[mcmama]

I was a family child care provider for 9 years. I also have directed a preschool and worked in a day care center. The BEST working years of my life were working at home with my kids and our child care family. That was back in the 80s and 90s - but I still keep up with those families, even as the children go to college.
Is anyone doing this type of work? Would you like to share your experiences, and your wisdom? I would love to hear about the experiences of family child care providers today.

[mcmama]

Well, this thread got buried under a lot of hype after I put it up, so one last shot - any family child care providers out there??

[mcmama]

Are there real family child care providers there or is this going to be buried in hype again? how many threads can there be about changing my future and so can you? Maybe a separate section for those?

[becky732]

Hi there i am a family day care provider and from Australia i also have 3 children of my own 12y,5y and 5 and a half months old. I am currently working everyday besides the weekend. Where are you from?

[babydawn]

I don't have anything to add to your thread, I just thought I would help you get it out from under all of the hype again! Good luck!

[mcmama]

I used to be a family child care provider in New Jersey - I did it for 9 years, and loved it. Just recently, I have had the delight of "tracking" where my alumni went to college - places like Cornell, Columbia, Vassar, Carnegie Mellon. Guess I didn't do them any harm - if I were still in the business I would be advertising to the superbaby crowd with my "list of colleges"!!!
Becky, how are you finding your own children getting along with the daycare? My kids used to have to have special time and special space set aside - they were just sharing me and their house all day long. The funny thing is, my teenage son and I went to a fund raiser today and met a family with a 2 year old. The parents commented on her great daycare, and when I asked "where" they kind of looked at each other and said "well....it's not a center...but it's in somebody's home....but she's local and registered and its really great..." as if they were expecting us to not know what it was or to have a negative idea. So I told them about my background, and then we could talk freely about what was really great for them. You know what they liked? Making friends with the other families, even after those families left the daycare.
What is your set up like? Do you belong to any networks? Janet