Question About Capacity?

[MommyMuffin]

Do most of you try to fill up to full capacity? How many kids? How do you do it and why?

I just dont know how you keep it all together. I only have 4 dcks and it is hard work.

[SimpleMom]

I have. Schedules work best. most were here pt and i needed all the spots filled so i could pay my bills. Now, i keep it to 6 under school-aage and charge a min of 40 hrs.

[snbauser]

Yes. I am licensed for 12 with and assistant. We try to stay full. It can get crazy sometimes but we have a pretty good schedule and our days run pretty smoothly.

[Cat Herder]

My capacity is 6 and I am always full with a wait list.

I had 8 daily when I worked in a center and was just as comfortable with a group that sized. Still not sure why they get to have 8 and I only 6.

Consistent routine, plenty of physical exercise, good food and a full nap. Works wonders, I swear!

[Sunshine44]

I've had five (occassionally six if drop in was here) at a time, now I'm down to four and it's so much easier to manage. I can do 5/6, but I prefer four to have a nice, calm day.

[laundrymom]

I run at capacity. I have a wait list and I have parents waiting to have second children based on them coming here. I run at capacity because I like a larger group. I like a larger paycheck. And I like the loud crazy goofy family that we are. On days not everyones here it is slow, boring and the days creeeeeeeep by.

[jojosmommy]

We are allowed 10 and I have yet to have 10 in this house all at one time. I try to keep it at 6 but will have 9 enrolled this summer with all flexing schedules. This is due to babies being born and one family saying they were leaving but are now staying until September. I filled their spot and when they decided to stay I figured I could pay a bill or save $ with their extra income. I HOPE there are few days they are all here at once. Summer school, special ed, maternity, and vacations will hopefully keep that from happening. Otherwise I have a REALLY EASY schedule so I can't complain about having too many kids b/c they aren't here too long everyday anyway!

[Missani]

I can have 10 but only 8 under school age. So far I haven't had any SAs, but I do run at capacity for under 5s. Until recently, I was licensed for 6 under SA and ran with 6. Then one of my families had a baby, so I changed my license for 8 under SA (still 10 total) and was running at 7. Everything has been running smoothly for the past month, so I am taking one more from my waiting list and will run at 8.

I actually like having more because I find it easier to get a great routine down with more kids. I agree with Catherder-routine, routine, routine, exercise, good food, nap, and more routine. The income is nice, too, and I will have to admit that I like running at capacity for that reason. BUT, if I was stressed or feeling like I couldn't do my job well then I would happily take less income in order to keep my sanity. I have a huge waiting list, though, so I feel bad if I have open spots and am turning so many people away.

[lucky]

I also run at capacity and find i prefer it. The days when I only have a couple I tend to be unmotivated and we just don't get as much done. For me that is 12 with 10 under school age 2 of which are toddlers.

[DCMom]

I'm licensed for 14; 10 under school age. I have 12 at the moment; I keep the under two's limited so I don't need an assistant. I like it that way.

After doing this for 22 years, I do it for the money. It started as a desire to be SAHM, so I only had a few kids then. Now it's all about the money, so I run at capacity. Let me say, I love my job and that helps alot on stressful days!

Routine, routine, routine. My dh says that I am borderline OCD because I am so organized and scheduled, but it's the only way to have the day run smoothly in my opinion.

It's only daycare that is that organized...the rest of my life is a disorganized, fly by the seat my pants, free-for-all! And I mean that in a good way, ::

[heyhun77]

I am licensed for 13 (with my own schoolager) and I typically have 8 enrolled at one time. I have points availble to have another child 18 months and older right now but 8 is my personal limit unless we are in transition like now where I have 2 leaving for kindergarten in the fall and 1 that is leaving next week. If the right family came along I would totally enroll them while still caring for 8 kids know that it's only for a week or so.

I am like others. I like have a big group and it works well for me because I have routines that we follow each day that make things predictable for the kids and they just flow through the day without a lot of chaos. We definately have our days but we also have a LOT of fun.

[lpperry]

I can have up to 4 daycare children each day. I have two full-timers and 4 part-timers. I also have my own two children, so I have between 4-6 total children each day. I love having some light days and some heavy days.

I started with 3 full time and 1 part-time, but as people left, somehow I ended up with a bunch of part-timers and love it!

[Blackcat31]

I also run at full capacity. 10 kids under school age and 2 schoolage (who's parens had them wait a year before starting). Youngest is 13 months.

Like, DCMom said, routine, routine, routine. The ONLY way to get through a day. ( I, too run an OCD childcare and an ADHD life!! LOL!!)

NEVER waiver on your rules, be swift, firm and consistent. I also think that I was crazier when I first opened vs how relaxed I can be now. Once you grow a really good backbone, the more the merrier. I have found that those few days every once in a while when there are a few missing kids that it is harder to do compared to when I am completely full.

Another weird thing is that it seems as though the stricter and firmer you are with your rules, the more people want to be in your program. Weird but true (...I think catherder said this before). Since I implemented late fees, no tolerance for non-payment and a few other "will NOT put up with" rules, the longer my wait list has gotten.

The biggest thing for me though is to take a personal day whenever you feel you really need one and NEVER NEVER NEVER let a parent make you feel guilty for being closed. EVER.

[MarinaVanessa]

I rarely work at capacity. I'm licensed for 8 and if I have more than 6 only 2 can be infants (2 and under) and 2 have to be SA's. My daughter is in kinder so she counts a SA but I don't like taking SA's so I stay at 6. That way I can have 3 infants and 3 over 2yo and keep my age range at 0-5yrs with the exception of my own DD. Just my personal preference.