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Forum -> Working Women -> Work at Home Mothers
What is hosting a playgroup really like?
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Jan 19 2023, 1:37 pm
amother Pansy wrote:
8am is very early to start, as a pp above said.
I start at 8.50,and that's early enough for me. My kids leave 10 minutes before that for school.
Im very organised, have all my kids food ready for the day so I just put it in their bags.


It would probably be more like 8:30/8:45 to 1:15/1:30. 8:30-1:30 is the hours of our local preschool and it seems like most parents want to do drop off/pick up all at the same time. It leaves the playgroup morahs having to figure out getting their own kids though, so I’m not sure exactly the timing I’d do.
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amother
Geranium


 

Post Thu, Jan 19 2023, 2:06 pm
I do 2 year olds now and it’s exhausting. Love the kids but they take every last bit of energy out of me. Also in my opinion a separate space is a must, I renovated my basement just for the playgroup. Be prepared that many toys will get destroyed the room, walls, etc won’t look the same again. Doing the same age as your baby would probably be easier. Babies will also give you more breaks. Toddler age is much harder, you also have to teach and projects, it’s not just babysitting. I think it’s possible just start with 2 or 3 max babies and see how it goes. You can also add another later on.
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amother
Alyssum


 

Post Thu, Jan 19 2023, 2:13 pm
Go back to your regular job. Playgroup (which I did when I was pregnant with my first baby, and continuing for many years and also as a substitute) Is extremely tiring. You'll be running around after a few two year old children. you won't be able to put your baby down on the floor. There are projects to be done, work sheets to give out each week. Very hard.
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amother
Strawberry


 

Post Thu, Jan 19 2023, 2:39 pm
I'm doing it now with 3 one year old babies besides my 3 months old and it's great.
yes, it's tiring but I get a lot done when they nap and nurse my baby on the couch
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Jan 19 2023, 6:36 pm
amother Strawberry wrote:
I'm doing it now with 3 one year old babies besides my 3 months old and it's great.
yes, it's tiring but I get a lot done when they nap and nurse my baby on the couch


I think this is what I’m leaning toward based on responses. Like 6-12 mos age. Is your baby just part of the group or do you keep them separate? Do you think it would be reasonable to do with more than 3 babies?
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amother
Lotus


 

Post Thu, Jan 19 2023, 6:48 pm
I'm impressed you're taking so few babies
Where I live people take 6 to 8 babies
And I personally know people that take 12!! Yes 12 kids alone!
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amother
Mustard


 

Post Thu, Jan 19 2023, 8:32 pm
amother OP 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.

If parents go to your attic which area do they see until they get there? (In case of emergency how hard is it to come down from attic with 4-5 babies that don't walk or a few toddlers?)
Spotless means the areas to go thru until you get to playroom. You can obviously close your bedrooms door!
If you decide to take 3-4 babies and want to use mostly your dining room, it has to be somewhat clean. Nothing on the floor so babies can crawl.
Do you really want people to see your mess? Wink
Sounds like you would enjoy it, try!!
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 19 2023, 8:42 pm
3 babies (total of 4 with your baby included) is the way to go. I know 2 people who did it this way. It was manageable and they were really great babysitters (they like kids).
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Jan 19 2023, 9:19 pm
amother Mustard wrote:
If parents go to your attic which area do they see until they get there? (In case of emergency how hard is it to come down from attic with 4-5 babies that don't walk or a few toddlers?)
Spotless means the areas to go thru until you get to playroom. You can obviously close your bedrooms door!
If you decide to take 3-4 babies and want to use mostly your dining room, it has to be somewhat clean. Nothing on the floor so babies can crawl.
Do you really want people to see your mess? Wink
Sounds like you would enjoy it, try!!


Got it. They would go through the front room and could look into the dining room and mud room before getting to the stairs. All reasonably cleanable I think (I need to be better about the dining room anyway lol).

I hadn’t thought about getting babies out in case of an emergency CV”S. It’s just one flight of stairs, so no different than anyone using a basement or any upstairs room. It’s a good thing to think about a plan for. I thought about getting a CPR cert and making sure to have an emergency kit, but not evacuation plans!
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amother
Wallflower


 

Post Thu, Jan 19 2023, 9:51 pm
playgroup Morahs and babysitters--- -which of you are legal, and how did you become legal? I wouldn't do it in my home unless I was legal--- had enough exits, had approval from the county, etc. So not to bother with all of that, and so that I can have as many days off as I want, I sub. In my city there are about 24 playgroups. I sub for 7 of them currently. I'm busy as many days as I want to be--- sometimes I'm with 10 two year olds, sometimes I'm with 3 eighteen month olds, and one gal has 13 kiddos ranging from 2 newborns to a handful of 2 year olds. If I were to do it in my home, I'd do a small newborn group---- a lot less mess with newborns and you don't need a ton of space. You need swings, playmats, and bassinets or pack and plays--- you don't need a million toys and space to run and space for 5-10 toddlers. Plus you get a lot of down time because they nap a LOT. (I'm a mother of multiples so I'm great at feeding 2-3 infants at a time and getting them to nap together if they're the same age). Doing it in other's homes, I find the two year olds are stubborn and whine and cry when you tell them no, and the groups of multiple ages are too darn hard (I'm SWEATING at the end of the day doing newborns AND 2 year olds)--- my fave group is the one with four 18 month olds--- the other day I subbed for two hours---- one was absent, three were sleeping for over an hour of the time I was there. I perused her cookbooks. lol.

TL DR --- consider subbing!
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amother
Zinnia


 

Post Thu, Jan 19 2023, 10:16 pm
Can I just say I'm in awe of anyone who has a family , a baby to take care of , running on no sleep , and is also a morah or working. Or even not working and manages to run their house and function . I am now in crisis mode after having my second kid and this is after purposely having a big gap. Older child is special needs. I was doing fine by myself for the first 2.5 months with no spousal or outside help and then stopped sleeping at all. Needed a baby nurse for the following 2 months and I still need one till who knows when. My nurse just left for a week and I'm even worse off now than when I first got one. Tell me all your secrets.
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amother
Seagreen


 

Post Thu, Jan 19 2023, 10:22 pm
I have 3 babies plus my own. It's very difficult. I know it will get easier as they grow but till then...
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amother
Lime


 

Post Thu, Jan 19 2023, 10:28 pm
amother Zinnia wrote:
Can I just say I'm in awe of anyone who has a family , a baby to take care of , running on no sleep , and is also a morah or working. Or even not working and manages to run their house and function . I am now in crisis mode after having my second kid and this is after purposely having a big gap. Older child is special needs. I was doing fine by myself for the first 2.5 months with no spousal or outside help and then stopped sleeping at all. Needed a baby nurse for the following 2 months and I still need one till who knows when. My nurse just left for a week and I'm even worse off now than when I first got one. Tell me all your secrets.


We're too busy to think about how tired we are lol. Yes, it gets that hectic! Maybe the money you're saving on the nurse this week can go to other things that can help you out like take out for dinner or extra cleaning help?

OP, I wear my baby and it makes playgroup so much easier. People always ask if my back hurts, if you buy a good one and wear it properly so the weight is evenly distributed then it really won't hurt plus the baby will probably love being so close to you and you'll have your hands free. I see you've already gotten lots of good advice, the only thing I can tell you that you might not have thought of is that as a morah of littles we get 'touched out' more easily by the afternoon. Meaning I sometimes need a break even from my own kids hugs just for a little bit which is hard because they're still with me when everyone else goes home. It might also be worth looking into hiring another morah and allowing more kids because then you'll have someone to talk to, the no adults to talk to for hours while you look after the babies can make me a bit batty lol.
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amother
Strawberry


 

Post Thu, Jan 19 2023, 10:58 pm
amother OP wrote:
I think this is what I’m leaning toward based on responses. Like 6-12 mos age. Is your baby just part of the group or do you keep them separate? Do you think it would be reasonable to do with more than 3 babies?

Most of the time he's separate(in the same room but in the crib/ bouncer in the crib) since they like touching/hurting him, sometimes I put him on the floor but keep a very close eye on him.
I think it depends on the babies, with the ones I have I felt like I can't manage more then 4 including my own. But, for me a big part is that I want to have my baby home with me and fully nurse him, plus I don't want to feel finished by the end of the morning since I have a 2 year old coming home too and the afternoons are very draining for me. I would start with a few and if you see you're managing and can easily take more then you can always add on. I will add that I'm not making a lot at all but I'm seeing it as a privilege to not send out my baby and I can send out my toddler which helps me a lot. we're not only relying on my salary, my husband is in kollel but also learns with bachurim and more.
Hatzlacha with what you do!!
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BA




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Jan 20 2023, 3:00 am
I had a gan for 2-3 year olds with my baby. I enjoyed giving these toddlers stimulation and I was able to time nursing him while they were eating snack (if they needed help, they brought the things to me to open although I did a first round of opening before I sat down to nurse)
during outside play, I usually had time to cuddle baby and get him ready for his nap. as my baby grew, he enjoyed being around the toddlers.
my biggest challenge was what to do when my older kids were home sick, never really figured that out.
and yes it was exhausting but I loved it and it allowed me to be home with my baby and making money.
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amother
Tulip


 

Post Fri, Jan 20 2023, 12:39 pm
amother Wallflower wrote:
playgroup Morahs and babysitters--- -which of you are legal, and how did you become legal? I wouldn't do it in my home unless I was legal--- had enough exits, had approval from the county, etc. So not to bother with all of that, and so that I can have as many days off as I want, I sub. In my city there are about 24 playgroups. I sub for 7 of them currently. I'm busy as many days as I want to be--- sometimes I'm with 10 two year olds, sometimes I'm with 3 eighteen month olds, and one gal has 13 kiddos ranging from 2 newborns to a handful of 2 year olds. If I were to do it in my home, I'd do a small newborn group---- a lot less mess with newborns and you don't need a ton of space. You need swings, playmats, and bassinets or pack and plays--- you don't need a million toys and space to run and space for 5-10 toddlers. Plus you get a lot of down time because they nap a LOT. (I'm a mother of multiples so I'm great at feeding 2-3 infants at a time and getting them to nap together if they're the same age). Doing it in other's homes, I find the two year olds are stubborn and whine and cry when you tell them no, and the groups of multiple ages are too darn hard (I'm SWEATING at the end of the day doing newborns AND 2 year olds)--- my fave group is the one with four 18 month olds--- the other day I subbed for two hours---- one was absent, three were sleeping for over an hour of the time I was there. I perused her cookbooks. lol.

TL DR --- consider subbing!



I had a legal playgroup for almost 30 years. 3-4 year olds. I recently retired. I did it through pregnancy, post birth, marrying off children. This is not for someone looking for a job to make money. (In fact, until recently the pay was a complete joke). You have to LOVE children and being a morah. This job is a CHESSED. We have to get paid or none of us could do it at all. If someone is doing it for the money they will always be too tired. It will always be too hard. Stay away it is not for you.
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amother
Viola


 

Post Fri, Jan 20 2023, 1:09 pm
Can you take just 1-2 babies? I would think parents would pay more for a small group and more attention. More than that without any help sounds like too much.
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#BestBubby




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Jan 20 2023, 1:38 pm
I babysat for a few years babies (4)
who were 6 - 10 months at the start of the year.

I highly recommend this age - easiest.

I found it very easy.

Babies entertained themselves learning to crawl and walk. Loved playing with toys.

Got kids on similar nap schedule.

Babies slept 1 1/2 hours. Yay!

Newborns are all on different schedules.

Some sleep a lot, but some are colicky and have to be held a lot.
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Jan 20 2023, 1:39 pm
amother Viola wrote:
Can you take just 1-2 babies? I would think parents would pay more for a small group and more attention. More than that without any help sounds like too much.


I’d have to charge $16/hour with only 2 babies to break even with what I bring home now. I doubt anyone would pay that when most in my area are $7-8 and some still only have 2-3 babies at that rate.
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