Going from Self-Employed to a Center?

[MotherNature]

Has anyone done this? (Well, I know people have, but..) I'm considering this. Tired of worrying about liability in my apartment & my stuff taking wear & tear. I'm thinking if I can find a daycare where I can bring my 3 yr old, that'd be great. We're considering preschool, so he may not be there FT. What kind of situations can I be aware of? Pros & Cons from center workers? Especially if you ran your own in-home & decided to work for someone else. I'd hope I could find a boss that would be awesome, but I've heard some of your stories about how directors don't listen to you. I only have 2 families right now, & one is possibly leaving for 9 mos after she gives birth. I, myself, am due in September. We need the money, so I'm thinking a daycare center would give me a steady paycheck, but I do like my families.. Need some advice/ideas. Thanks!

[jenboo]

I went the other direction..i worked in centers and then opened my home daycare (no kids of my own yet). I absolutely hated working in centers. i worked at a ymca, child time and goddard. I hated not having control over anything. I had so many other things i was forced to do (the way i had to display things on the wall, labeling the childrens items everyday, etc) that I barely had any time that was actually spent with the children. Also, classes were always being combined in order to send teachers home early which was frustrating. I never had time to do curriculum so i always ended up doing it on my time at home..And the worst part, one time i worked for someone who had never been in childcare before (like never worked in a classroom or anything) trying to tell me i was not allowed to get stressed because 12 2 yr olds by myself in a classroom where i wasn't allowed to have consequences for actions is totally easy
I could go on for days haha. as you can tell, i have not had good experiences.

Now, if you can find a smaller center that is individually owned with an owner/directer that has actually worked in childcare, then that could turn out to be really great!

[Annalee]

I went the other direction..i worked in centers and then opened my home daycare (no kids of my own yet). I absolutely hated working in centers. i worked at a ymca, child time and goddard. I hated not having control over anything. I had so many other things i was forced to do (the way i had to display things on the wall, labeling the childrens items everyday, etc) that I barely had any time that was actually spent with the children. Also, classes were always being combined in order to send teachers home early which was frustrating. I never had time to do curriculum so i always ended up doing it on my time at home..And the worst part, one time i worked for someone who had never been in childcare before (like never worked in a classroom or anything) trying to tell me i was not allowed to get stressed because 12 2 yr olds by myself in a classroom where i wasn't allowed to have consequences for actions is totally easy
I could go on for days haha. as you can tell, i have not had good experiences.

Now, if you can find a smaller center that is individually owned with an owner/directer that has actually worked in childcare, then that could turn out to be really great!

I also started in a center....three longggg years!!!!! The director always wanted certain things done, but never supplied what was needed, barely supplied enough food...this was in the late 80's/early 90's before all the QRIS came into play....One day, I had just went my limit and have been in my home ever since...Ironically, this daycare was written up all the time, but closed before the state implemented stricter guidelines along with the QRIS expectations. I know there are many GOOD daycares but that experience was sooooo bad, I am a firm believe in Home child care! I like being responsible for my own actions, being in control of my own business, implementing learning materials/ideas as I see fit without answering to someone that has NO clue or care about the children. Just my personal opinion based on my circumstances.