Are a Bunch of People Quitting DC?

[mommyneedsadayoff]

I think this is the number one reason most providers quit.

Their "idea" of what being a child care provider is looks nothing like what actually being a child care provider is.

The caring, nurturing and empathetic provider that wants to work with kids and make a difference finds out really fast that those very traits that led to this career will be the very same things that run you out of business.

I feel bad when that happens. :hug:

You know what is funny (ironic)? I was a nanny before I was a daycare provider. As a nanny, I got paid far more and parents treated me with respect and almost deferred to me when it came to their child. I was a part of the family and given gifts, paid leave, allowed to leave early, ect. As a daycare provider, I get paid about a quarter of the salary, and the parents think they are my boss, give me a hard time on everything, have no respect for me or my experience, and pay late or try to anyway.

I feel like childcare is going the way of nannies and free/subsidized daycare or preschool. People with money will get a nanny for more personalized care and those with less money (or who just don't care) will use govt daycare/preschool. I hate to be so pessimistic, but things have a changed a LOT in my 17 years of childcare experience. And not for the better in many cases

[hsdcmama]

You know what is funny (ironic)? I was a nanny before I was a daycare provider. As a nanny, I got paid far more and parents treated me with respect and almost deferred to me when it came to their child. I was a part of the family and given gifts, paid leave, allowed to leave early, ect. As a daycare provider, I get paid about a quarter of the salary, and the parents think they are my boss, give me a hard time on everything, have no respect for me or my experience, and pay late or try to anyway.

I feel like childcare is going the way of nannies and free/subsidized daycare or preschool. People with money will get a nanny for more personalized care and those with less money (or who just don't care) will use govt daycare/preschool. I hate to be so pessimistic, but things have a changed a LOT in my 17 years of childcare experience. And not for the better in many cases

You are absolutely right. It's really sad, but what is absolutely heartbreaking is that so many parents honestly don't seem to care. I grew up in daycare, both homes and centers, and I hated the centers because they were so impersonal. Many days I felt like I was left to my own devices, and the workers were rarely available when I needed help or had a question.

[MotherNature]

I agree with so much in this thread. I haven't done it in about 2 yrs. My son has sensory issues, and it was going to become a liability if he got more aggressive. My pregnancy was the perfect time to stop, as one family had a new baby & was staying home for 9 months!! and the other family was teacher parents using relatives for the summer. I was a statistic- 2 yrs. Had a few families, and really only liked a couple of them. Most wanted nanny care w/ organic food for pennies. Parents just way too helicoptery & demanding. I'd work in a center, but I don't want the headache of running my own again.

[midaycare]

I couldn't do this if I was the bread winner. This is a great second job for our family, for vacations, paying off the house early, fun stuff, etc. But it doesn't pay the bills. Not the way it's structured in MI, anyway.

For right now, it's a good fit. I may wake up one day and change my mind. I did wake up one day with the idea to do daycare, so who knows!

[auntymimi]

I couldn't do this if I was the bread winner. This is a great second job for our family, for vacations, paying off the house early, fun stuff, etc. But it doesn't pay the bills. Not the way it's structured in MI, anyway.

For right now, it's a good fit. I may wake up one day and change my mind. I did wake up one day with the idea to do daycare, so who knows!

I feel the same way. I don't think I could afford to do this for work if this was our primary source of income. I do this basically to help with hubs student loans and buy groceries and be home with my own children. There just isn't the money in my area to make a "good" income in childcare.

[DaveA]

I couldn't do this if I was the bread winner. This is a great second job for our family, for vacations, paying off the house early, fun stuff, etc. But it doesn't pay the bills. Not the way it's structured in MI, anyway.

For right now, it's a good fit. I may wake up one day and change my mind.

I feel the same way. I don't think I could afford to do this for work if this was our primary source of income. .

This is pretty much the same way I think. When I transitioned from centers to home daycare it made financial sense to do so. Once the kids are older and my other business makes more $, my days of childcare are over. It's not so much that I like/ dislike this part of the business or that part. There just comes a point where you have to say to yourself "it's time to move on". I haven't gotten there yet. But I can see it coming somewhere down the line.

[Ariana]

This thread kind of makes me sad. It seems like everything is pushing good providers out. I for one am really excited to give up home care when my daughter goes to school in 2017. I am counting down the days. I have only been doing this part-time for 5 years and that is more than enough for me. I'm an ECE so I will likely return to a centre but I am not too sure if I can even do that. I am also not doing this for the money but more for the socialization of my daughter. Turns out the majority of kids I am getting are delayed in some form or another. I have had to let so many kids go because their behaviors were erratic and aggressive or they were delayed and their parents are in denial.

I may not last the rest of the year

[Play Care]

I actually make a good living doing day care, and we do count on my salary, as it is significant.

But things aligned just so for us - when I started out, I had really good kids from good families. I've said before that if I started out with the issues some providers had, DH would have put his foot down and had me stop DC. As my kids have grown I've always been as full as I want to be. DH has an excellent job with excellent health insurance (props to those whose spouse is also self employed because that is a huge expense!) we have saved a fortune in day care costs for our own kids - even now while they are 9 and 10 - older but still too young to be home alone all day. The multiple days off from school as well as vacations, breaks, etc which cause stress for working parents don't stress us at all. We've always kind of added up what we are saving to my salary (unofficially)
I do have two spots coming up to fill and I'm a little worried about that. But I am so fortunate and blessed to have been able to do this for as long as I've had. I don't know if I'll renew after this last go round. But we'll see.

[DanceMom]

Yep - im closing my doors soon. The parents (and all the BS we deal with the state on) are pushing me to my limit. When I started my daycare 10 yrs ago it was perfect - I was the boss, this was MY business, MY rules, MY ideas etc and the parents WERE great - I'm not sure if it's the new generation of parents I'm getting now but they are all driving me crazy to the point I am getting out of daycare. I keep trying to say the kids are great so I deal with it , I love my dc kids so much but it has come to the point my happiness and sanity isn't worth sacrificing anymore.

[Josiegirl]

When I started this gig a million years ago, I was so naive and inexperienced it was pathetic. But it was a 2nd income for our family so helped pay the bills and allowed us a couple extra things here and there.

For the past 9 years I've been on my own and it's been frightening just to know that I'm in charge of the bills. But so far so good, my dcps have been great 90% of the time all these past 10 years or so. Thankfully I'm still on my dh's insurance(never divorced but separated). I cannot afford luxuries and go without many things. But I also don't miss them either. Well, it'd be nice to fly and visit my 2 dds. And do more to keep the house up. I've often thought of getting a PT job too but need my down time too much.
Unless the state goes too crazy in the next 5 years or so, I don't foresee quitting before that. I'll be 67 then.