Those of you who may have thought about closing daycare:

What do you do when you think you have really reached the end of your rope and are ready to quit the daycare business? What did you do next? What other carreers did you look at?

I think I am done with childcare. I do love the kids and I do love my job but it's just too much lately. I have grown a backbone here thanks to the support and termed in the past but I can't term everyone. I do have 1 client that is a blessing. Kind, pays on time, follows the handbook 100% BUT I still have other clients that just don't give a damn about my policies or the kids for that matter. I could term yes but I can't live on 1 client and problem is I keep getting these clients in that seem ok then they show true colors after so many months. Now I have yet another disease in the daycare due to parents negecting to seek medical assistance as I suggested. It's just becomming exhausting really and I am done. BUT where do I go from here? I have done this for 6 years. What now?

TIA for any advise.

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What qualifications do you have? Could you become an educational assistant of some sort?

Here in Ontario we have full-day kindergarten and it's taught by a teacher and an ECE as a side by side partnership. The pay is good, there is a pension and you get summers off which would be great. This is likely what I'll do next since most of the schools in my area will be transitioning to full-day by 2014.

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I thought about Doctors and Veterinarians offices.....the hours will work for my family, I'd love the job, BUT the competition is steep since it also works for the masses.....then any job that appeals to the masses does not have to pay well.....grrr...

Working as the cook in the chain daycares is ideal since generally they make more than the teachers, have better hours, have fewer co-workers AND tend to get free childcare for their own while they are working. If you already have the required training minimums you could also fill in for lunch breaks/absences and be their dream employee....

I think that is where I'd head if I had young ones....

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I usually go to customer service for a while and then remember why I love being my own boss!

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Me too...I LOVE not having to drive in the snow, giving myself a raise, working in pajama pants and getting a 2 hour lunch break daily. The best reward is being home with my two year old daughters.

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Could you go back to school while you are in the end stages of your daycare? Maybe with some degree or certification of some kind, you could have something to bring to the table at interviews (other than the daycare experience of course). Just a thought if you don't want to go the office route, which as PP mentioned, is a tough market to crack in this economy.

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I worked in a Title Office for 2 1/2 just before I stayed home to be a daycare provider. I worked as a receptionist and loved it!! Good pay and benefits and low stress. At least i thought it was low stress as I wasn't a title examiner or escrow officer. Hehehe!! That has nothing really to do with daycare and children but I was always good at multitasking and great phone skills and being able to direct calls to the right people. I'm a people person and would spend a few min. w/each caller being able to recognize voices and names off the bat...I think if you have a love of family and children you come off patient and full of energy which is attractive for people hiring receptionists. You can also be a receptionist at a family law firm or doctors office being a schedule. I'd love to be a RN and work in a pediatric office...that would be my dream. If only i could win the lotto so I could afford to go back to school and get my degree in that field.

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you could check into online classes to finish a degree plus grants and loans plus you don't pay any government loans back until 6 months after you finish classes. you don't have to win the lotto to go to college. there are numerous choices that aren't charging what the big universities charge

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I don't want to be a wet blanket, because if you are worn out and ready for a change, I think you should definitely do it.

But having just come OUT of the working world, jobs are very few and far between and low paying. You may not have a lot of choice in what you can do. The days of picking what you get to do are few and far between, and honestly, unless you have some very recent classes or education.....well.... it's very, VERY hard.

My suggestion is to get some training before you start looking for a job. For example, if you think you'd like to work in an office, take some courses on MS Works 2007 (they're even available online). If you want to be a teacher's aide, take some early childhood courses. Etc. It helps a LOT to have some very current training in something. These days it's not a degree that matters as much as how current is your training. :P Even though I have lots of experience, it is very hard to find a job because I have not had a lot of classes in the last few years. So, while I've worked in MS 2007, for instance, and set up spreadsheets for previous jobs in Excel, they want more.....

Just a suggestion, especially if you want to get a position in a certain line of work.

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Thanks everyone for all the ideas and thoughts. BusyMommy made some really important points I have been reminding myself, "not having to drive in the snow, giving myself a raise, working in pajama pants and getting a 2 hour lunch break daily. The best reward is being home..."

Although I can't give myself a raise the rest is VERY rewarding. Being my own boss is very important too. Being able to sit down when I feel ill instead of push on in the work place is a plus too. My son has severe ADHD and no Dad so I would hate to be unable to be home for him when needed. Then we have the whole warm feeling we get when the kids learn things only WE teach them. I have molded a few kids over the yers and it is very rewarding taking pride in my efforts actually making a difference in a childs life. That is what has kept me pushing on and taking so much but as a few have said here, I can't save them all. It's just got me down now.

As for my qualifications I don't have much. No college degrees anyway. I did go to cosmetology college 2 decades ago But I am not into cutting peoples hair anymore.

I have been weighing the pros and cons all day. I'm not really burnt out I still love my job and the kids it's just the sometimes stubborn selfish clients I have to deal with that make me want to quit. I could make $10 per hour back at the factory but I really busted my butt there and worked long hours and was more exhausted at the end of the work day. Money isn't everything so I really would like to stay put but I just can't get enough decent clients in here. Where are they? I have thought it was me. So I have tried everything from bending over backwards and giving more and more to being strict and putting my foot down. There is just such a lack of respect these days I just don't get it. We all have roots so how do people get so far out of whack with common decency? ...rambling...sorry...

I think I will look into the online courses and just try to ready myself while I run the daycare. Thanks for the idea! If God would just bless me with a couple more good clients I would be content. I don't intend to get rich with this job but I would like to get by without having to lose my sanity in the process.

Thank you everyone!

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Read my story in Vent. and Lynn's final straw story. You will see why I finally threw in the towel after 10 years of providing awesome service but getting sh*+ on by 90% of the parents I had taken on...I just got a really good job. It's hard because I didn't get the best shift and I have to sacrifice some time with my kids for awhile, but in the end, I will get the better shift (just do my time) and will be much more sane than doing 12 hours 5 days per week for daycare for people who just want to hurt other people. I will say it definitely didn't help that we're in a low-income area. Perhaps if we'd lived in a better area, these things would not have happened to me. ((((HUGS)))) It's incredibly difficult to make the decision to close, but for yourself and your family's sake, sometimes, it's the best thing to do.

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