Okay I need help on this one!!!Please any and all advice.

So I changed my policies this year. Few major ones were I changed my vacation from 5 paid days per year to 10 paid days per year. I do not intend to use them all at one time but I do use them to cover doctors, sick ect.
I also raised my one family from 550 per child to 650 per child which did increase them $200 per month but not for another 2 months.... They were my first family and I did give them a discount in the beginning.
Well she has a problem with both. If I have to be flexible with the increase I can be but the vacation is not moving.....Ughhhh
Should I start looking for new dc kids????

well, i dont get paid days off and nobody that i know of does. when i was interviewing for my spots when I reopened for toddlers in september I had 3 people tell me that they felt my contract policies and fees were the fairest that they had seen. they had met with several people who wanted paid vacation and given that they would have to pay for alternate care it wasnt something that they would agree to. That could seriously be a deal breaker for someone. As far as fees go, it may be that you have raised rates too high too fast. I undertand that you gave her a break in the beginning but she needs to understand that you can no longer take the loss of income. why is that extra money better in her pocket than yours? I think if i was to be flexible it would be on the paid vacation days. Take the monthly income and save some of the extra to cover those extra days. She has to realize that she's not going to get a deal like she has now from anyone else so unless she moves just to make a point she's not going to gain anything.

Yup !!!!!!

I am not sure where you are but you should look to see what the norm is in your area. I take 3 weeks vacation paid and I also have 5 paid personal days in my contract and that is the norm in my area. If it was me I would raise the fees and take a week paid and a week unpaid for this client and change it to how you want it for new families... Put a little bit of the higher fees from this client away each month for your extra week holiday

Refresh my memory ~ ss this the client you posted about the other day who has been paying a hugely discounted rate for their two children compared to all your other families who you signed on at the normal in your area once you realized you were undercharging as a newbie. The clients who have already cost you a loss of income of $1000's of dollars over the past year and a bit because they were paying so much less than everyone else for the same service just cause they were your 'first' clients ~ the clients who you STILL did not raise their rates up to market value in an effort to be FAIR since they were your first clients and you wanted to be loyal, who in an effort to be FAIR you allowed them a compromise of increasing the fees over increments rather than all at once and so forth?

Cause if it is IMO you have done enough to be NICE and it is time to be BUSINESS MINDED ... personally YES I would be looking for clients to replace them if they are not willing to pay the market value for your area and there is demand for care because they obviously do not value you if they are nickle and diming you on the 'norm' for your area!

I raise my rates slowly, $1 or $2 per day maximum when I have a rate change. I'm not sure what your $200 raise works out to per day, sorry I'm too tired to do math right now, but is it more than that?

I don't charge for my vacations and I take 3 or 4 weeks every year. Grandparents may be helping out when I'm away or the parents might have to pay somebody else so I don't feel it would be right for me to charge them. But every other week of the year full payments are due, even if they take any other vacation time.

Also, I didn't raise my rates for 3 years, but during that time I added Christmas Eve day, some paid personal days, but I did it slowly year by year to be fair to my established clients. New clients didn't notice of course.

Can you advertise and start looking for new clients now?

Ughhh, yes euphoric....that's me! Sorry I should have linked them. She was very passive aggressive in regards to "re assessing" in the spring. I can't take the income blow.
And I don't believe I should for go paid vacation just because I am a daycare provider. Paid vacation is part of the deal and I believe I deserve 2 weeks like the rest of working Canadians. I can start looking but I don't know what the outcome will be:(

I have found that IF you were kind (stupid in provider terms ;)) enough to offer a deal to parents, they tend to get "bent out of shape" when you try to get them at the same point as all the rest....i.e. you let them show up late with no late fees a few times and when you finally issue one, they look at you like your from another planet. OR they pay late three times a week for three years and you finally get fed up and issue late payment fee and they are blown out of the water!!!! On one side: shame on you for allowing it to happen so many times with no consequences. and on the other side: shame on them for taking advantage or considering questioning the fact that you know want them to follow the rules they should have been following all along. I have been there and I'll tell ya, if I could turn back time...i would have NEVER allowed any "slides" on late fees, favors, freebees, .....anything....see ms the more you let some slide, the more they expect a hand-out and the longer the favors are given, the more ticked they get when the well runs dry!

I went through similar situation before the new year...I chose to not raise rates for current clients, just future clients. This seemed like a good option for me as I am losing 3 kids in Sept to school and have filled the spots with clients with higher rate. I do not get paid for my vacation. My hubby is self-employed as well so this is something we just make sure we plan/budget for accordingly.

You DO deserve paid vacation. I take 10 paid days off plus stats and Christmas Eve and 7 personal/sick days paid. I think the problem is that this is a change from what you had in your contract when they started, so they feel like it isn't fair to change the terms of the contract. When I added Christmas Eve, I had a few parents question it, but not enough to make them leave. The rest was already in the contract when they started, so no reason to complain, they signed it.

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Originally Posted by sunnydays

You DO deserve paid vacation. I take 10 paid days off plus stats and Christmas Eve and 7 personal/sick days paid. I think the problem is that this is a change from what you had in your contract when they started, so they feel like it isn't fair to change the terms of the contract. When I added Christmas Eve, I had a few parents question it, but not enough to make them leave. The rest was already in the contract when they started, so no reason to complain, they signed it.

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I deserve paid vacation too, but that doesn't mean I get it. Every home daycare business has to run within the limitations of their area. I cannot ask for paid vacation, because nobody in my area does, and spaces outweigh demand. :(