Parents who take advantage

[Samantha]

I need some advice. I have had a brother and sister in my daycare for two years. I do not get paid for vacation time so I don't often take time off. This summer the mom got funding to send her son to a camp and advised me that he would be gone for the entire month of July. She also decided that she wasn't going to play favourites so she sent her daughter to day camp for the same amount of time. Needless to say, this has caused me financial hardship. They have now been back for a week and the mom advised me that they will be going to the cottage the last week if summer before school begins. She also emailed me to tell me that she will be doing this next summer as well. I don't think this is fair as I watch them before and after school from Sept to June and I have to hold their spots open. I mentioned to her that I am loosing alot of money to which she completely ignored me. What should I do?

[mlc1982]

If she wants her spots held, she should be paying for them. If not, find other kids to fill their spots. I currently don't get paid for holidays either but if a parent takes holidays at a different time than me, they pay. I remind them in my contract that they are not paying for the time their child is in my care, they are paying for their child's spot.

[Play and Learn]

Change your contract ASAP and have mom sign it. She doesn't want to sign, find more families. You have to remember that you're the boss in this business, and people shouldn't be walking all over you.

I have it in my contract that if I'm closed, then parents don't pay. But when they take time off, they have to pay me half of the amount they would regularly pay so that they don't loose their spot, and I still somewhat get paid!

[Sarah]

I agree, change your contracts...

I also chose not to get paid for my vacation, but here the rule is really simple. I'm open, you pay the fee, I'm closed you do not pay.

Sarah

[Judy Trickett]

WHY is she not paying for it?? Daycare is about paying for the spot - not the actual attendance.

I would never let a family get away with that here. You need to implement and enforce a policy of payment regardless of attendance.

If a family pulled that here they would return to find they no longer have daycare.

[Sandbox Sally]

Ditto what all these other wonderful women said - if I am open, you pay, regardless of attendance. Change your policy, and make no exceptions.

[fruitloop]

Yup, I agree with the others as well. Parents pay for their space even if they go on holidays. For teacher families who are out more than 3 weeks at a time (summer break) they then pay half fees to hold their spot. They don't pay, I don't hold their spot. The only time they don't pay is if I take holidays.

[Tinkerbell]

Ditto...ditto...ditt o! No pay...no daycare!

[JHolkemama]

I would change your contract as well. I dont charge parents for when I am closed. But they must pay for their time off. If you are worried about the mother pulling her kids (loosing/replacing 2 kids can be a burden on you), I would negotiate with her. Perhaps she would find it reasonable to pay half a months fee each, and pay you for their time at the cottage. She should be somewhat reasonable considering how long you have had her children, and obviously she wants to continue care if she is talking about next year already. I wouldnt want to loose 2 kids, so I would be willing to find a common ground with her! Good Luck, do what feels right to you because you are the boss :)

[cfred]

Definitely they should pay! I have run into this many times over my last 10 years in the business and finally got tough. ALL daycares charge for parents' time away and now, so do I and haven't run into an argument as of yet. I do, however, offer 5 'sick' days to parents every year, that they may use at their leisure, but not for statutory holidays. These renew in Sept as I want them to be all used up before my peak pay/work season (summer) and are not transferrable between children and not accumulative from year to year. Maybe that's a good alternative for you? You have the right to revamp your policies and send a newsletter out to your clients stating these changes. If anyone's not happy, perhaps they can find other childcare and you can find a new client. No one likes to do that, but it's not right that you lose out on thousands of dollars to satisfy someone else's whim. It's a proper business and you need to be able to count on that money at the end of the month, every month. Be sure to make potential clients aware of this and all policies at the intake interview.

[katherine mowat]

Pay,Pay ,Pay. I am sure that they would have a huge problem if they went into there job to find out that they were missing weeks of pay beacuse there boss decided to go on holidays. It always amazes me that people dont have respect for the people that are essentially raising their children.

[mom-in-alberta]

I can't really add much, exept to echo what each and every poster has said so far.
If I am holding your spot, you pay for it. I have only made exception to this once so far, and this was a mutual agreement that was beneficial for me also.
I try to ensure that parents understand that their fee doesn't pay me hourly or even daily (in the case of full-timers). It ensures that a SPOT is available for their child under the agreed upon terms and timeframes. I take holidays, you take holidays, doesn't affect the fees. You still maintain that SPACE in my facility. If you choose not to pay for that space, you will lose it, end of story. Luckily, none of the parents I have (right now!) are the type that say to themselves "Well, I paid for it!!"
Perhaps this mom just needs to be reminded that this is your business, your income, and you depend upon it as such. If you can take the approach mentioned above (ie; you still expect a paycheque when your boss goes on holidays!!) it might help. If not, inform her that unfortunately you will need to fill those spaces, as you cannot go without that income.