is this job for me anymore :-(

[suzy:-)]

im just not happy , i dread them coming
parents are great ,they pay on time etc its just not what i thought it would be, even tho they are well behaved in my care , i just dont have the time for my own children, all ive ever wanted was to be at home with my own 3,5,7 year olds so thought childminding was perfect:(

maybe ive had a poor easter, weather wise cant really get out much with 6 kids , but i feel like i just want my house back ,its constantly a tip and im turning into a dragon by the second:panic:

thanks for reading my moan :thumbsup:
x x x x

[watgem]

sending hugsxxxxxperhaps things will seem better after the holidays?xxx

[silvermist]

The weather could be the reason you're feeling like that at the moment as its so horrible. Maybe once holidays are over you'll have a bit more time to think it over. You could write a pros and cons list, it may help! Sending you some fairy dust to cheer you up. x:)

[loocyloo]

can you take a couple of days off? maybe even a day away from your own children ( even if all you do is go to tesco ;) )

i've worked solidly since 3rd jan and have had this week off to spend with my own children who are at school. we've not done much and i seem to have visited the forum rather alot ;) buts its been great. my children are 6 & 9, and i only mind under 3's, so its full on when i am working, and yes, i live in a perpetual bombsite! and get cranky when i am tired. today i had 3 1/2 hrs to myself and it was bliss !!! i did a bit of paperwork, and lots of baking and lots of reading the forum!

maybe see if you can reduce your hours/days that you childmind?

big hugs xxx

[flowerpots]

Sending hugs hun :group hug:,

Im feeling exactly the same as you at the moment. Im having 3 weeks off in June for my wedding so havent had a single day off tjis year so far and that added with wedding planning its really beginning to takes its toll.

Hope your feeling better soon. xxx

[miffy]

Sending hugs.

See how you feel in a couple of weeks when you're back in your usual routine. If you can't manage a break at least there are a few long weekends in the next couple of months

Miffy xx

[suzy:-)]

thanks for your kind reply's
thats my problem i have absolutly no time off wat so ever i even work weekends i may have to stop them but the guilt of telling the parents is horrible, , i currently pick a little one up from nursery 11.45 and then have to take my own child back for 12.30 by the time ive loaded all the kids up it gives me 20 mins so i trundle them all in the house -wait 10 minutes -trundle them back in again -get them all out again at the nursery ,walk my child in then its back in the car again and then back out at home :mad: in between getting onother fed who is a baby and abies do not wait and squark lol
we no where near get paid enough for what we do , cant get no house work done let alone EYF flipping S
so its 4 weeks notice , the thought of another 4 weeks is awful ,
the money is not worth the stress at all
x x x

[gigglinggoblin]

I have learned to say no to things I now know wont fit with my family. The mid day rush sounds horrendous, if you can stop that and get a contract that fits in better you might feel very different. Unfortunately you dont know til you have tried!

[miffy]

Nobody can work seven days a week for long - if you can cut back on that and then see how you feel. Could you talk to nursery about shopping the children's sessions round so they both attend at the same time, then at least you won't be spending half your time trekking backwards and forwards there.

Miffy xx

[Twinkles]

thanks for your kind reply's
thats my problem i have absolutly no time off wat so ever i even work weekends i may have to stop them but the guilt of telling the parents is horrible, , i currently pick a little one up from nursery 11.45 and then have to take my own child back for 12.30 by the time ive loaded all the kids up it gives me 20 mins so i trundle them all in the house -wait 10 minutes -trundle them back in again -get them all out again at the nursery ,walk my child in then its back in the car again and then back out at home :mad: in between getting onother fed who is a baby and abies do not wait and squark lol
we no where near get paid enough for what we do , cant get no house work done let alone EYF flipping S
so its 4 weeks notice , the thought of another 4 weeks is awful ,
the money is not worth the stress at all
x x x

.......and relax.....

You are clearly doing too much. You can't possibly work all week and weekends and have 3 children of your own it makes me feel tired just reading about it !!

Can you work only part time ? Can you only work term time ?
I only worked part time and only term time when my own were little. It meant we were on a budget all the time but you can always increase your workload when they are a bit bigger.

[suzy:-)]

Nobody can work seven days a week for long - if you can cut back on that and then see how you feel. Could you talk to nursery about shopping the children's sessions round so they both attend at the same time, then at least you won't be spending half your time trekking backwards and forwards there.

Miffy xx

unfortunatley, there is no space on afternoons and im not swapping my child to mornings to suit them , my child already has friends it would be very unfair but something needs sorting, need to give my weekender the boot too , no wonder i dislike my job hey x x x x

[caz3007]

unfortunatley, there is no space on afternoons and im not swapping my child to mornings to suit them , my child already has friends it would be very unfair but something needs sorting, need to give my weekender the boot too , no wonder i dislike my job hey x x x x

Goodness me, no wonder you are fed up, you are working at weekends too. No way would/could I do that. I have had loads of enquiries for weekends but wont do them, as its our family time and thats important to us.

Stop the weekends and then see how you feel after that, at least then you would have time for all the other stuff and to spend time with your own children x

[jane5]

I know how you feel:rolleyes:

I was full 5 days a week and worked Saturday and Sunday for 1 child that was hard work, I did this for 7 months and it really killed me.

The weekend payment was 2 x 11 hours on double pay so I didnt want to say no and thought it would only last a couple of months as the mum wasnt really a worker iykwim.

I managed to save loads of money but I am so glad it has ended now because it had a negative effect on me and my family.

I feel so much better now that I only work 5 days and I am even turning work away that is a later finish than 5.00 :eek::p

I'm getting really picky with who I take on and I am determined to get another day off in September.

Give notice to the weekend lo and I am sure you will start to feel much better. The good thing about this job is that you can work as much or as little as YOU want :thumbsup:

[nikki thomson]

I agree with what everyone else has said, you can't work 7 days a week I'm not surprised your fed up I would be to, I have realised that there's more to life than just money and yes I know it's easier said than done to turn down weekend work as the pay is good etc I just could not do it, even if they were begging at my door it's a big fat no no, were such a busy family during the week that the weekend is chill out time for us, I couldn't think of anything worse than having to get up and be showered/dressed for say 8 on a Sunday when everyone else is still in bed. X

[VINASOL]

im just not happy , i dread them coming
parents are great ,they pay on time etc its just not what i thought it would be, even tho they are well behaved in my care , i just dont have the time for my own children, all ive ever wanted was to be at home with my own 3,5,7 year olds so thought childminding was perfect:(

maybe ive had a poor easter, weather wise cant really get out much with 6 kids , but i feel like i just want my house back ,its constantly a tip and im turning into a dragon by the second:panic:

thanks for reading my moan :thumbsup:
x x x x

sending hugs :group hug:

It can be hard at times, but as above poster says, the beauty of our job is that we can suit it to our needs. I had after schoolers who were a right :censored: and I hated my job, was down in the dumps and a rubbish mum..I gave notice and within a couple of months (school hols) I loved my job again...the kids had their mum back (even though I was still working). I have only a couple of after schoolers but as my children are getting older (5, and 8) their late (6pm:blush:) departure is having an affect.

So, goodbye to them too...to be replaced by lovely little people who my children love and nuture and who go home at a reasonable hour, thus having time for my kids.

What I've started to do because I'm fed up of cleaning up myself at the end of the day is to get ALL children to do the tidying up of toys...'it's tidy up time' (just like at school and nursery), and they all help and tidy up and then we have some quiet time with the TV on, some juice (I call water, juice) and a biscuit ready for parents to collect...then all I'm left to do is sweep/clean/hoover.

Hope you feel better soonxx

[breezy]

you're over doing it, cut back and see how you feel after that, the money may be better at the mo, but it's not worth your sanity!

[suzy:-)]

thankyou everyone:thumbsup:
i feel so much better, i felt like it was too much but im perfectly within my numbers yet dont feel i can cope and thought i was no good:panic:
im going to give notice to 2 families

like u say sanity and my family are worth more than money and stress
thanks
suzy

x x x :jump for joy:

[Ripeberry]

thanks for your kind reply's
thats my problem i have absolutly no time off wat so ever i even work weekends i may have to stop them but the guilt of telling the parents is horrible, , i currently pick a little one up from nursery 11.45 and then have to take my own child back for 12.30 by the time ive loaded all the kids up it gives me 20 mins so i trundle them all in the house -wait 10 minutes -trundle them back in again -get them all out again at the nursery ,walk my child in then its back in the car again and then back out at home :mad: in between getting onother fed who is a baby and abies do not wait and squark lol
we no where near get paid enough for what we do , cant get no house work done let alone EYF flipping S
so its 4 weeks notice , the thought of another 4 weeks is awful ,
the money is not worth the stress at all
x x x
Don't bother going home, just drive around for 10 mins and feed the baby in the car. But working all week and weekends no wonder you feel like packing it in. It's not good for anyone :-( You need to look after number 1 and that is you..not your own kids or the mindees. YOU! (Sorry to nag!).
Cut out the weekends and it's good that you've given notice. Once you get some rest then things should look brighter :thumbsup:

[Helen Dempster]

I've been on a real downer this Easter hols - like you, I've had 6 kids, not all of them are the best behaved at times and I'm totally exhausted. I find I'm not keeping my patience as long as I used to some days and am constantly tidying up!

Hopefully after the hols, and when the routine is back to normality, things will be a bit brighter.

Sending hugs and just to let you know you're not alone xx

[mabel]

Sometimes just chill with the children, all sit on the sofa for a chat and cuddles, we do this -especially in holidays - the children love it too, its relaxing, its easy, it needs no planning do it see what happens we usually end up having a chat and lots of laughing, I find these special half hours really do calm me down and show me why I love the job.

[JCrakers]

:( poor you..

Sounds like you are doing too much. The good thing about childminding is being able to pick your hours/days

You need the weekend for family time and also rest...I would give notice and you will definitely be feeling better

Hope it works out :D

[primula]

In the pass I have worked holidays but it use to kill me especially feb half term and the easter when the weather is unreliable and you have kids of all ages, its not to bad in the summer as there is more to do and the weather usually is better. No one can blame you for cutting back your working week, its too much. you will feel better soon.

[AliceK]

I think we've all been there and suddenly realised we've taken on too much or the wrong children and we need to cut back. I used to have 6 all day each school holiday and I hated it. I now only have the schoolies occasionally in holidays, I manage so much better mentally with just the EY LO's. My pre-school has the same hours as yours and for this reason as I have had to do the morning session for the past 3 years I have refused to take on any care for anyone needing the afternoon session as it's just not feasible. Come Sept I won't be able to do the morning session as I will have too many children to get to school in a morning so as my 1 AM nursery child is starting school I will change and make myself available for the PM session if it's required. I've already had an existing parent ask me to do the morning session and I've explained I can no longer do it come Sept. I think we need to be firm and strict about what we do and don't do. This time next year I won't be doing any schoolies above reception year as I won't have the room. Like you I have my own young children (4 / 7) and I make sure I take some time off every 3 mths as I've worked out that is my stress point, I need a little break and some quality time with my own children every 3 mths.
A few years ago I worked 7 days a week for 2 years (2 seperate jobs) and it nearly killed me. Something needs to give and you need to sit down, look at the work you want to keep, do the maths and then give notice to the rest.
Good Luck and lots of hugs (((( ))))

xxxx

[ChocolateChip]

I agree with the others hun, you are doing a lot!
Just a thought before you start giving out notice letters, does your weekend family pay well and are they ok to look after/ work with?
It might be worth thinking about keeping them on and having a couple of days off in the week.
I am feeling a bit like this lately, nothing to do with the children or families, just so much paperwork to catch up on, course work, house is a tip, oh is working long hours, just not enough hours in the day for me at the mo :(
It sounds like you have made a decision so good for you and hope you feel happier soon! :group hug:

[stargazer1]

im just not happy , i dread them coming
parents are great ,they pay on time etc its just not what i thought it would be, even tho they are well behaved in my care , i just dont have the time for my own children, all ive ever wanted was to be at home with my own 3,5,7 year olds so thought childminding was perfect:(

maybe ive had a poor easter, weather wise cant really get out much with 6 kids , but i feel like i just want my house back ,its constantly a tip and im turning into a dragon by the second:panic:

thanks for reading my moan :thumbsup:
x x x x

Oh bless you!! In the nicest possible way, no-one gets anywhere in life by being a soft touch. I know you don't want to let people down, but working yourself into the ground seven days a week is going to make you ill. I am waiting for my registration number, and have had a few potential parents come to see me that I may take on when registered. One wanted me to start at 6am every day. I had said I didn't want to start before 8am but I felt so sorry for this single mum, she said she would end up losing her job and I was her last hope. I almost said yes, but my DH stopped me! He said he didn't want our children waking up to other kids in the house, that our kids come first, and they need their own special time in their own home. He also said (perhaps controversially) that as hard as it must be for single mum, her daugter should come first as well. Is it healthy for her to be dragged out of bed at 5am and dropped at childminders by 6? Maybe we shouldn't take the guilt and the parents should adapt their lives around their kids rather than offloading guilt on to us? Whatever the answer for you lovely, you need to consider yourself and your kiddies first. Work hours that suit you and them. Nobody is going to enjoy working all day and then come almost bed time having dinner to cook, washing to do and a house to clean. Chin up chick xxx

[MAWI]

Poor you, you need to take some time for yourself.
I was the same as you a few years back.
In the end I decided to take one day off in the week during school hours(9to 3) and is the best thingIve ever done. I look forward to those 6 hours every week and doesn't matter how bad my week is I now those few precious ours are coming.

I've just taken ALL of the Easter holidays off for the first time in5 years. My children have absolutely loved it and so have I. We haven't done a lot but just not having children in the house has been bliss and I'm now actually looking forward to going back to work.

All my parents could not believe I was not working in the school holidays and I had some very unhappy parents for a while, but hey ho, Im notnbothered anymore. I got some comments about how I've always worked and they can't believe Imnot working...Oh Tough.

I've also just decided that I'm not working the next School holidays in June as we loved it so much, lol.

Sending hugs and please try to find some time for yourself :)