What is hosting a playgroup really like?

amother

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 11:20 am

I’m due iyh before the school year starts and with the stress of sending my new baby out and working full time, I’m considering starting a playgroup. I’m looking for feedback from babysitters/playgroup morahs.

If you wanted to keep your new baby home, would you take other babies around the same age? Like 0-6 mos? Or is it better to have just one newborn and a few older kids?

What is the max number of kids you can handle in each age group? I need at least 3 kids at $8/hr to make it work, but 4 would be ideal. Is 4-5 (including my baby) 0-6 month olds too much to handle? Would that number be better suited to a 1-2 year age group? Or even older?

How exhausted are you at the end of the day? The last time I did childcare regularly I was newly married and subbing in classrooms of 2-6 year olds. Most days I needed a nap after school. Now I’ll have a preschooler and a newborn, and probably won’t be able to get an afternoon nap in. Do you find being with kids all day impacts your ability to be there for your own children in the afternoon?

amother

Snapdragon

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 11:23 am

amother OP wrote:

I’m due iyh before the school year starts and with the stress of sending my new baby out and working full time, I’m considering starting a playgroup. I’m looking for feedback from babysitters/playgroup morahs.

How exhausted are you at the end of the day? The last time I did childcare regularly I was newly married and subbing in classrooms of 2-6 year olds. Most days I needed a nap after school. Now I’ll have a preschooler and a newborn, and probably won’t be able to get an afternoon nap in. Do you find being with kids all day impacts your ability to be there for your own children in the afternoon?

[u]

Exhausting. Totally wipes me out. Been doing a playgroup for over ten years and yes I have a lot less patience for my own kids after school. Read too many books already, sat on the floor and played too much already. Yes, my kids definitely lost out because of my working in childcare.

amother

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 11:32 am

amother Seagreen wrote:

1) your newborn/infant will constantly be exposed to germs and viruses.
2) the mess is unbelievable
3) you will be more than exhausted

I'm doing it now and I would not do it again. If I could start the year over I would instead do part time babysitting. No amount of income is worth turning your life upside down.

My baby will unfortunately be exposed anyway. Either I do this or go back to my regular job and baby goes to a playgroup/ babysitter. And my preschooler and I have literally been sick every other week this fall so I’m sure she’ll bring home plenty.

What do you mean by part time babysitting? Only half days or just babysitting as needed? I didn’t clarify but this would probably only be mornings, 8-1 or so. there isn’t really a demand where I live for full day care.

amother

Blueberry

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 11:42 am

I’ve been doing this for 2 yrs now, my biggest hardship is having my house straightened up for parents in first thing in the morning.

As another poster said, this doesn’t affect my parenting at all bc they are different and not my own children, so it’s much less emotional.

The other hard part is not necessarily the mess per se but the amount of toys I need to own and store bc of it.

Do u have a separate room and area to have the group, this makes a huge difference .

I would prefer a few other babies a little older so 8-10 months old, when they are already sitting, watching 4 newborns is impossible in my opinion. I once watched one and found it all consuming. Eat, change, hold out down. And having multiples you never know when 2 are crying at the same time? And newborns eat quite slowly up until about 6 minutes months.

amother

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 12:07 pm

amother Pansy wrote:

Have a toddler group, say from 18 months plus. I do this, it's very hard work but I love to work from home!
Ive done it for years, I restarted at different times after my baby's were born. I gave it over to someone else in the meantime.
1 baby was 6 weeks old
1 was 3 months
1 was 7 months (I just finished the school year and started in my own time so no pressure)

Can you tell me what the logistics of that with a 6 week old were like? Did you baby wear or just have baby nearby? Was taking care of the baby difficult to manage with a playgroup schedule? Like feeding/changing/putting down for naps?

amother

Seagreen

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 12:21 pm

amother OP wrote:

Finishing at 1 sounds good, but it depends when your kids get home. It's good to have a few hours break between playgroup and your kids coming home.
Starting at 8 AM? Don't forget that you won't be sleeping through the night with a newborn. How do you do on little sleep?

Taking care of a newborn is more time consuming than older infants/toddlers. More than 1 newborn isn't realistic. At one point I had a newborn with a 5 mo old, 6 mo old, and 9 mo old. The newborn took up most of my attention.

I hear that this would be less exposure to germs than the baby being in a larger group. There are still plenty of germs though. And other parents have different ideas about keeping sick children home. I've had mothers purposely send babies with ear infections and no meds, shallow breathing, HFM disease, and more.

amother

Pansy

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 12:23 pm

amother OP wrote:

I had more help when I had a baby at that age, but if I remember correctly he just slotted right in, I found the time for him and the other kids no problem. Newborns need holding more than actual hands on stuff like toddlers.

professor

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 12:32 pm

Here is my own experience:
I ran a play-group for 2 year olds and 3 year olds for a few years. I only did it while my own kids were those ages. So I had between 8 and 12 toddlers at my house, plus a baby (my own).

I also babysat for one or 2 babies, at a different time, when my own babies were babies and I didn't have a toddler running around.

Babysitting for infants and babies was not as great for me because it was very exhausting and I found myself binge watching Netflix every time they napped. Probably because I really needed some stimulation for my brain that was passive. 1)cause all I did all day was change diapers, feed, take to the park, motivate them to crawl/walk and put away/take out toys toys toys, and I had no one to talk to. 2) I was so exhausted that a stimulating phone conversation or a philosophical book was not anywhere on my radar, so Netflix it was.

OTOH, when I ran my play group for toddlers, I had a wonderful time. I loved preparing pasha activities and what not. I took them out on nice days and we just had so much fun Baruch Hashem. I also felt stimulated because I would share my creative ideas with people in my life and the parents of the toddlers. The only drawback was the assistants that I hired were just not very helpful, or at least not on the level that I expected help. I was on my toes the whole day and I really wanted an assistant to be able to take over while I prepared lunch or did something else, with the same enthusiasm that I had for the playgroup. Another major drawback was the parents who just wouldn't pay. It was so hard to chase them about payment and I spent LOTS of money on new toys and activities and healthy food etc.

But all in all, I don't regret having had a playgroup for my children, in my home. Definitely wonderful memories and my toddlers gained from it a lot. I wouldn't do it today though.

amother

Mustard

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 1:04 pm

I've been doing playgroup for over 20 yrs and had a bunch of kids during those yrs.
1- like previously mentioned house needs to be spotless in the morning. That means that before going to bed you must straighten up no matter what! (Pro:It's nice to have a clean house. cons: even if you are very tired you have to!)
2- the advantage of taking toddlers would be a predictable schedule so if you feed your newborn at 9 before playgroup start, toddlers will be sleeping/in bed by 12pm and if you end at 3,be gone for next feeding.
Babies don't all nap at the same time. I needed that hour to take care of my baby.
3- it all depends on your baby. Doing playgroup with a colicky baby that needs to be held most of the morning is impossible.
If your baby naps then eat then nap again...much easier!
4- it is very tiring but so is going to work out of the house. Dropping off baby at baby-sitter.
I like being able to find a few minutes here and there to schedule appointments.
Most importantly do you like working with children? You need lots of patience! Very Happy

amother

Seagreen

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 1:13 pm

About cleaning the night before so you have a clean house in the morning- that doesn't always work. If your kids wake early and like to go play, then you have to clean again. You can't exactly tell your kids not to play or not to make a mess. So you have to clean again. And you have to constantly be on top of small toys left around, choking hazards. It was too much for me, I ended up using a separate room in my house for babysitting.

amother

Mustard

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 1:23 pm

amother Seagreen wrote:

Never had that issue. The only thing I had to clean was breakfast bowls and milk.
(Also my schedule above was for lakewood playgroup 9.30 till 3! Obviously 8 to 1pm would be slightly different)

amother

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 1:28 pm

amother Mustard wrote:

What’s the spotless business about? Like the play area needs to be spotless or parents want to see the whole house totally clean? I’m by no means a clean freak, but I never walked into my playgroups’ kitchens or dining rooms and can’t imagine being bothered if those are messy, if that’s not where the kids are. We would just do drop off in the front room, which is generally clean, and then take kids upstairs.

BH we have a good space for it - an attic that is currently a playroom/office but would be just a play room if I’m not doing my regular job. It’s not big enough for a bunch of wild toddlers, but has enough room for an adult couch, a nugget, a slide, play kitchen, and some shelves. I’m picturing gating part off for DD’s big girl toys and then having the rest be baby-proofed.

Editing to add -yes, I do like babies/toddlers! LOL

not just thinking about it because it seems easy - I’ve covered for my DD’s playgroups in addition to the school subbing, and usually do shul babysitting over Yom tov. I really enjoy working with little ones up to about 3/4. But like I said, it’s exhausting for me. Being “switched-on” mentally for so long is really hard for me, and I worry that might be an indicator I’m not actually cut out for it long-term.