Only One 4 yr Old....

[providerandmomof4]

I think I do better with smaller kids. I love babies and toddlers... and I'm finding that at about 4yrs dck's really start to annoy me. Is this horrible? Maybe it's because I only have one 4yr old dcb right now and the rest babies and under 3. I've only had him in care about 3 weeks now but he's starting to show some behaviors... very picky eater, being mean to the little one's, and saying things like, "When are you going to do something fun?" Ugh! And when I say, "well, we'll be following our normal schedule today," I get the moans and groans...and always tears at rest time- even though he falls asleep in 10mins everyday. He only comes in the afternoons after pre-k, but I get the feeling that dcp are telling him that we are going to be having this ridiculously fun day, when in actuality, it's just a normal day! Idk...I don't want to start focusing on his negative behaviors but I find myself doing just that. Maybe I should have more activities for him... He's really smart, but we have the majority of our activities in the morn, so he misses this,(I explained this to dcp's upon enrollment) and I pretty much have my hands full with the little one's so can't really devote any special time to him. Idk.. maybe this should'nt even be bothering me? Wdyt?

[rhymia1]

I think I do better with smaller kids. I love babies and toddlers... and I'm finding that at about 4yrs dck's really start to annoy me. Is this horrible? Maybe it's because I only have one 4yr old dcb right now and the rest babies and under 3. I've only had him in care about 3 weeks now but he's starting to show some behaviors... very picky eater, being mean to the little one's, and saying things like, "When are you going to do something fun?" Ugh! And when I say, "well, we'll be following our normal schedule today," I get the moans and groans...and always tears at rest time- even though he falls asleep in 10mins everyday. He only comes in the afternoons after pre-k, but I get the feeling that dcp are telling him that we are going to be having this ridiculously fun day, when in actuality, it's just a normal day! Idk...I don't want to start focusing on his negative behaviors but I find myself doing just that. Maybe I should have more activities for him... He's really smart, but we have the majority of our activities in the morn, so he misses this,(I explained this to dcp's upon enrollment) and I pretty much have my hands full with the little one's so can't really devote any special time to him. Idk.. maybe this should'nt even be bothering me? Wdyt?

I find 4's and 5's to be a tough age, especially if they don't have a playmate at dc. When I first started out, I took on a 4 yo boy and, looking back, I can see that I did not have enough for him to do. I was just starting out and did not have nearly the toys and things I do now. In that case, it was my "fault" and I should have told the parents that my program was geared toward younger children. Now, I have toys for all ages and stages and am way more experienced with that age group I find them to be really fun. I would try to make sure you do have some things that are just for him, and ask him what are some things he likes to do. After that I would start cracking down on the rude comments. Good luck!