Not Sure What To Do...

[sarah33]

I opened up my licensed daycare a year ago, and my every day baby was 3 months old. She is now 15 months old, and they are moving away. I spent 35 hours a week with her, and it is really breaking my heart.

I run an hourly/part-time daycare between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.; daycare is very expensive here. I charge $12 an hour for kids still potty training/diapers and $10 an hour for potty trained kids. I am open from 10:30-5:30 M-F, but I am planning to open a pre-k program T,W,T from 8-3:30 starting next fall.

Here is my problem: she was my primary source of income since the rest of the kids are on an as-needed basis. I had 27 requests for infants back in January, but now there is nothing. I would really like to have just care on T,W,T so I can focus on my own kids, family and home. I feel like I am trapped here sometimes.

Do I just take whomever for a few months or til next fall? Should I take another infant or go for more of a toddler? I just don't know if I could get so attached to another infant.

My daughter is almost 4, and she is really close to her as well. I am afraid that having another baby would be upsetting and confusing to her. My only other "regular" kids are 3 and 5 (the 5-year-old starts kindergarten in the fall).

Any help/advice/experience would be great!

[Blackcat31]

It's hard when you spend so much time with a child and they leave.

Buuuut, as cold as this sounds, it is part of the job. You HAVE to go in knowing they WILL leave at some point. Even if you stay close to the family in general, they will still outgrow needing care.

I would maybe take a break from taking infants if you get that attached to them. Jump back in when you are feeling less emotional about it.

I would also advertise that you will have an infant opening...they are hard to come by here so most providers can fill a space easily when it comes to infants if someone leaves.

It is also a learning process for your own children to learn to love another child and then have that child leave. At least as an adult you can understand but your DD probably doesn't.

I would move forward slowly and advertise to fill the space so you can replace the income. I would take a deep breath and really go over whether or not you want to care for infants or not if detaching from them is so difficult.

I am sorry you are feeling so sad. I wish I could help but personally, I don't allow myself to get that close to a child. NOT because I don't care but more as a self-protection method..kwim?

You have to always keep in the front of your mind that they all WILL leave at some point.

Hoping you find some peace soon. :hug:

[UnregisteredMe]

slightly different perspective

While I agree with much of what BlackCat said, I have also found that the great majority of my former families keep in touch with me on some level. If it's a family that you would like to keep in touch with, you could tell them that.
You wouldn't know them on a daily basis like you do now, and it sounds like you'll be sad about that (and your daughter too) for a bit. That is part of life, and a good learning experience for all, even though it's not always easy.
Best wishes.