Just Wondering

[Liliya]

If we are Licensed (in home) and we have two people here all the time, are we allowed to take a brakes during the nap time? Like leave the house for hour or so? I worked for a center before and they would live me with 14 kids in a room during the nap time, sometimes kids would be up early and I ask for help, but they did not have any body to help,because people were taking lunches.
So, my question is. Would I get in trouble if my licenser comes, kids are sleeping, 8 of them and my assistant out on her brake?
Thanks.

[marniewon]

It would depend on how many you are licensed for. Here in MI, we can be licensed for 6 by ourselves, or 12 with an assistant. The ratio here is 6 kids to 1 adult. Even if I only had one extra child (7 total) and even if they were napping, I would have to have an assistant here at all times that there were more than 6 kids present in my home.

[Crystal]

Yes, what Marniewon said.

Funny thing here in Ca. is, if you are FCC you have to ALWAYS be in ratio. If you are a center, you can hae ONE person supervising 24 napping children without an assistant in the room, but if the children wake up you have to have an available person to come in to cover ratios.

[Preschool/daycare teacher]

Our ratio here is 1:10 for ages birth to 6. But no more than 3 of the 10 can be under 16 months old. That sounds to me like a high ratio compared to some of the others I just read. But I know some states are worse. We are easily allowed a 2:16 ratio (plus 3 school agers during the school year) since it's a class 2 home, but talk about a crazy house with that many kids (birth to 6 yrs) and only 2 adults! The state ratios are messed up, and the people who came up with them must not have ever worked with 10 kids in that wide of an age group inside a home