YOU MOMMIES WITH KIDS IN DAYCARE!!

[rene76]

this is really not the place, but i have a question and i think this stress is so not even helping with my weight problem!!!
K~i have a daycare. i keep about 9 children (all 3 and under) and their parents are stressing me out to the point that i am getting the urge to just quit it all and start bounty hunting full time again . i don't want to do that because i LOVE these kids. this is what i went to school for and my parents would kill me..lol!! at any rate. i have alot of parents abusing their vacation days and a lot of parents not paying on time nor the correct fees. i have a set rate...they think if the kids aren't here they shouldn't have to pay. well, they pay for the spot not the days attended. IS THAT SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND??? in the past 2 weeks i have missed out on $375 and i am sorry, but i do have bills as well. i am taking my policy handbook to the printers tomorrow and i am hoping that my parents will take it more serious in BOOK form! augh! anyhow....what are the policies at your child/rens daycare? what are the fees? i know i am WAY to cheap..i only charge $70 a week for a baby and $60 for preschool..HELP! thanks in advance!
~rene'

[ December 30, 2002, 12:42 AM: Message edited by: rene76 ]

[Tameez3]

Rene, hey girl I know what you are talking about! I work at a daycare/preschool. I used to
work in my own home and had alot of the same problems you are having right now. I can tell you that where I work our fees for infants and toddlers up to age three is $110.00 per week and it goes down to $95.00 per week when child reaches age three. And the daycare I work for is one of the largest in the area I live in. And we are the cheapest licensed daycare around. That is not an in-home daycare. Would never go back to doing outside of my own home again Toooo stressfull! Well I don't know if this will help but goodluck in getting your parents to be more cooperative!!! And your prices are low compared to what parents pay where I teach.

Tamara

[21Forsberg]

hello....I do not have kids of my own but I do teach in a preschool. Your rates are very low! We charge over $1000 a month for infants and over $600 a month for 4 year olds. We are in a very nice part of town but other schools are pretty close in price (I live in Colorado).

If I were you, I would get the book printed than have ALL your parents sign a form stating that they understand your policies. This way you can show them that they agreed to your terms. Then you tell them to leave if they do not follow the rules. They can not expect you to live on an income based on when they feel like bringing their child. You have to know how much money you will bring in each month. I love my job...I have a 4 year old class and I adore everyone of them, but I hate dealing with the parents. They can be so ignorant sometimes!

I say stand your ground...there are plenty of kids who need good day care! Good luck

[milliealex]

As a parent who has a child in daycare I understand and agree with you. You are very cheap. As far as those parents not paying, that's sad. Without you they can't work and should pay. Print the hanbook out, make them sign. Add late fees to those who don't pay on time. For those already late, tell them they have two weeks to make good. IF they get mad, trust me, another paying parent will take their place. You run a business, not a charity. Kids need someone in they can feel safe, my daughter considers my daycare provider like a second mother, and I respect that. Stay with the kids, they need you

[mommy of twins]

At my kids daycare, I have to pay 202.20 per week no matter what. EVEN in the worst of circumstances.. like a few weeks ago when they had bad fevers and they were only in daycare for 2 days, I still had to pay the full amount. AND back in November we went to Florida, my kids were in daycare 1 whole day, well that day cost me 200 bucks! But those are the rules.

Parents basically are holding their kids "spot" in the classroom.

Dont let those parents take advantage of you! Sometimes people forget that everyone has a life. They cant be late all of the time.

Do you have a contract? I might make another copy to remind them of your policies and procedures...

And d a m n... youre watching HOW MANY kids under 3???? I would go crazy.. good luck!

Mer

[BebeMom]

Do you enforce a late fee? My 5 yr old is in a Pre-K and they have upped their late fee to $20 . That's alot considering that it used to be $5. I have until Wednesday to pay for that week or it is late and I pay $85 a week for him. We are given 1 week of vacation each school year and I ended up using mine this past week. The school was open 1 1/2 days and closed the rest. If you didn't have any vacation then you had to pay.
I understand they have the rules to stick to but I do also feel it bites sometimes.
If you don't stick to your rules, they will think they can pay as they go.

Good luck

[CONYSCAZ]

Well my son's school is $114.00 per week and a $50.00 yearly "fee". When you enroll they give you the handbook and it has all the holidays and explains the sick day policy. I pay for the slot not the days attended. If I'm late but Wednesday of the next week it is $20.00 late fee. I think that is reasonable, your rates are fab-u-los!

[KayBee]

Everyone is exactly right...my .02 cents...don't give any exceptions to your policy because that is when you run into trouble with parents who will take advantage of you. If the parents don't get the concept of paying regardless of whether the children are there...

1. Do they still pay their full rent when they are gone 2 weeks of a month on vacation?
2. Do they still pay their cable bill even if the cable goes down for 3 days?
3. Do they still pay their insurances (health, auto, etc) even when they don't use it?

You are a business and a business can not be run based on the schedule of the parents. I have had friends who don't think they should pay if their child isn't there but I have always understood why. My day care has a late fee of $15 (which I just paid this morning because my daughter wasn't in day care all last week and I forgot to drop the check off). I don't make the owner ask me for the $15 - I added it to the check.

If this is what you love then don't let some inconsiderate parents run you out of business...set the policy, communicate the policy and hold them accountable for abiding by the policy - can you tell I'm an HR Director (LOL).

Good luck!

[health4life]

LMAO @KAYBEE..NAWW THEY WOULD HAVE GOT KICKED OUT A LONG TIME AGO.

I HEAR ITS BEST TO GET IN WITH THE STATE. (WHERE THE STATE PAYS HALF OR THE ENTIRE FEE)THEN U DONT HAVE TO BE WORRIED ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOUR MONEY ON TIME.

[Dianne1]

Until August I did daycare in my home for infants up to 18 months. My policy was one week paid in advance. No exceptions. I never got into charging for being late, but you bet if I do it again there will be a fee.

The best way to end your problem is to give them the handbook with a written notice of how much they owe you for back pay. Tell them to pay up by Friday or don't bring their child back. It will make a believer out of them. If you mess with their time at work and their pay, they will fix it real fast. If any one shows up on Monday without money, turn them out. I know it sounds hard, but it is your business and the care of their kids should be the top priorty for the parents.

The only time they didn't owe me was when "I" closed for my vaction or took personal time off.
I was hard on my parents at first and nobody gave me any grief. In fact I probably had the best parents around.

Be strong and firm. They will respect you for it. This is one of my pet peeves: How about the fancy car they drive, the big screen TV and on and on. The care of their child should be as important as any of their "things".

My fee was $125 week. In this area that is low for newborn/infant care. I took them at 6 weeks and kept them until 18 months when they could go into regular daycare. My parents appreciated the fact I could give one on one care to their babies.

[ December 30, 2002, 01:48 PM: Message edited by: Dianne ]

[Jen75]

I have a idea make up a flyer on hot pink paper and remind them of your rates and rules and make them sign it. Then when they get a bill from you They won't be surprised! That will get them on the right track hopefully good luck.

Jennifer

[ December 30, 2002, 02:02 PM: Message edited by: Jen75 ]

[Melissa0101]

I babysit and have a pretty good crew of parents. I have had to remind them that I too have a life and need to be paid on time. All I did is post a note Stating that I have a life and all children are to be picked up on time or you will be charged $5.00 per child for every 15 minuted they are late needless to say first time it happened I charged them any you bet they pay attention to the time now as far as the rates I charge a flat rate also and told that this is regardless if there child is there or not and I have bills to pay that need to be paid on time and if they don't pay me on time that I would no longer be able to care for their children until it was paid in full. So if they come in only giving you what they think they should pay then you just kindly turn to them and say that you still owe x amount of dollars still and that you have to have it paid by monday or you will not be able to watch them until they pay it in full and that you may require them to pre pay for the week from now on. See how that works. When I first started babysitting I would try to be nice and nice got me no where now I'm just right to the point and they get it now.

[Rhapsody]

Ummm.....I can gripe about this. My daughters daycare's fee does not change even when they are closed for holidays, i.e. this week Tue & Wed and last week for Christmas Eve & Christmas day. I still had to pay the normal rate. The rate for breaks and summer is $114.00 a week, or $228 bi-weekly, but when she is in school they bus her to and from and have her for an hr before & after school and it is $80 biweekly or $40 a week then. I am told that the employees get paid holidays etc. and that we pay the same rate because they need to staff etc. My daughter was not in daycare today....so technically between last tue & wed and this week there was 5 days that she was not there...and I still had to pay. I may not like the fact, but she has been in daycare since she was 9 mths old....and all the daycares she was in had the same rules. Also, regarding vacation....if we are on vacation we dont have to pay the normal rate but have to pay half which is consider a "spot holder".....so you need to enforce your rules. Tell them they need to pay you x amount of money, put it on paper typed up explaining where their balance came from, and if they don't pay it....refuse to watch the kid until they do. Send them away.....your running a business......you need to remind them of that.

[Deltha]

well...I didn't read everyone's responses...but I read far enough to say ditto what Forsberg said. I've got a five and a two and half year old. The lowest I've ever paid was 70 a week each.

Even in home care I signed an agreement for when I would pay, how much, late fees etc.

As far as not paying when they aren't there...I see their point...but if its just a day or even a two week vacation and they're coming back then they should pay!! In my oppinion...if I get a paid vacation, why shouldn't the person who takes care of my child FOR me not get one?? If I took a day off..even with no contract...I always pay.

It boils down to this...YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!! Now I'm not saying you don't take good care of those kiddos even though their parents are being jerks...but what I'm saying is that a happy worker makes for a better environment, period!!

Well, that's my 10 cents...way more than 2 cents anyway!! Good luck to you..I think you're just gonna have to lay down the rules and tell them if they don't like it..there's the door.

[Jennerizer]

Your rates are wayyyyyyy too low in my opinion. I don't have kids, but I do have a niece & nephew that practically live with me & are in daycare. It's $100 a week for each--they are 3 & 5. I can't complain.......it's only $20 a day for 8 or 9 hours per day. I wouldn't even be able to get a teenage babysitter for that price. So when you're only charging $60 a week.....that's basically $12 a day or roughly $1.50 an hour give or take. Your services are worth more than that, aren't they? Not to mention the overhead you are carrying---paying for the license(s), supplying toys & activities, snacks & drinks, etc. Are you even making a profit? Raise your prices woman!!!

I would definitely post a professional looking sign that clearly states payment is due on time...and make the late fee high enough that they are not going to like paying it. Why do you think banks now charge $30 bounced check fees? Technically, they don't need the money for a check they aren't even cashing---they raised it to that high amount so that people would think twice about writing a check that might bounce. Give the parents the impression that your daycare services are in demand---meaning, let them worry that if they pay late, there is someone else waiting right behind them for that spot their child has---someone that is willing to pay on time. Let them think there is a waiting list....even if you have to make a fake one up. Have it there on the counter with a clipboard & write some names in there-----maybe then they will stop taking your services for granted if they fear losing their child's spot & having to go elsewhere & pay more money for daycare.

As far as them not wanting to pay for the days their child is out sick or holidays-----sorry, it's part of the package deal. Like someone else stated.....we still pay for a full month of cable even if we only watch tv a few hours a week. We still pay for a full month of phone service, even if we aren't on the phone all that much. We still pay for car insurance even though we haven't had a need to file a claim. We still have to pay rent or a mortgage even if we are not home all the time. You get the picture. When a parent starts to dispute over this, bring up those examples. I bet they never really stopped to think about it before.

Best of luck to you. Try not to let the stress get to you. Let us know how it goes. Remember--you're the one in charge. The parents aren't much worse than a toddler. Some of them will test your limits---if you let them get away with it, they will continue to do it. Stay firm--especially with the parents...lol. They can't take advantage of you unless you allow it.

Jen

[ December 31, 2002, 02:32 PM: Message edited by: Jennerizer ]