Your "Age Group"

[Tdhmom]

- the age where they haven't learned to talk back yet.

2's are my fav!!!! This reason and they learn SOOOO much!!!

[craftymissbeth]

2's and 3's. I only have infants and toddlers usually, but I would love only older toddlers/young preschoolers. I dream of the day we can just play in the backyard all day exploring rather than staying inside because of naps and bottles.

[blandino]

I enjoy caring for infants, IF that is all I have. I don't manage balancing infants and activities for the older children.

Ideally, I like 1-2 year olds. 18 months is by far my favorite age.

[spud912]

I love 3-5's! I especially love the 4's....they are my FAVORITE!!

[SilverSabre25]

I LOVE 2. I enjoy babies too. 1-2, not so much. But love, love, love 2.

[cheerfuldom]

I don't coddle the babies. I hold them while feeding and after changing and pick them up and play with them at times throughout the day but I don't sit and hold them all day. I think they need to lay and watch and listen and kick and explore their hands etc.

Oh I agree with you. i just find that most infants these days are not raised with that philosophy and it makes for a long hard day for the daycare providers. I will rarely take an infant but only if I know their parents and I are on the same page. I am so sick of first time parents that smother their kids, never put them down, overload them with activities, classes and toys. ugh.

[e.j.]

I have a tough time picking any one age group. Right now, I have some really wonderful kids that make me love each of the age groups they're in! In general, though, I guess I'd have to say 3-4 year olds are my favorite. I love doing arts and craft projects with them and since they're older, they can do them on their own with little help. At that age, most are used to having to pick up their toys and it's not as much of a struggle to get them to do it. They can feed themselves without making too much of a mess and most are potty trained by then!

[Maria2013]

- the age where they haven't learned to talk back yet.

::

[blandino]

I love 3-5's! I especially love the 4's....they are my FAVORITE!!

Come work for me ! . Right now I have 4, 3.5 (almost 4) year olds - and I am counting down the months until they go to school. Which is in exactly 7 months !! I love them, but the age is ROUGH for me.

[Bookworm]

I've worked with every age group, but the 4's are my favorite. They are so funny.

[TwinKristi]

I prefer under 3 as well. 3yr olds are just full of sass and sneakies! Younger siblings to 3-4yr olds tend to pick up on those behaviors earlier as well! Blah!!

[daycarediva]

I prefer parents over 30. The 20-something feel they know more about childcare than I do, . I want to say, "Pleeez...., I have kids older than you!" (giggle, snicker, snort)

Haha that's what I thought she meant, too. I like your answer.

2-5. I like 2 because of 1 nap, increased independence, developing verbal skills and personality. I love getting to know a kid that is learning to talk.

I like 3 because they're challenging, and starting to understand their place in the world. Parallel play ends and they make those first friendships, social skill practice is amusing to me. I could watch them play pretend all day. I find that if I give them set rules, consequences and limits on behavior they are pretty good for me. I have a tough group now, half of them I didn't 'raise'/have here from under 3 so they have NO social skills. The kids I have had longer term are amazing.

I like 4. Probably because I typically have good 4s. Nappers, eaters, good examples for youngers. They are HYSTERICAL. My 4yo dcg is all about jokes, always saves me her popsicle stick jokes. She also is picking up sarcasm (admittedly from dcm) when something bad happens she says "Great" or "awesome" and the 3's will argue with her that "NO IT IS NOT AWESOME WE CAN'T GO OUTSIDE BECAUSE IT'S COLD!" and says things like "Goodness gracious." when someone starts throwing a temper tantrum, I can look at her and wink and she knows I agree but won't say it. They are also SPONGES and you can get much deeper into topics and things with them. Dcg is working on reading, sounding out words, etc and it's fun to find clever ways to teach her. She is writing, draws pictures that look like things, has a long attention span, is VERY creative and helpful, I LOVE her. So was my own ds at that age last year.

Sa and under a year? Oh my goodness no.

[Bookworm]

Haha that's what I thought she meant, too. I like your answer.

2-5. I like 2 because of 1 nap, increased independence, developing verbal skills and personality. I love getting to know a kid that is learning to talk.

I like 3 because they're challenging, and starting to understand their place in the world. Parallel play ends and they make those first friendships, social skill practice is amusing to me. I could watch them play pretend all day. I find that if I give them set rules, consequences and limits on behavior they are pretty good for me. I have a tough group now, half of them I didn't 'raise'/have here from under 3 so they have NO social skills. The kids I have had longer term are amazing.

I like 4. Probably because I typically have good 4s. Nappers, eaters, good examples for youngers. They are HYSTERICAL. My 4yo dcg is all about jokes, always saves me her popsicle stick jokes. She also is picking up sarcasm (admittedly from dcm) when something bad happens she says "Great" or "awesome" and the 3's will argue with her that "NO IT IS NOT AWESOME WE CAN'T GO OUTSIDE BECAUSE IT'S COLD!" and says things like "Goodness gracious." when someone starts throwing a temper tantrum, I can look at her and wink and she knows I agree but won't say it. They are also SPONGES and you can get much deeper into topics and things with them. Dcg is working on reading, sounding out words, etc and it's fun to find clever ways to teach her. She is writing, draws pictures that look like things, has a long attention span, is VERY creative and helpful, I LOVE her. So was my own ds at that age last year.

Sa and under a year? Oh my goodness no.

I have 6 4yro girls just like this. One of best quotes I've ever heard came from one of these girls. Backstory: We were playing balloon tennis and the rule is if you keep tossing up your balloon, I will pop it. Well you can guess what happened next. After popping 1 balloon for not following the rules, DCG said, "I don't know why you're crying 'cause she told you what she was gonna do".

[Patches]

Infants. The younger the better. I love my babies. 1 year olds are my second favorite.

[Sunshine74]

Haha that's what I thought she meant, too. I like your answer.

2-5. I like 2 because of 1 nap, increased independence, developing verbal skills and personality. I love getting to know a kid that is learning to talk.

I like 3 because they're challenging, and starting to understand their place in the world. Parallel play ends and they make those first friendships, social skill practice is amusing to me. I could watch them play pretend all day. I find that if I give them set rules, consequences and limits on behavior they are pretty good for me. I have a tough group now, half of them I didn't 'raise'/have here from under 3 so they have NO social skills. The kids I have had longer term are amazing.

I like 4. Probably because I typically have good 4s. Nappers, eaters, good examples for youngers. They are HYSTERICAL. My 4yo dcg is all about jokes, always saves me her popsicle stick jokes. She also is picking up sarcasm (admittedly from dcm) when something bad happens she says "Great" or "awesome" and the 3's will argue with her that "NO IT IS NOT AWESOME WE CAN'T GO OUTSIDE BECAUSE IT'S COLD!" and says things like "Goodness gracious." when someone starts throwing a temper tantrum, I can look at her and wink and she knows I agree but won't say it. They are also SPONGES and you can get much deeper into topics and things with them. Dcg is working on reading, sounding out words, etc and it's fun to find clever ways to teach her. She is writing, draws pictures that look like things, has a long attention span, is VERY creative and helpful, I LOVE her. So was my own ds at that age last year.

Sa and under a year? Oh my goodness no.

That's about where I am too. I would say that my favorite age group starts at about 2 1/2. That is when their personalities and imaginations really take off.

I think my least favorite is about 18months- 2 or 2 1/2. I worked with that group for a few years in the mornings, and moving to preschool in the afternoons. I was so ready for a change by the afternoon, I don't think I would have been able to do a full day in that room.