Booked my vacation...one parent not too happy

[torontokids]

So I decided to book 2 weeks off in April. I decided to do this one thing for my family and me and of course one of my parents gets all huffy about it. She writes me an email about how this is inconvenient for them and that I should really either a) hire an employee or b) have a pre approved provider as a back up for my families. Seriously, aside from my vacation I have only closed for 2 days in the year I have been open. This was for illness and I really should have closed for the week but I know people rely on me. I don't close for Dr appts for myself or my children. This is also the family that I accommodate most. They have "forgotten" to pay me more then once, never charged them a late fee, feed their kid a separate meal at times as they "forgot" to tell me at the interview they don't eat red meat. Vent over

Questions
I have looked into an employee in the past but I am concerned about the liability risks e.g. if they were to harm a child or do something stupid. For those of you that hire someone and leave them alone with the kids, how do you manage the liability risk? Does your insurance cover them/you if they do something?
One of the reasons I am wondering about this is I have toyed with the idea of instead of closing in Sept. hiring someone to run my daycare. My youngest will still need daycare so this I thought could be a good option.

How much vacation does everyone take per year? I worried a little about taking the 2 weeks because I took 2 weeks at Christmas and plan on taking 2 weeks in August (possibly just closing down altogether the last 2 weeks). When I had a job outside the home I have 6 weeks of vacation plus lieu time which of course if we counted ours we would never be open.

[torontokids]

Oh- and her husband is unemployed

[mickyc]

How annoying! I don't know anything about hiring an employee so I couldn't help you with that. I will say though that you can close whenever you want and for as long as you want - you are self employed and that is too bad for the family. If they can't make alternate arrangements then maybe a center is better suited for them. Just take the time you want and if they leave then so be it.

For myself I will admit I rarely take time off. Maybe 10 days a year but it is usually just a day here and there added onto a long weekend. I can guarantee though if I did choose to take a whole week or two that if a parent was upset I would not be accommodating them if they complained it wasn't convenient.

[Mike]

Considering that that is a parent you've had previous issues with, I wouldn't worry about it. You have the right to take vacations. They have the right to leave their child with you or go elsewhere. You gave them more than 2 months notice. That's enough time for them to find an alternative arrangement.

As for insurance for an employee, that depends on the policy. You have to ask your insurance provider about that. I will be getting insurance that does cover that because I plan to have a part time helper for outtings, days I need to take off, and just to give the children a female adult figure now and then.

[Artsand crafts]

WTH that is very selfish of her. You are informing them very well in advance. I think 3 months is more than enough for them to find alternative care/take their own vacation.

I closed on December for 3 weeks. We were out of town. Even I have an assistant I would not let her stay with the children in the house by herself during my days off. Even I know she is a mature and very responsible person things could go wrong. Even when we are in charge accidents or emergency situations could happen. She sometimes stay by herself with the kids for our doctor's appointments or visits to schools for getting my degree, but it's only for a few hours and have my cell phone with me.

So on December I closed for those 3 weeks and all parents found alternative care or took vacation days. My contract reads that I have to tell them one month in advance about my vacation days, but in this case I told them 8 months in advance.

[torontokids]

Arts and Crafts- do you just take the 3 wks per yr?

[cfred]

Enjoy your vacation and don't let anything dampen that. I can't answer as to the insurance questions. It might be a good idea to talk to you broker about this. For vacation time, my contract states that I take a minimum of 3 weeks per year and up to 5 weeks (all unpaid). Most vacations are 2 weeks and under, requiring 4 months notice. For anything over 2 weeks, I give a year. For my 2.5 week I'm leaving for on Wed, I told them last February. I just gave a rough time that I'd be going and firmed up specific dates once the flights became available for booking. Should a trip come up unexpectedly with less than the prescribed notice available, I will ask if everyone's ok with it with the understanding that I might not get to do it. I've not had a problem yet and my clients are always very accommodating. I'm actually amazed that my clients were still ok with me going on this vacation because I just had 2 weeks off before Christmas for a surgery. They were actually very insistent that I go!
They're a pretty awesome crew :)

I would think that booking time off in April should be just fine. That's lots of notice. Also, which might be helpful for you in the future....when I interview, I make it very clear that I travel at least once every year and like to take advantage of any cool travel opportunities that come my way. They know right from the minute we meet that having solid options for back up care is imperative. I don't take anyone who doesn't have good back up. So far, no complaints. Good luck :)

[5 Little Monkeys]

I would email her back and explain to her that parents that choose to go the hdc route NEED to have a back up as dcprovider's deserve holidays too!! I explain this in my interviews....someon e that does not have a back up would not be a good fit for my hdc.

I try not too take too much holiday time but I do take at least 2 weeks unpaid in the summer, sometimes 3 as my fiance now has a job where he is off all summer so we like to enjoy that. I have been lucky that the past 3 Christmases I have had all families take holidays so I never technically closed but didn't work. I have no children of my own and I want to enjoy life childfree and enjoy holidays from time to time but still be a reliable hdcp. So far, no one has really complained!

I'm not sure about hiring someone else to run your dc. I have 2 people that I can sometimes use if needed (one is my fiance tho) but I would never leave my other one (a cousin) alone for a long period of time. This is my home and my business and at the end of the day, it would be me held responsible for anything that went wrong.

Enjoy your holiday!!

[Crayola kiddies]

I take three weeks per year paid and up to 5 paid personal days .... I have it in my policy book that if parents don't want to take holidays when I do they must find a back up.

[bright sparks]

I think I may be the exception because I take quite a lot. Last year I took off the first week of January, week at March Break, 2 weeks in August and then Xmas off from the 19th. In addition to this I took two weeks in October for surgery and recovery time and I also probably had a good 7-10 days off throughout the year for extended long weekends. Obviously the Oct time off wasn't planned for and That makes 7-8 weeks off for the whole year which is extreme but I typically take 4-6 weeks a year a good 1-2 weeks are days here and there. I need that time, don't feel guilty and I have never had any problems with parents either

[bright sparks]

Oh and all my time off is unpaid

[nschildcare]

Do not let them make you feel guilty. Everyone deserves vacation time!! Especially caregivers. That is plenty of time to make alternate arrangements with their back up. I would not offer to hire someone to take over for you unless that is in your contract. I would not suggest other options, either. They are the parent and need to come up with their own plan. Using a home daycare means that they will run into situations like this and need to plan accordingly.

I, too, stress during interviews that they need to have back up. I have never taken a sick day but I know I might need to and i do take vacations. I ask what their back up plan is. If their 'plan' is to take a sick day from work, forget it. If their back up is a 4 hour drive away, forget it. They need a solid plan so that I don't get hassle when I need to cancel last minute or take holiday.

I hope you have a fantastic holiday!

[MonkeyPrincess]

Oh- and her husband is unemployed
WTH Indeed!!! Then they should have NO problem with your vacation if he will be home (unless he knows he will be back to work). Why is it always 'that' family that has a hard time with DCP time off? You know, the one that pays late, picks up late, doesn't call when the kid is absent and are a pain to deal with. They have the audacity to give you a hard time about what is rightfully yours (ie vacation and sick days) despite it being written in the contract that they signed! Besides, it's not your responsibility to find back up care, it's the parents responsibility. Do they not think you are ever going to take a vacation or close due to your own illness? Geez, the stupidity of people floors me sometimes.

[mimi]

Like the others have said, do not feel guilty about having a vacation with your family. This is important time for you to rejuvenate yourself and enjoy your family. Anyone who begrudges that is quite simply selfish and self absorbed.
I just handed out my yearly vacation dates. I am taking 15 days this year. I don't get paid for this time off and my clients have plenty of time to find alternate care or vacation the same time. That is their problem not mine as I have stressed they must have back up care.
Hard to do I know, but ignore their reaction as they are disrespecting you.

[Busy ECE mommy]

I give my parents one month notice if I will be off for a one week stretch or more. Sometimes they only get 2 week's notice if I need a day off for appointments etc. I have a total of 4 weeks off during the year, some of which is paid, but most times I've only taken less than 2 weeks off. I work 50 hrs a week, and paid the price last year for only taking 9 days off(and that total time included time for ankle surgery too) I was exhausted and burnt out, and I vowed I will put my needs first this year, and I don't care if it inconveniences the parents. They all get vacation(and only work 40 hr weeks) so why can't I? My parents have never complained about the time I took, even with only 2 week's notice. Start advertising for the spot, and show them the door LOL! How rude!

[Fun&care]

I think a good thing to remember is never ever ask parents what their plans are for back up. I think it shows that you feel guilty. Give them the dates and let them figure out what they do while you are on vacation. In your case however it sounds like you originally said you would only take 2 weeks per year so the parents may feel slightly mislead, however I still don't think it should be a big deal and they definitely were disrespectful. You should change your contract and add more vacation time. I don't think two weeks is enough in this field, I don't know how some of you do it. I take about 4 weeks per year unpaid ( this includes ALL time off including sick days) stats are paid and include easter Monday and December 24-25-26 paid.

[torontokids]

Just to clarify I never said I would take only 2 wks per year. I did however say I would take 2 wks in August and a week at Christmas. I ended up taking 2 wks at Christmas because of how the stats worked out and all the families appreciated this anyways as they were going to do their family thing so it was nice to not have to pay for daycare.

This time in April was a surprise for them and I never entertained the idea before but thought what the heck is the point of being my own boss if I can't take time off to do something I want to do? I was actually OK if I lost a family as I am only doing this for the short term and don't want their needs to effect me in a way that I don't do what I want/need.

[Artsand crafts]

This is the first year I take 3 weeks at once, before I spread them over the year. Since we got a deal 8 months in advance I was able to inform parents with lots of time.

You need to take care of yourself. To be in your best during daycare hours you need to feel well. Enjoy your vacation!