Is Running A DC Really That Bad?

[Christina72684]

I'm new to all of this, and while I LOVE this forum, it seems like A LOT of people are ranting, raving, and complaining. I went to school to become an elementary school teacher and was in the schools for 2 years, so I know how frustrating it can be to work with kids. However, there seems like A LOT of negativity around here.

Are there positives too? Is it worth opening? I'm really nervous already about owning my own business and all the worries that come with it. I just want to make sure I'm not getting in over my head and regretting it in the near future.

Please reassure me that there are more positives than negatives. I open Monday so hopefully some word of encouragement will help calm my nerves!

[Christian Mother]

Of course...really with any time of job. There's the good and bad....You have to find first the love and joy in what you do but with every love and joy there is the opposites. I am like you and went to school for Early Childhood Education. I worked at a Christian school for 5 yrs, was a Nanny for 5 yrs and then I went on to having children of my own and then opening my own daycare. This is a safe place to be able to speak to other like minded people going through the same things. We look to each other to help us out bc really,...we are the only ones that understand. I am sure our spouses are there to help lend a ear and shoulder but it's from this sight that I can get that much needed encouragement or help. I find this sight very educational. Good luck honey!! And know that we will always be there here to listen or let you vent, or laugh...cry...we all share together.

[daycare]

Of course...really with any time of job. There's the good and bad....You have to find first the love and joy in what you do but with every love and joy there is the opposites. I am like you and went to school for Early Childhood Education. I worked at a Christian school for 5 yrs, was a Nanny for 5 yrs and then I went on to having children of my own and then opening my own daycare. This is a safe place to be able to speak to other like minded people going through the same things. We look to each other to help us out bc really,...we are the only ones that understand. I am sure our spouses are there to help lend a ear and shoulder but it's from this sight that I can get that much needed encouragement or help. I find this sight very educational. Good luck honey!! And know that we will always be there here to listen or let you vent, or laugh...cry...we all share together.

Well said Christan Mother....

Just like every job, it has it pros and cons.... I love what I do here at my daycare with the kids and would not trade it for the world. Of course just like every other job as well, sometimes you end up working with people you find out you really don't like....AND I don't mean the kids....

Where else can you work that no matter what you look like, what you say, how you talk or how much money you have, at the end of the day your lilttle people will always love you. Where else can you work that you can work with someone who will throw a fit, laugh,cry and scream all in a matter of seconds and you will still love each other when its over. I love my DC and I would say you just need to know what your doing before going into it. DOn't go in blind, have your contracts, policies and what not planned out ahead of time.....Best of luck to you!!

Honestly, I wish I could just do DC without the parents...But they come as a package deal, you can't have one with out the other......

[ammama]

I love doing daycare. It is a relief to be able to vent to people who know what it is like about the little day to day annoyances (or more!), but overall, I love my job, and that I can raise my own children while doing it.

[PitterPatter]

Like any job there is good and bad. It's just that when the bad happens it seems worse to me because it happens in my own home so I feel more disrespected. I love doing daycare from home! It has many rewards. I do see your point there seems to be negativity here but we have to vent somewhere. Due to the privacy policies I can't really vent to friends and family as they would know who i am complaining about (90% of the time the parents) So I love this forum to help get ideas on how to manage certain issues.

I have only been in the biz 5 years so I am still learning. People here have been there done that so I bring my issues here. I guess when I have a great day I should post that as well but when I have a great day I don't need advise. Maybe we should start sharing more of the positive things.

I say if u love kids go for it, u won't regret it! Those people who get into it for the money or just to stay at home probably wouldn't be happy. U have to really enjoy children to do this job and be good at it. Anyone can watch a child but it takes love and respect to actually nourish them and help them grow and learn. THAT is where I get the real rewards! Seeing all of my hard work blossom in these kids!

I hope the negative things won't deter u. Good luck!

[MommyMuffin]

Whenever I have a problem or an issue, I think...Hmmm I wonder what my fellow dc providers would think or do. From anything to child development to curriculum and lots of times to difficult situations or stresses of my job.

That may be why it seems lots of it is negative, but its just reality. This job is hard. But there are so many positives and that is why so many of us do daycare.

Good luck! Congrats on opening. I have only been open for 7 months and it has been a little difficult but I really love it at the same time.

I have wonderful parents and some pretty good kids too! For me its mostly logistics and working with multiple age groups.

[Luna]

I will repeat what others have said...there are positives and there are negatives. When things are good, for the most part we just carry on and enjoy it. When we hit a snag or need to vent, we come here & let it out. That's why a lot of what you read here seems negative, maybe we aren't sharing the good times as often as the bad.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do

[KEG123]

Definitely positives and negatives, as with any job. LUckily I don't have many negatives as I've just started, but I can see where frustration would come into play for certain things. And think of it this way, at a "regular" job, you can vent to your co-workers. In a daycare providers case, you have no co-workers to complain to. SO this forum has become a place where we can vent if we need to.

[nannyde]

I'm new to all of this, and while I LOVE this forum, it seems like A LOT of people are ranting, raving, and complaining. I went to school to become an elementary school teacher and was in the schools for 2 years, so I know how frustrating it can be to work with kids. However, there seems like A LOT of negativity around here.

Are there positives too? Is it worth opening? I'm really nervous already about owning my own business and all the worries that come with it. I just want to make sure I'm not getting in over my head and regretting it in the near future.

Please reassure me that there are more positives than negatives. I open Monday so hopefully some word of encouragement will help calm my nerves!

Do you have an elementary education degree?

[DCMom]

Yes, there are more positives than negatives! I have been doing this for over 20 years and for the most part I have enjoyed it.

Good Luck with your new daycare!

[kidkair]

I'm new to all of this, and while I LOVE this forum, it seems like A LOT of people are ranting, raving, and complaining. I went to school to become an elementary school teacher and was in the schools for 2 years, so I know how frustrating it can be to work with kids. However, there seems like A LOT of negativity around here.

Are there positives too? Is it worth opening? I'm really nervous already about owning my own business and all the worries that come with it. I just want to make sure I'm not getting in over my head and regretting it in the near future.

Please reassure me that there are more positives than negatives. I open Monday so hopefully some word of encouragement will help calm my nerves!

The ranting, raving, and complaining is seen here a lot because it's when things go wrong that we grow and learn. We learn from mistakes so much more than from normal good free flowing fun. We analyze what went wrong so we can keep it from happening again. It's nature. I for one try to post things going correct too though it feels a little like bragging when every other post is about a bad day.

Here's my typical day percentages as I see them: 10% extreme fun (laughing; above and beyond positive attitudes), 85-86% fun/quiet/good/well behaved behaviors, 4% correcting/guiding behaviors, 0-1% vent worthy. Quite typically that 1% is an attitude in the kid that I have seen in the parent or the parent themselves. Lately that vent worthy part has been 0% for me because I have two great families and my greatest complaint right now are perspective clients who call and set up interviews then don't show or call. The other bunch show for interviews and then take paperwork but never return it or call again. Honestly it's the parents before and after signing the contract that are the hardest to deal with. I love the dc parents I have right now and wouldn't trade them for the world but, just like your best of friends, they will let you down occasionally.

Learn to stick to what you want, stick to your rules, demand respect and show it in return, blow bubbles, and vent on here to keep negativity from eating at you!

[MyAngels]

Just remember that most people won't start a thread on any message board unless they are looking for an answer to a question or a problem - hence what some see as "negativity." Once you start reading through the replies, that's when you get to see the collective wit, professionalism, positivity, etc. of the business owners participating at any given time in this forum.

I feel like I am very fortunate to have owned my own in-home daycare for 19 years now. I love being able to be provide a safe and loving environment for parents who, for whatever reason, cannot be home with their children. I've had a few "problem parents" but they never lasted long here, as I never hesitate to let them know how I will run my business, which causes them to either shape up or ship out .

Good luck with your business, and if you run into any type of problem or question, don't hesitate to post here. You will get plenty of helpful insight!

[kimsdaycare]

I absolutely love what I do! I had a wonderful career that I loved before daycare and took a leave of absence when I lost my provider due to a temporary relocation for her husband. My co-workers were shocked. I was always the one in the office that said even if I won the lottery, I was showing up to work . Another mom and myself split up this providers children and decided to keep them til she came back to the area.

This was supposed to be for 1 year.
It's now been 12 and I never went back. Oh, They kept asking when I was going to come back to my "real" job. They gave up after about 3 1/2 years

My co-workers are 2-3 year olds. They don't judge my outfits or my hair. I get to play with bugs, wear pajamas on snow days and have the most awesome families a provider could ask for. They even gift me with adult beverages on special occasions tee hee.

You see venting on these forums because it is very isolating when the burden of a work related issue is on your shoulders alone. Providers come here out of a need to get it out and seek advice. Because we have no HR department, and our spouses really don't want that role most of the time.

It would be nice to hear people posting about their sunshine and rainbow days more often, but honestly I think we all tend to post mostly questions or advice or just offer up moral support. If my world is at peace, you won't see me posting that it is. I'm too busy enjoying it

[e.j.]

I think you need to put things in perspective. Yes, when you read the messages on this board, it seems as though there's a lot of ranting, raving and complaining. You have to keep some things in mind, though.

According to the information provided at the bottom of the forum page, there are almost 2,000 active members. Multiply that by the number of parents and kids each of those active members deal with for 4-7 days a week for 8-12(?) hours per day. Given those numbers, there's a pretty good chance that miscommunication, personality differences and frustration is going to happen between some providers and families, right? Now keep in mind that there are far more than 2000 providers in the US, Canada and elsewhere and the number of "negative" posts shouldn't seem quite so intimidating.

Also keep in mind that in general, people don't talk nearly as often about the positive in their lives as much as they do about the negative - regardless of their job. The postive is easy to deal with, it's the negative we often need help with - whether we're just blowing off steam or seeking advice on how to change things so they become a positive.

Like any job, child care has its ups and downs. I've been in business for 15 years and it's been mostly a positve experience. I have run into very few problem families but when I have, it has been helpful to know that I'm not the only one who gets upset about certain things like non-payment, no calls/no shows, disregard for my policies, etc. It helps to be able to talk to others who do the same job and "get" it. It also helps me to read about what other providers are experiencing with their problem familes because it really does make me truly appreciate the good families I have enrolled in my day care. Some of those other familes would make me crazy!

Good luck on Monday. I hope your experience in the child care business is a positve one, too!

[Unregistered]

You would think so by reading this board, wouldn't you? It's led me to believe that home daycare providers are the most negative, disrespectful people on the planet. The way they talk about the children they care for and their parents is appalling!