Advice needed on part time care

I hope everyone is having a great Monday morning,

I'm currently relocating my daycare and I have started advertising, I am getting some inquiries about part time care. I typically do not take in part time as I have always been full. However I have all my 5 spots open and I'm worried about my income. I do not want to settle and regret it later.

I just wanted to know your thoughts about letting potential parents know about terminating their part time spot to accommodate a full time spot in the future. Should I be honest and let them know? Or do I just terminate later?

Thanks in advance

VERY interested in the responses to this post as my hubby and I are just discussing this exact topic!! I have 3 FT's and 2 PT's but lately have gotten a lot of inquiries asking if I'll have a full time spot opening up in the next few months. My husband seems to think just get rid of the part timers and get the full timers as it's more money, but I'm not sure if I can just terminate for that....

I only leave one spot open for a spot share (2 families sharing 1 ft care spot)

My rates are as follows:

$75/day for two days a week, and $480/month for 3 days per week, spot shares can be coordinated by me, or a family can offer to do it, typically I get one or the other though ( 2 0r 3 days) Hence why I only leave 1 spot open for this.

I used to take part time care but it is very hard to make a living on it and when that child leaves you need to find a child with the same schedule to fill it so that you are not over your numbers. It was too much of a hassle and financial stress IMO so I now charge any new families full time regardless of days here. I know it's a bit unfair to the parents but I look at this way.....if you want a spot in a hdc than you are paying for the spot...if you want to pay for only the days you need than you need to go to a centre.

If filling a spot is taking awhile I would probably offer part time payment but let them know they run the risk of loosing their spot if a full timer comes along. If they want to guarantee that doesn't happen than they have the choice to pay full time.

You don't mention where you are but here kids are scarce. In the past I have usually turned away part timers unless the hours that they needed fit my schedule exactly for that reason that I don't want to regret it later. This year I've basically tossed my hands in the air and said let what comes come. I now have 4 part timers and 2 before and after school kids but I keep advertising hoping that I'll fill in more spaces. That being said, I wouldn't ever terminate a part timer if a full time came along. I'd be honest and let then know what you are looking for from the beginning and sometimes they can compromise with minimum number of days that their child would attend. The way I look at it is that I have a responsibility to my clients should I choose to accept them and I want them to feel happy recommending me to their friends. Sometimes those part timers will turn into full time if the parents situation changes!

Thanks for all your quick responses. I am relocating to pickering....right now I'm Toronto and I was full with 5 full time kids. I decided that I would just let the potential clients know that I offer full time care but will accommodate part time for now, which 5 little monkeys suggested. I will also let them know my fees for both ft/pt care.

Thanks again

You can tell them you will do pt untill your full and then when you need a full time spot they will have first right of refusal to either pay the full time fee and keep their spot or go elsewhere.

In some areas it seems like PT is what parents need. If you are just starting out and looking to get filled then taking what comes is ideal. I would take 2 of your 5 spaces and make them open to PT but ONLY to those with set schedules ie same days used per week making it possible to fill in the other days. IF the schedule varies then they pay for the full space to be reserved for when they need it.

Also having some kids in care even if it varies per day will make you more attractive to other potential FT who want established care. So taking 2 PT now will might make it easier to get FT. Also realize kids are with us so short a time and between mat leave and leaving for school you will be able to replace those spaces down the road with FT as the opportunity comes.

For myself I would just go for full-time kids if you can. If you still have spots available after a month then maybe take a few part-time. I prefer full-time and would never ever get rid of a family just because something better came along. I feel like I made the agreement to accept part-time care then I should honor that until they are in school or terminate care.

When I opened I could only get PTers It took me probably 5 years to get FTers for some reason, I wasn't getting any calls for FTers. You can sort of gauge by how many requests you're getting for FT versus PT and go from there.