How Much Time Do You Spend Actively Playing...

[laundrymom]

Well daily paperwork takes all of 3 min a day. I don't order food. I cook in only moments as most prep work is done while I prepare my own families food. I guess I think actively playing is just that,... Playing purposely. Actively focusing my attention in a play like fashion and engaging with them to enhance their time here. I play WITH them not AT them. We play together. Maybe the actively playing was interpreted differently in my mind. I can see how you would think "time spent actively playing " would mean "time spent in active play" they are 2 different things though. I actively play with the kids here roughly 3/4 of their day. Our day is structured with time planned to insure this happens. It is part of my curriculum. Part of our daily schedule and truly how our days are as low stressed as possible. I DO consider singing looking at clouds hiking and the other things you mentioned to be actively playing with the children. Actively engaging them. I'm wondering what your definition is of actively playing?

what other things are there to do,.. Im asking serious questions here, not trying to be a smart butt, but what do I neglect by playing with the children 70% of the time they are here?


i don't see how anyone can spend that much time playing with the kids (70%) even if they didn't have paperwork to prepare, food to order, etc. just doing every day tasks of preparing meals and snacks, cleaning up, going to the potty, changing diapers, nap time, going outside, etc.....i think all of that takes well over 1/2 the time...and normally there would be some time (IMO) spent preparing activities. of course you can do these things and facilitate play - but sitting with the kids playing with them for 1/2 or 3/4 of the day doesn't seem possible. i'm assuming there's no assistant who's doing everything while the provider is playing also.

you mentioned several things before that i don't consider "active play" though. swimming, singing, hiking (or walking), looking at the clouds, etc - i don't consider that active play.

[SilverSabre25]

i can't remember how i came across it, but the other day i was reading something that was saying the less hours you wear a bra, the less likely you are to get breast cancer. i don't know if it's true, but here it is:

Women who wore their bras 24 hours per day had a 3 out of 4 chance of developing breast cancer (in their study, n=2056 for the cancer group and n=2674 for the standard group).

Women who wore bras more than 12 hour per day but not to bed had a 1 out of 7 risk.

Women who wore their bras less than 12 hours per day had a 1 out of 152 risk.

Women who wore bras rarely or never had a 1 out of 168 chance of getting breast cancer. The overall difference between 24 hour wearing and not at all was a 125-fold difference.

Those are really interesting statistics. I would be curious to see if anyone has examined women who wear underwire bras vs. those without underwires. I despise underwires and will NOT buy a bra with them. They are horribly uncomfortable.

[Live and Learn]

If I went braless all day my husband would never leave for work and it would be only dads dropping off and picking up!!

[jen]

I checked several websites, credible ones such as Scientific American and breastcancer.org and there is no correlation between bras (underwire or not) and breastcancer.

All I can say as is, I hope you are stearing clear of the t-shirts.

[kidkair]

I've not wore a bra regularly in about 6 years and stopped wearing them at all together about 2 years ago. I'm comfortable with my body and I haven't noticed any difference in the attention I get from men.

[Live and Learn]

My aunt has never worn a bra. She has this adorable little figure and totally comfy with her body image as am I. She is built completely different than I am and I think that most people would find it unprofessional if I met them at drop off braless. That is what I love about this forum ....we meet all types of people doing things right.... but maybe a little different than what might be right for me.....having said that after dinner is served and eaten the bra is the first thing to go::::!

[QualiTcare]

I checked several websites, credible ones such as Scientific American and breastcancer.org and there is no correlation between bras (underwire or not) and breastcancer.

All I can say as is, I hope you are stearing clear of the t-shirts.

yeah, i didn't research it which is why i said i have no idea if it's true...but i just now read the article (before i just read exactly what i posted) and it's interesting:

http://www.all-natural.com/bras.html

at the end, he says:

"Years ago, many people thought that the idea of cigarettes causing lung cancer was funny. Even if further research with highly controlled studies only shows a difference of 5-fold, or even 2-fold, it will be no laughing matter."

so, even though there's no confirmed proof, there hasn't been a lot of research. it's enough to make you think though - well, me anyway.

i also read between 80-90% of women wear the wrong size bra - that's crazy too!

[kendallina]

How did this become a discussion about bras!?!? LOL...I think I missed something ::

[Former Teacher]

How did this become a discussion about bras!?!? LOL...I think I missed something ::

My bad- I posted a comment about how I take my mine off at work and then everyone went rampant on it ::

No worries though-like someone has as their quote : "here we are all friends!"

[laundrymom]

there is NO WAY I could go without a bra, I would be so sore by the days end,.. and I have to be honest,.. ..... not as perky as when I was younger ,... I might just trip on them!

all kidding aside,.. I am a rather large chested woman,.. I just couldnt go without. like, a 34 dd is too big around,... but I get the muffin 3rd and 4th boobs.

I've not wore a bra regularly in about 6 years and stopped wearing them at all together about 2 years ago. I'm comfortable with my body and I haven't noticed any difference in the attention I get from men.

[kendallina]

My bad- I posted a comment about how I take my mine off at work and then everyone went rampant on it ::

No worries though-like someone has as their quote : "here we are all friends!"

Well, I speak up about it then....no way could I go without a bra!! LOL! ba-ba-da, ba-ba-da (maybe it's only my DH and I that use that sound effect for bouncy boobies). Someone would get a black eye!!

[SilverSabre25]

well, underwires are still freakishly uncomfortable!

And I wear whatever shirts I want...never noticed a difference. ::shrug::

[laundrymom]

I so so agree,.. but Ive not had one without since,... gosh,.. I was 11 and wore a 28 d. I went straight from underroos to underwire. as far as shirts, I wear a t shirt under a scrub shirt if its cold, if its warm I wear a tank under it to cover my cleavage.

well, underwires are still freakishly uncomfortable!

And I wear whatever shirts I want...never noticed a difference. ::shrug::

[nannyde]

what other things are there to do,.. Im asking serious questions here, not trying to be a smart butt, but what do I neglect by playing with the children 70% of the time they are here?

The same things their parents do on the evening and weekends when they have them.

Running the household, doing their paperwork, folding laundry, doing dishes, prepping food, calling for services for the home, cleaning, etc.

The children in the home create WORK. The more kids you have the more space you maintain the more equipment you have the more paperwork you have.

I do four loads of dishes a day when the kids are in the house. I do one load every three days when I'm on vacation. I do three loads of laundry a day when the kids are in the house. I do one load every three days when the kids are not in the house.

My son and I live in about 400 square feet in our home. The other 2100 square foot is for the day care That space has to be maintained.

We have two play rooms and two sleeping rooms. There are toys from infant to age five. Those toys have to be cleaned, sorted, and CHECKED METICULOUSLY for safety. That takes TIME.

My day is twelve hours so I make sure that ALL of the work for the kids that I can humanly do when they are awake and up playing is done while they are awake and playing. When they are napping and when they are not in the house I try VERY hard not to work for the day care (other than checking them during sleep). I am able to do that with everything but the accessing of the foods I use for the organic service I offer and my Staff Assistant heavy cleans the house about three hours every week when the kids are napping.

Other than that we get EVERYTHING done while the kids are up so when they are down for a nap or gone we don't have to work. 17 years of that system is the number one key to my success and longevity.

So whatever has to be done to maintain the business and maintain the home (including my personal laundry and dishes) are done while the kids are up and playing. This keeps my work day at a nine hour day plus nap supervision. That's built into my service fee. That's what the parents pay for. If I have to work during times they are not here and times they are sleeping I have to increase rates to cover that. Being able to have kids play and entertain themselves keeps the fees at their current rate. If parents want more adult entertaining and playing then that time would directly cause me to work longer hours. Longer hours means more money..... as in every business.

[laundrymom]

I guess maybe I don't do as much paperwork as others? I do a checkmark in a box on a page in a binder. Takes 1/3 of a second per child per day. Once a week I do deposit. Usually sat morning takes all of 5 min to record payments and get the deposit done. We drop it off on the way to breakfast. Yes we eat out every sat morning. I do one load of daycare laundry a week. I do NOT do laundry when the kids are here unless it's a non school day and then my own kids do theirs That is part of their chores. I don't "call for services for the home" I truly don't know what this is. What calls take so much of your time on a routine basis to need planning for? I think in 21 years of providing care I have had to call someone I to my home 3 times ? So that's not something I need to plan for and in those times I may have spent 7-8 minutes on the phone. Dishes are loaded into th dishwasher as they are used. So there is no need to plan for this. I guess maybe I am just better at time management than some? I do have more experience and time in this profession than most providers. It will be 22 years in march. 22 years of providing child care to a group of 10 under school age plus 3 school age every day every year. I've learned tricks and routines that work for me. I do not have a seperate area for dc. We spend our days in my home. I do the "chores" nanny mentioned AS we are playing. I check toys 'meticulously' as I am PLAYING with them. It's not rocket science,... If a toy is damaged or broken it is tossed. I work a 14 hour day, Monday - Friday. I completely understand not wanting to do business related things on the weekend but I refuse to take time away from the children during the day to do them. I am a licensed provider, ( and while i get the vibe from some on this forum that that is a bad thing, as if I'm not as good because I choose to abide by a set of guidelines made by my state Not only that but I have takens extra steps to get educated in the areas involved with my career path. )I am working towards my bachelors degree in ece. I am working towards national accreditation. I feel like this makes me an outcast sometimes with some providers. The activities you describe doing during business hours are not things I do nor am I going to do during working hours. I have different guidelines for myself as to the activities I engage in during business hours. Nannyde you push your nursing background, your organic foods etc. You say it is your niche. Well mine is hands on care. Active interaction within a group setting with a continuous care provider. That is what allows me to charge the rates I do. It is the reason that my pediatrician recommends me to her patients. The reason she brought her children to me. It is why I have a waiting list when others are closing their doors. We have had the scariest past 2 years economy wise since the great depression in my community. Over a 17.5% unemployment rate. Not to toot my own horn but ~ beep beep. I think here my niche is what people are looking for.

The same things their parents do on the evening and weekends when they have them.

Running the household, doing their paperwork, folding laundry, doing dishes, prepping food, calling for services for the home, cleaning, etc.

The children in the home create WORK. The more kids you have the more space you maintain the more equipment you have the more paperwork you have.

I do four loads of dishes a day when the kids are in the house. I do one load every three days when I'm on vacation. I do three loads of laundry a day when the kids are in the house. I do one load every three days when the kids are not in the house.

My son and I live in about 400 square feet in our home. The other 2100 square foot is for the day care That space has to be maintained.

We have two play rooms and two sleeping rooms. There are toys from infant to age five. Those toys have to be cleaned, sorted, and CHECKED METICULOUSLY for safety. That takes TIME.

My day is twelve hours so I make sure that ALL of the work for the kids that I can humanly do when they are awake and up playing is done while they are awake and playing. When they are napping and when they are not in the house I try VERY hard not to work for the day care (other than checking them during sleep). I am able to do that with everything but the accessing of the foods I use for the organic service I offer and my Staff Assistant heavy cleans the house about three hours every week when the kids are napping.

Other than that we get EVERYTHING done while the kids are up so when they are down for a nap or gone we don't have to work. 17 years of that system is the number one key to my success and longevity.

So whatever has to be done to maintain the business and maintain the home (including my personal laundry and dishes) are done while the kids are up and playing. This keeps my work day at a nine hour day plus nap supervision. That's built into my service fee. That's what the parents pay for. If I have to work during times they are not here and times they are sleeping I have to increase rates to cover that. Being able to have kids play and entertain themselves keeps the fees at their current rate. If parents want more adult entertaining and playing then that time would directly cause me to work longer hours. Longer hours means more money..... as in every business.