The world of children is an activity filled day, continuously stringing a series of highs and lows in temperaments and mood. This is probably the biggest problem that you will encounter when running a day care facility. Although you probably have put up the day care center thinking how appropriate it would be for you, you may find yourself too tired to enjoy your job.
Your mood is a prime consideration in running a day care business. If you are exhausted and have not had time to rest, then you will most likely be in a sour mood and this would reflect on the way you minister to your day care children. Being too tired may also mean that you would not be able to take care of your own family, adding to your irritability. After all, you established a day care center not only to earn money but to be able to spend quality time with your family too.
Here are some tips on how to create and grab tiny opportunities to relax your mind and body through the day.
1. Establish a rest period or nap time for the kids. If they stay with you throughout the day, have an hour of rest or sleep for them once in the morning and once in the afternoon. When they are resting, you can use that time for yourself by simply sitting down beside the resting children and closing you eyes too. Fight the urge to clean up or to prepare for other activities.
2. Have an assistant. Depending on the number of children who you are providing care for, make sure that you have at least one adult per 5 children. Smaller kids are harder to handle because they are more dependent thus taking care of too many at once will no doubt drain all your energy.
3. Have activities that should be done sitting down. Children are easy to amuse but the trouble is they cannot be kept amused by the same activity for a long time. This is why you will need to have a lot of different activities planned for the day so that the children do not get bored and start running around or fighting with each other. Keep in mind though that it is impossible to keep children still and quiet the “whole” day. A mixture of activities like coloring, reading (or looking through a book), playing with blocks, paper shredding , and a gamut of other “tame” activities can allow you precious minutes of rest.
4. Let the children run around once in a while. In a day, you will need to at least have one physical activity that can help the kids release their energies. You can play a game of catch with them, or you can just watch them from the sidelines to make sure that no one gets hurt. You can also have them tumble around on gym mats or have them dancing to upbeat music.
For more info:
How to start a daycare center
