advise on how many children I could handle at 1 year old!!!

[diz01]

Hi I wondered if anyone could help me please. i am a new childminder, received my registration in April, no children but had 2 enquiries today. Both ladies want me to look after their one year olds so including my own 15 month old I would have 3 one year olds in the house!!!! 1 of them would be full time mon to fri 730-6 the other just 3 days a week. We have been pretty desperate to get some sort of income but i don;t want to jump in with 3 1 year olds if you think it would be too much for me? Can anyone give me some advise ASAP please as one is coming round tomorrow and the other might be phoning me

thanks :-)

[venus89]

Wow!
DO you have any friends with kids around the same age? Then you could borrow them and see how you feel?

[sweets]

go for it! yes it will be hard work but great fun. It can be easier having 3 similar ages as you can plan activities for all of them together. It may be hard on your little one at first having to suddenly share you with 2 others but they will soon get used to it. they will grow up and develop together, and won't be 1 forever so it will get easier as they get older and into a routine with you. just try and manipulate their day time sleep so they nap at the same time to give you a well deserved break!

[Daftbat]

go for it! yes it will be hard work but great fun. It can be easier having 3 similar ages as you can plan activities for all of them together. It may be hard on your little one at first having to suddenly share you with 2 others but they will soon get used to it. they will grow up and develop together, and won't be 1 forever so it will get easier as they get older and into a routine with you. just try and manipulate their day time sleep so they nap at the same time to give you a well deserved break!

I agree. I will have three 1 year olds by this time next year, and have two sisters very close in age at the moment. They both sleep at the same time normally so i get a rest.

[diz01]

Oh my god thankyou all so much for your quick responses, OK then aaaaaahhhh I'm gonna do it hee hee that's if both sets of parents want me, oh god what am |i letting myself in for hee hee

[kirsty1329]

I would go for it too, I haven't started yet but i would think it would be much easier to plan activities and naps etc. The only thing I would worry about is transporting them about.

Kirsty xxx

[It's a small world]

go for it! yes it will be hard work but great fun. It can be easier having 3 similar ages as you can plan activities for all of them together. It may be hard on your little one at first having to suddenly share you with 2 others but they will soon get used to it. they will grow up and develop together, and won't be 1 forever so it will get easier as they get older and into a routine with you. just try and manipulate their day time sleep so they nap at the same time to give you a well deserved break!

I agree ..it will be so good doing things together and planning your activities as they won't be much diff in development....go for it..do you have a settling in period? I have a 4 week where if I'm not happy/parent not happy or child not happy contract can be ceased without any complications iyswim

Congrats on becoming registered only just registered myself and still looking Have 1 mindee my friends lo....

[Trouble]

i have 3 under 2 on a wednesday and i can now manage to get them asleep at the same time:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :thumbsup: its hard thou

[manjay]

I would say you have nothing to lose by giving it a go. It wouldn't be for me personally but that is because I find the littlies restrict what I can do with my own children at the age they are at the moment. I would consider it if mine were a little older.

[tilly50]

I think as long as you consider how you could get out and about safely and you can sort that (maybe triple buggy) then go for it. I have a 26, 25 and 24 month old and have had them all since they were about 8 months old! Activity wise, it's so much easier to plan for. If there's a day when one is a bit too tired to walk (I don't have a triple buggy) then we just use the garden. Good luck!

[fucshia]

Good Luck!! Go for it! Try it out, at least you haven't got various ages to please and you can concentrate on one area. I love the age group but they are hard work.:laughing:

[Chatterbox Childcare]

It can be done but it is very hard and you need to be ultra organised. Give it a go and see how you feel.

[balloon]

I look after three one year olds and it's fine until they all start screaming at you at once! Then things get a little hairy, lol!

I have a triple pushchair to get out and about with, 3 cots, 3 highchairs and millions of baby toys - oh and no room in our house for anything that resembles family life...

Walking three on reins is interesting too.

I'd take a serious look at whether you can cope rather than thinking about it being fun. It's definitely not fun when they are all teething or sniffly and all demanding your attention by screaming at the tops of their voices or crying constantly (cos one sets another off, lol!)

Don't get me wrong, I love looking after my three, but I have lots of experience of looking after multiple babies and all that entails. Some days this place seems like a production line, others it just flows but other times I am ready to drop by 6pm.

You won't know til you try though so make sure you have that one month 'get out clause' just in case it doesn't work well for you.

[diz01]

Thank you sooo much for your responses, and bluemoon thanks for the advise re what to buy!!!! didn't think about the cots ha ha ha need two more travel cots as I only have downstair registered so that's another for the list if this lady phones me. Shes' not phoned yet it was the council that phoned asking if they could pass my number on so i said yep but nothing yet ... trying not to get my hopes up, doing my cleaning now and keep checking my mobile ha ha

I'm really excited and they have npot even seen me yet I really do need to calm down!