I'm not sure I want to be a CMer anymore...

[GwarchodwrPlant]

It just gets me down sometimes. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm doing it for my DS and my future DC because it's the only way I can afford to be a SAHM.

I couldn't even think about leaving my DS to go out to work so I probably just have to suck it up don't I?

Are their any other jobs I could do that allow me to be with my son that don't involve the sheer graft and pitiful pay that is minding other people's kids?

Someday's it's great, other days it's mind-numbingly boring and most days it's bloody hard work!

GP - I felt like this when I came back off Mat Leave - it caused major traumas between me and my husband and tbh it turned out I just needed to hang in there and ride it out til about 2 months ago when I started really enjoying it again.

The important thing is to not take on too much and be very picky about who you take on - and I mean that in a nice way - ie do the parents have same philosophy on life as you, is the child a suitable age and stage of Dev for the other children you have? DO you get out the house enough? That kind of thing....at the moment I am not taking on anyone who needs a playschool pick up as I have very young children also in the mix and I can't be doing with dragging a couple of 1 yr olds out 3 times in a day and I don't feel its fair on them (or me and my back!) so sadly I am not taking on any 2.5-4 yr olds. But thats not to say I won't when the 1 yr olds have got to that stage. Its taken me 6 years to finally twig the right way to run my business for me! So tbh it sounds more like you need to tweak the WAY you work not WHAT you do if that makes sense.....

HTH

You sound a bit like me re:s/emp I get job offers now and again but just couldn't face working for someone else again I like being a slave to ofsted myself.

It sounds like in principle you like what you do ie: s/emp, being with your DC, working with children, your'e just not liking how its happening IYSWIM.

Have you got a mindee that's difficult or a situation with working that is giving you problems? This can make you feel this way, had a similar prob which when i dealt with it made me feel totally different and reinvigorated what I do and how i do it, don't get the belly flops anymore LOL.

Have you thought about setting yourself a goal or challenge each day, s/emp people thrive on making things happen and your reward is seeing it through and the end result being a success, it doesn't have to be anything big, you could even change your daily routine around just for a change it might break up the monotony your feeling atm, try a new playgroup or take the mindees somewhere new.

You could do an evening course or distance learning to work towards something that can give you a career change (still s/emp of course) when your dc are at school it might give you something to work towards and you can have fun planning your future.

Hi, Really sympathise with your situation. One option could be to carry on as a childminder but limit it to certain days or hours, or age, e.g. do school age children only. It would be less money but you'd still have some income. You could be creative about cutting down on your expenditure and having a different kind of lifestyle - there are many tips available online from USA SAHMs, some of it is quite entertaining! Explore hobbies and interests - it's not all about money and career.

Thankyou so much for your replies:

navyeyelash- I havn't really thought about becoming a nanny but the more I think about it the more I'm warming to the idea. I think I will do some research into it and see if there is a need for nannies in my local area.

thesilverlining- I know what you're talking about, I'm trying to avoid letting my DP know aboutmy true feelings as he is the main earner and we're not exactly flush at the moment (who is?)the last thing he wants to hear is me getting cold feet about my job! So maybe I do just need to give it a chance? I agree with you about being choosy and I made a rule this time to just take on pre-schoolers as I hated doing the schoolrun/after school care pre-maternity leave. I much prefer looking after littleuns.

atworknotworking-You are so right, I really need to find other interests and try new things but I'm just at a loss where to start TBH! You should be a life coach!

allthatglitters- I'm going to have a look at that website now, thankyou all!

Sorry, it wasn't the actual name of the website - I just meant google the general subject, there's lots of info out there.

I'm in my 3rd year now GP and I became a CM because I couldn't find a job in a school/nursery which I had done before and wanted to work with children in some way and CMing hadn't ever occurred to me until I overheard someone else mentioning it and it was a light bulb moment my own children were teenagers when I started