Working with kids can be a really crazy and hectic job sometimes. I basically have anywhere from 6-12 children every day. Working with kids can be tough. It will wear you out, mentally drain you, and if you don't already have kids, it can make you not want any (well only sometimes). Not in a bad way though. Kids are great, but they just require all of your attention. I don't think people truly realize how much attention kids require until you work with them or have some of your own. You barely have time to clean and get little things done because they are always messing something up.
It takes a special person to work with children, no matter what age they are. You learn to have excellent patience really quickly. They test you on a daily basis and they push your buttons all the time. You constantly have to be looking up to make sure they aren't doing anything they aren't supposed to be doing. It can be really tiring, but worth it.
I repeat myself a lot! You find yourself saying: put that down, don't do that, stop touching him, hands to yourself, get away from that, get down, stop, walk away, no ma'am, you better not hit her! That's pretty much how my day goes. Add some cleaning and diaper changes in there occasionally and that about sums it up.
At the end of the day though, I love those kids as if they were my own. I am with them five out of the seven days of the week. I learn so much about them. They love you unconditionally, and they teach you so much. It can be scary thinking about how you are shaping the lives of little kids and how you can have an impact on their lives, but knowing that makes you want to be an important person in their lives. You can do so much for children, and you have to be a positive person in their lives. They can teach you as well as you teaching them. Kids can be so care free and can love just about anyone. I love the kids I see on a daily basis, and even though they may drive me nuts sometimes, I love spending time with them and treating them as if they were my own.
