Toregone
07-04-2012, 11:45 PM
Edit - Wow I posted this and then seen how long it was... sorry!
I'm a little torn about a situation and am hoping you ladies can help me with some of your expert advice :D
When I first started my dayhome a few months ago I was contacted by a family seeking part time care for 2 children starting in September. The children will be 1 year and 4 years (mom coming back from mat leave). She is working 1 day per week currently and needs care about 1 - 2 times per month if the schedule doesn't align with her husbands. We met with each other and hit it off quite well (if she wasn`t a client I could see us being friends) and her son and daughter seemed great so I agreed to drop in care at 5 per hour over the summer and we agreed to see how things went for September. During a phone call about a month ago or so I let her know that I was going to have 2 spots open in Sept and wouldnt be filling them as I wanted a lighter load for the summer to get used to running the day home. I never meant this as a confirmation I would accept her children but she asked if I would have spots and I answered honestly.
My part time rate is 450 per month (per child) up to 25 hours per week. $5 (per child) drop in is for occasional care only. She has now worked out the math and figured out with the 12-15 hours they need (spaced over 3 days per week) it would work out to 480 - 600 monthly if they paid the drop in rate rather than part time rates. I dont dispute that the math works out in her favour to do it that way but I always stated drop in was for occasional care only. I am even willing to cut her a deal of $550 per month (rather than $900) because the math really does suck.
The problem being I`m not actually sure I want these children, let alone cut them a deal. Her 4 year old had turned into a holy terror, I once had to actually pick him up and carry him to time out getting bitten, kicked and punched the whole way. He doesn`t nap nor does he respect quiet time (and his hours will be noon - 4, quiet time is 1 - 3ish). The infant is a sweet girl when she`s not screaming, which is about 90% of the time. I actually have had to break out my old baby carriers and carry her non stop for hours as this was the only way she wouldn`t scream. She won`t even let me sit down, I have to keep moving. That being said these kids are only here 1 - 2 times per month, would they get better given set days and hours on a regular basis I wonder.
This will also limit my future field trips as I am currently purchasing a mini van, however the children I currently have in care will fill the van. So field trips will be limited to mornings only or Wednesdays and Fridays when these children aren`t there. As I`m purchasing the van for the dayhome I feel it kind of silly to make a 20k+ purchase and then be limited in its use. I don`t need the income or the extra kids. I have 5 under 3 currently (including my own) I am busy enough without adding 2 more. Note: legal limit in Alberta for private care not through an agency is 6 plus your own children. I am operating legally even if I take them.
The mom thinks that everything is confirmed as she left me a voice mail wanting to figure out Christmas holidays etc. She thinks we just need to nail down payment.
First things first I am changing my part time rate to stipulate not hours per week but days per month. it will now be up to 16 days per month. This is the second conflict Ive had with hours per week vs days per month. Luckily the first conflict worked out beautifully and in my favour. :laugh: I think it would just make it less confusing though to make the switch. I`m new at this, we can call it a learning curve haha.
What do I do. I feel as if I inadvertently gave agreement to take these children but now do not want the hassle of them, and I dont want to upset the mom who I really do like. I know she stressed over finding care for the boy as he really is a handful and I dont want to add to her stress. However I dont want to add to my own.
The one shining light in this is tonight I heard from my sister dayhome (GREATEST PARTNERSHIP EVER btw haha) and she is looking for a couple kids and asked me to pass on any inquiries I had to her. But that being said do I want to pass on problem kids to a friend and partner. ARGH!
Any advice for me.
And sorry for crazy punctuation. My keyboard is doing this É for the question mark and a bunch of other wonky things I cant seem to get it fixed.
I'm a little torn about a situation and am hoping you ladies can help me with some of your expert advice :D
When I first started my dayhome a few months ago I was contacted by a family seeking part time care for 2 children starting in September. The children will be 1 year and 4 years (mom coming back from mat leave). She is working 1 day per week currently and needs care about 1 - 2 times per month if the schedule doesn't align with her husbands. We met with each other and hit it off quite well (if she wasn`t a client I could see us being friends) and her son and daughter seemed great so I agreed to drop in care at 5 per hour over the summer and we agreed to see how things went for September. During a phone call about a month ago or so I let her know that I was going to have 2 spots open in Sept and wouldnt be filling them as I wanted a lighter load for the summer to get used to running the day home. I never meant this as a confirmation I would accept her children but she asked if I would have spots and I answered honestly.
My part time rate is 450 per month (per child) up to 25 hours per week. $5 (per child) drop in is for occasional care only. She has now worked out the math and figured out with the 12-15 hours they need (spaced over 3 days per week) it would work out to 480 - 600 monthly if they paid the drop in rate rather than part time rates. I dont dispute that the math works out in her favour to do it that way but I always stated drop in was for occasional care only. I am even willing to cut her a deal of $550 per month (rather than $900) because the math really does suck.
The problem being I`m not actually sure I want these children, let alone cut them a deal. Her 4 year old had turned into a holy terror, I once had to actually pick him up and carry him to time out getting bitten, kicked and punched the whole way. He doesn`t nap nor does he respect quiet time (and his hours will be noon - 4, quiet time is 1 - 3ish). The infant is a sweet girl when she`s not screaming, which is about 90% of the time. I actually have had to break out my old baby carriers and carry her non stop for hours as this was the only way she wouldn`t scream. She won`t even let me sit down, I have to keep moving. That being said these kids are only here 1 - 2 times per month, would they get better given set days and hours on a regular basis I wonder.
This will also limit my future field trips as I am currently purchasing a mini van, however the children I currently have in care will fill the van. So field trips will be limited to mornings only or Wednesdays and Fridays when these children aren`t there. As I`m purchasing the van for the dayhome I feel it kind of silly to make a 20k+ purchase and then be limited in its use. I don`t need the income or the extra kids. I have 5 under 3 currently (including my own) I am busy enough without adding 2 more. Note: legal limit in Alberta for private care not through an agency is 6 plus your own children. I am operating legally even if I take them.
The mom thinks that everything is confirmed as she left me a voice mail wanting to figure out Christmas holidays etc. She thinks we just need to nail down payment.
First things first I am changing my part time rate to stipulate not hours per week but days per month. it will now be up to 16 days per month. This is the second conflict Ive had with hours per week vs days per month. Luckily the first conflict worked out beautifully and in my favour. :laugh: I think it would just make it less confusing though to make the switch. I`m new at this, we can call it a learning curve haha.
What do I do. I feel as if I inadvertently gave agreement to take these children but now do not want the hassle of them, and I dont want to upset the mom who I really do like. I know she stressed over finding care for the boy as he really is a handful and I dont want to add to her stress. However I dont want to add to my own.
The one shining light in this is tonight I heard from my sister dayhome (GREATEST PARTNERSHIP EVER btw haha) and she is looking for a couple kids and asked me to pass on any inquiries I had to her. But that being said do I want to pass on problem kids to a friend and partner. ARGH!
Any advice for me.
And sorry for crazy punctuation. My keyboard is doing this É for the question mark and a bunch of other wonky things I cant seem to get it fixed.