Pros and Cons For Caregivers Children

[Cwillis]

Looking into starting a home daycare. Just wondering some
Of your pros and cons in regards to your own children. I will have two under two when I start.

[LindseyA]

My number one pro (I have two kids, my first was 1yr when I opened my daycare, now they are 9 and 6) is that I can stay home with my kids and watch them grow every single day, not miss any milestones, etc. I can make my own hours, take any vacation & holiday days I want, and when the kids are sick I can stay home with them without taking a "sick day". My house stays picked up, I can throw a load of laundry in during naptime everyday, etc. Which makes me & my husband happy, so in turn, good for the kids! I am able to make a nice dinner everyday. Obviously great for your kids as well! Your children will probably make their first best friends with the daycare kids, which is always super cute. In my opinion, the cons are that it might be tough for your littles to adjust at first. It is stressful for them until they figure out their routine and what to expect everyday. (my kids' bedrooms are off limits to dcks, so they have their own space to come home to, and just get away if they need) Another one would be that sometimes your littles may crave more attention from you, since they will have to share their mommy everyday. Every night, I would just spend a little special time with each of my kids, reading a book to them or just talking and laughing about different things while snuggling. That helps diminish those feelings. I'm sure I will think of more, but you have enough here to ponder!

[originalkat]

Pros:Overall, it has been a good experience for my own children. I started when mine were 3 and 1 yrs old. Now they are 10 and 8 yrs. They had playmates when they were little and have also learned some really great business skills and can organize and entertain/teach a group of young children like nobody's business. My 10 yr old could run the entire day if she was old enough. When they are around groups of children or one on one they are very good at relating to them and guiding their behavior. They have both learned a ton of skills from being exposed to home daycare.

Cons: They get tired of having to turn the TV from their favorite show or move their craft projects because the DC kids are there. The biggest con is sharing mom. They have learned that just because I am home does not mean that I am available... I am working/busy a lot of the time. But still, I am home and that means a lot.

[laundrymom]

Mine are 23,21,17&13 and I started before having them. Each of them have said it wasn't always easy but worth it.

[Blackcat31]

Looking into starting a home daycare. Just wondering some
Of your pros and cons in regards to your own children. I will have two under two when I start.

Here are several other threads about daycare and the provider's own children

https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=provider+children

[childcaremom]

I have split doing daycare over a few years.

I operated for 2 years while my oldest was 3 until he was 5 and in school. My older son really benefitted from being home with me and I liked being home for him and spending time with him. He struggled a bit with sharing me but he was an only child for a long time so enjoyed having friends to play with. I actually look back on those years with great fondness. It was a very special time for us. I closed when my second ds was born.

I had a few more kids, finished school, moved and reopened. I considered doing daycare again but one of my dd was a preemie and health-wise wasn't even an option.

When I reopened, all of my kids were in school by this point and it is much easier for me. I think they like knowing that I am home. I can see them off to school in the morning and am here for my one who comes home after school. I like knowing that if my kids are sick, I am home anyways. I have time to pack great lunches for them. I have time during rest to bake afterschool snacks.

My crew understand that I am working, that they need to wait, although as a family with 4 kids they pretty much have that down pat, and they have taken on more responsibilities around the house, as well. I am still here to monitor their goings on (which I think is more important as they get older!). They don't complain at all. Well occasionally. Maybe twice over the past 4 months. But that's from the teens and they complain about everything I think (hope!) if you ask them when they are older, they will appreciate that I was home. Working but available.

Cons would be that rest time can be a pita in the summer. I am hopeful that my youngest two will have an easier time with it this year as they are a bit older and aren't here through the school year (they go to an afterschool program) so summer time will be "new". They can't leave their toys laying around or I take them (a terrible rule, I know). They can't sit and use the table for their activities whenever they want. Etc. Very similar to what others have said. Another con would not being able to have friends over during daycare hours. That will really stink this summer.

Overall, though, the positive outweighs the negative