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Nikilbs
05-06-2014, 03:13 PM
Hi fellow mamas :)

I usually don't post much but I am just tired of this daycare business.

My situation is a a different kind of situation and I was wondering if ANYONE out there was in the same boat as me and if so, what did you do?!

I work shift work in emergency services...which means sometimes I work 7-4, 3-11PM and overnights!

Thankfully my husband works 9-5 so that usually keeps daycare hours manageable. HOWEVER I tend to get called into work short notice or shifts get changed around leaving me high and dry for daycare!

I also work every weekend. (husband is home with daughter). and only a few days a week.. and they can be ANY days of the week... not the most desirable schedule for a daycare provider...

My daughter is currently in a daycare program (which was hard enough to find) that requires her schedule to be submitted a month in advance and anything outside of what I schedule for the month is just luck if they have space open when I call.

I have no family close by or friends that can help out during week days.

Im starting to get nervous that it could be putting my job in jeopardy.

Advice from any fellow shift workers????????

momma2two
05-06-2014, 05:29 PM
I would just pay for a Full Time Spot. Then at least you are guaranteed a spot and aren't left in a pickle when you get called in. You don't have to send your daughter on the days you're home.

Rachael
08-14-2014, 05:10 AM
I run a day care in an area which has several hospital's and so this is something I am frequently asked for. It seems a common shift locally for 4 days on and 4 days off.

However, here, along with the request for shift coverage, usually comes the expectation that they only pay for the day's their child actually attends.

As an in-home carer, we are strictly limited in the number of children we may have in the house at the same time. This shift pattern requires us to reserve a full time place for a child, even though we know they won't be here every day. But they do lose us money. We can't fill the unwanted days even if we do know the parent's schedule a month in advance.

As suggested by others, the only way I as a provider can even entertain this is if a parent paid for the full time place they need to be available - but of course here, no one wants to do that and what happens is most providers have to decline the request due to the financial loss it brings.