Adult Children And Past DC Memories

[Josiegirl]

Those of you who have been in this biz for years and years and omg years....
and had kids of your own at the time... What kinds of memories do your own kids have about dc in your home? Are they good ones? Bad? No time for them? Hard sharing their space, mom, toys, etc.?
Just curious.
I remember wanting to have a dc because it would give me more time with my own kids. HAH! Sometimes they detested having other kids here but then they also developed some lasting relationships. I remember my ds being about 3 and just sitting on the couch, screaming his head off, because there were other kids here playing. I vowed to quit and begged my dh to let me. It happened a couple other times throughout my kids' younger years. Somehow we trudged through the difficult times and made it through.
Recently my 20 yo dd told me how she used to get one of the other dcks in trouble, she and another little girl used to gang up on a dcb(same age as them) and make him out to be the bad guy so he'd be separated. Wow, what little devils they were!

[daycarediva]

My own dd loves daycare. I didn't start until she was SA, but she has been my unofficial (and now official) helper on breaks/summer for years. The littles all adore her.

My FIRST dck was a SA girl her same age, they were 6-7 at the time, and even though we moved 45 minutes away since then, they are STILL best friends and this little girl is at my house for the weekend once/month. She is a part of our family. Those relationships make up for the bad times, for sure.

She is also at the age where we reminisce about the good/bad times. "Remember that kid David that screamed if you put anything green on his plate?" "Remember when Raegan overflowed the toilet?" "Remember how Julianna said Santa was like the mailman?" that kind of thing. ::

[LK5kids]

My own loved it. I didn't get into it till they were in grade school....well one year when they were 3 & 4 yrs. I took care of two girls their age, so it was just liKe having friends over.

We put a large addition on when they were 1st & 2nd gr. one of my girls loved it & would come into the daycare & visit the kids & the other really didn't care either way.

Since they really didn't share space or toys that wasn't an issue. During the summer they could hang with the kids til they were tired of them and then go into the living room.

Now I went back into FCC partly to care for my granddaughter. She is two and is having huge issues with being here. She is by far my hardest and isn't coping well. She did great at her past FCC.

I guess it skipped a generation. ::::::

[Familycare71]

My own kids aren't adults - 17,15 and 10... I nannied until my second came and then started the daycare. It is all my kids knew- I was a single mom for a time and it really was the only way I got to raise them myself.
They all have good memories. Never were they angry about other kids being in our home. We reminisce about the past daycare kids and some of their quirks or about the ones that stole our heart... It has been a really positive experience for my family. And my two teen boys are so amazing with littles that I am grateful I did it- they learned nurture, discipline, and play. My littles still get so excited when my boys are home!
There were def times I wish I was a typical sahm but when I really look at it this was the best of both worlds for us

[Familycare71]

I was also careful my own always had their own belongings they didn't have to share and their own space

[Meeko]

My kids enjoyed having Mom home. They didn't mind sharing me at all. By the time my daughters hit high school, I had my daycare in another separate home, but their younger years were IN the daycare. My son went from toddler in my daycare to my assistant now!

I made sure that my kids had their own private bedrooms. No daycare kids allowed near those rooms or the toys in them. Daycare toys were completely separate from my kids personal toys. My kids could play with the daycare toys.

And yes....sometimes my kids had "special" that the daycare kids didn't get. I decided from the start that my kids would always know that they were most important to me. For example, my kids could go to the freezer and get a popsicle. They couldn't eat it in front of the daycare kids, but they could go in another room. Sometimes daycare kids got one too...sometimes they didn't.

If a daycare kid ever complained about anything, I would explain that in THEIR house, they had special time and things with their parents. My kids had special time and things in OUR home.

I believe it's very important not to make our own kids feel they are in the background.

My kids have always felt this was THEIR house and we just invited other kids in for a while.

I was fortunate enough to have the room available to do as I pleased. I don't think I would have chosen daycare as a career if my own children had been made to give up their bedrooms, toys etc.