I know a woman who provides home daycare. I would often see her sitting on her porch relaxing. To my surprise, she was not enjoying a day off but a short respite from the children in her care. Screaming and an incident of a toddler biting a baby would be what jolted her back into her work day. She would feed them the same meal daily with a watered down drink. The watered down drink was not to limit sugar consumption but to stretch her own budget. She once told me of a day care provider that gave the kids only water. She envied that since it would save so much money. I bet the other daycare provider passed if off as healthy if she ever had to account for it to parents. Thankfully, the woman I know has since quit childcare.
Now, before you judge her too harshly, this is the result of caring for children solely for the money. The children become objects and noise boxes that get in the way of watching TV or enjoying iced tea on a sunny afternoon. The parents become a nuisance because they are expecting a quality of care you are too frustrated to offer. It happens. I have seen it happen to women who never dreamed they could lose sight of the importance of their job. Now, I am not talking about extreme cases of abuse and even quite as extreme as the woman I once knew. But, sadly being a caregiver to children is a job that requires your all everyday and many fall short.
Are you wondering if you can be a home child care provider? Answer these questions to find out:
- Do you enjoy the company of children? Enjoy it enough to read stories, color, do crafts, wipe tears, wipe other areas, be on your best at all times?
- Do you think you can handle an influx of 3 to 5 children ages 6 weeks to 4 years along with your own preschooler?
- Are you capable of holding your ground as a parent tries to drop off a sick child?
- Are you ready for checks to bounce, parents to forget to pay you, or parents who complain about your rate of pay?
- Do you have a home that is kid friendly…meaning if something breaks it won’t break your heart?
- Do you have animals and are ready to keep Fido locked up all day?
- Are you okay with staying home all day long, every day?
- Do you feel potty training is something you can at least tolerate?
- Does crying stress you out?
- Are you ready to live around the parents’ vacation schedule?
- Can you develop a contract that gives you the proper days off and holidays paid?
- Are you okay being alone with children roughly 40 to 45 hours a week without wanted to pull out your hair?
Yes, you need to consider all of these things before one or more hit you like a mac truck and you end up serving watered down lemonade while you long for five minutes of peace. Daycare is not always an easy profession. I did it for nine years. In that time I have learned that I didn’t like not getting paid on time or receiving checks that bounce. I did not like parents being inconsiderate of my time and some treating me like I worked for them when in fact I worked for myself. Thankfully, I had more good experiences than bad. However, it is not a stay at home job intended for a person who has any reservations or who is easily frustrated.