time. I still try to make them for nap time so that way he can still get work done, with a video monitor on the kids if they need him. He also often helps for a little while during his lunch break during the lunch to nap time transition.
I love having him here for the 'just in case' factor. If an emergency comes up, he's already here. I haven't had to use it for an emergency, but have for appointments, and even the occasional lunch with a friend.

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