First day of dayhome!

Hi ladies!

its my first time posting here as i just opened my dayhome! Today i have the cutest 3 and a half year old girl starting.
Things are ok, but her mom is not following the few things we had agreed on. I asked to be payed in advance for the full month and she gave me a post dated check for the 14th...and for 5 days of care only. She told me that she did the check for the 14 because there is no money in the account before that.. :unsure: It makes me feel really unsure about this. Aspecialy that we signed a contract...

What should i do, I feel really bad about this. :S

Congratulations on your opening. Start off on the right foot and enforce your contract. Ask her to adjust (with initials) her current cheque or write a new one. Her finances are not your responsibility or business and you should not subsidize her. If you correct this issue, she will respect you and your business as opposed to thinking your rules (especially payment) are flexible. She may be wonderful otherwise, but even the nice ones are very capable of taking advantage! Good Luck :)

Well I have to say, it is better to "have" the money (as long as the check is good on the 14th) ahead of time, but I would def worry a touch, just reinforce the importance of payment on time, and dont EVER waiver on your contract, maybe everything will be just fine. I would def inform her that the check does need to be marked for the date of payment due next time and the money needs to be available, maybe she is having a hard time getting back to work? Post dating a check is pretty much the same as paying late! which I'm sure is against your policy, just wouldnt let her do it again. :) good luck with the new venture. :)

OMG, she has been with me for 1:30... and she allready hit my 1 year old son 3 times all ready, Its going to be a Longggg day! :(

Good luck with your new business and welcome to the forum. This is not an easy profession and people who open a daycare to make a little money soon realize that it is necessary to be more business minded and to have a contract and rules or people will walk all over you. It's sad, but it's true.

Be strict with the parents and enforce rules. The same goes for the children. You must start from day one to show children what is acceptable with praise and what is not acceptable with a stern voice and face, a timeout after a few warnings, whatever works best for you. But start today.