Changing hours

hello everyone!!

So, for anyone who was aware of what was going on with me a few weeks back, I just wanted to give you a bit of an update. I'm not sure if I told you that I had decided to keep one of the kids, because it added a little bit of income and he's my son's "best friend".

Anyways, so his mom is on mat leave as of last week, and their choosing to keep him part time, which is great! I got an evening job at babies r us and I am keeping him full days, 3 days a week. His hours are 7:30-5:30, which is a really long day. I would like to change the hours that I am "open" but I am afraid that they're going to ask about a change in fee. Which I won't be dropping.

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to do this?

Nice to see you back, and that things have worked out for you.

What were you thinking of changing your hours to? If it is just a decrease of an hour or so (say 8-5ish), then I wouldn't be too concerned about them wanting a change of rate. You could probably get away with a 7- 8 hour day for the same rate too.
However, if you want to drop to less than that, I would probably talk to the parents. I would think that once mom has gotten into a routine with the two kids, she may even drop back on the hours herself, but maybe not.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Glad to see you back and congrats on your new job. What time does the mom plan on picking up once she is on mat leave. Talk to her and see if she can pick up at 5 or 4:45 to allow you time to have dinner with your family before you head off to work. In my policybook anything over 5 hours is a full day anyway. My latest pickup is 5 but they too are going on mat leave as of Friday so then the pick up time will be 4 so I have changed my closing time from 5 to 4:30 (to accomodate another family) which is amazing for me. My evenings are not going to be so rushed anymore.

The other thing to look at is if this child is a friend of your son's what would he be doing for that half hour if the friend wasn't there. Is there a way to make better use of the time such as having them doing something quiet for the last hour of the day while you cook - even playing games at the kitchen table.

If mom is on mat leave then it will depend more on what time the dad is off work if he is the one coming for the child and that will happen more in the winter rather than mom taking baby out. You could approach the family with the idea of what is the earliest you could pick up since our lives are getting busy in the evenings and getting supper overwith earlier would be nice and see what they say. You don't have to be specific about what your evening plans are - just sitting and vegging is an important plan but not one we share.

So glad your still in the day care "game", was just too fun to play wasn't it!?:laugh:
Glad you found another job as well, helps alot to have something secure I'm sure.
How much will you be changing your hours? just 1 hour earlier to close, or more? If it's nothing drastic I would keep the charges the same, now if you are considering like half days, of course a drop in rates would be expected. :)

She's still sending him 7:30-5:30 even though she's on mat leave?? Wow! Yes, that's really long day!
I would just be frank and say that now that you are working an evening job as well, and since she have the flexibility being on maternity leave, I am changing my hours to 8:30-4:30 starting Nov 1.

Holy crap, that's a long day! My max is 9 hours per child with $5/half hour after that. I had a Mom on mat leave who kept her son with me 3 days/week until he went to JK. But she used 9am to 4pm!

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Originally Posted by Lou

She's still sending him 7:30-5:30 even though she's on mat leave?? Wow! Yes, that's really long day!
I would just be frank and say that now that you are working an evening job as well, and since she have the flexibility being on maternity leave, I am changing my hours to 8:30-4:30 starting Nov 1.

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Yeah!!! and she was waiting until 5:30 on the dot!! ONe day she was even late!! But I emailed her and told her that I would closing now at 4:30 and she was OK with that. She said it's fine now, esepcially since it'll be getting dark earlier. We've become sort of friends in the last little while, since I'm not technically running a daycare I've become more lax on certain things and she they aren't taking advantage. Which is great. I even offered to take her son if she goes into labour in the middle of the night. The kid still gets on my nerves a little bit (he's just SO moody) but I've decided not to be SO strict. I'll pick my battles and try not to get too upset.

Although, now that I have your guys' attention, I do have one question. This kid (18 months) seems to think it's funny when I'm disciplining. He takes it seriously most of the time, especially when he's getting in trouble alone but if it's the two of them, he thinks it's a game and laughs and tries to get up out of time out. No matter what I do, he doesn't listen. And he's challening me. I know it's all an age thing, but it drives me bonkers, I've even found myself yelling lately, and I don't want my son in an environment like that. Any suggestions??

At 18 months I would be using something confined for time out if that is how you discipline such as a play yard or high chair, etc. that eliminates the getting up out of time out since they are there till you come back for them. Their attention span is so short the getting up is partly because he has forgotten why he sat down in the first place.

It also sound like the two of them are bonding in a sibling way and ganging up on you - so not fun. If mom is pregnant she is probably being either really strict cause it annoys her or really lax cause she just can't be bothered and he is testing you to see where you stand on it all. Sometimes just sitting back and watching the play will show you things like toys that need to be put up for awhile, or how a change in arrangement of furniture might help - ex toys all around the edge of a room and open space in the middle encourages making a dumping mess and running as compared to putting a couch across the middle to section the room - blocks and cars stay on one side and books and puzzles on the other.