Provider backing out on agreement and changing her hours

Just as parent's hours sometimes change at work with promotions, changing jobs, etc. providers sometimes need to make changes for their family needs too so it works both ways. When either party in the contract needs to make a change they need to give at least the minimum notice as specified and it then makes the contract void. Meaning that if the new hours don't work then the parent will need to move to a caregiver with more suitable hours. A contract is there for protection but is subject to change as circumstances change. Fees can be changed as food/hydro prices go up, hours can be changed as provider's children age and begin activities. Sometimes even the days of childcare change as a parent decides to go part time over full time.

There is no such thing as standard hours for home care and you will find several caregivers all on the same street with different hours. Care ending at 5:00 is the most common in most areas. When you have all of your other families picking up earlier and staying open for just one it doesn't make sense if it means you have to jeopardize your own family's activities and that is why the changes were made.

As far as the pregnancy goes I think the provider just assumed you would either keep the child home or have the ability to work within the shorter hours come Sept - if you are home on mat leave why are you not able to go pick up your older child by her new closing time and then negotiate with your work when you are ready to go back to find a job with hours that work for daycare. It doesn't always have to be the provider that adapts.

My experience is this , it wasn't working out ! Your dcp , as mentioned above wanted to change her hours . It is her business to do so . I agree with everyone else ! Did she handle it professionally ? Maybe not , but having my own experience with changing dcf hours , it's not the nicest of conversations to have ! Especially as you mentioned not feeling like you had to disclose your pregnancy news indicates there was some issues . So it prob went exactly like your provider thought it would !

Sorry to hear of your problems with your child's daycare. I am currently looking for children for my home daycare but I include written stuff about my hours, days, holidays... and with a legal binding contract all parties signs. I require a parent to give one month notice for termination and the same applies to myself as well. I had one family up and quit over issues with another parent during the sars virus spreading and without the proper one month notice and the parent who had every right to decide what was best for their child pulled the child out, but they ended up braking the contract I had with them. I ended up taking them to court and the judge sided for me because of the contracts and papers that were signed by the parents and myself. So my advice to you when searching for a center get things in writing, they will hold up in a court.

As a provider of over 15 years when you go into this type of business of home daycare,you are committing yourself to the parents and children in your care whether or not you have your own children.If you wanted different hours it should have been clearly stated from the beginning! I think it was very unfair of that provider to do this! It makes parents question the reliablity of home daycare providers out there . If you are a parent of course you children should come first, and that being said, home daycare should not be your choice of work then, unless, you can totally balance both worlds! Just my opinion as a daycare provider and someone who has worked with children and parents for over 38 years!

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Originally Posted by jplmrk045@gmail.com

As a provider of over 15 years when you go into this type of business of home daycare,you are committing yourself to the parents and children in your care whether or not you have your own children.If you wanted different hours it should have been clearly stated from the beginning! I think it was very unfair of that provider to do this! It makes parents question the reliablity of home daycare providers out there . If you are a parent of course you children should come first, and that being said, home daycare should not be your choice of work then, unless, you can totally balance both worlds! Just my opinion as a daycare provider and someone who has worked with children and parents for over 38 years!

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Well thanks for your opinion, that's great but I think you will find that the majority of home daycare providers would disagree with you. A home daycare is not the same as centre care. We are individuals running a "home" daycare so it is also a "home" with things that go on in a "home" like providers own children and everything that goes along with that. It is up to parents to research the best kind of care to meet their needs and if they do not have any flexibility then they need to go with a centre where they are run very rigidly as a whole. It was not unfair of the provider at all, that's ridiculous. Things changed and she notified the parent that these were the changes and if they didn't work for her then she would no longer be able to offer care. That is the true nature of a home daycare. Parents are not our bosses, we run our business the way it works best for us and if that doesn't meet the parents needs then so be it. We have contracts and providers with experience and know how would state that their contract can be amended at any time with a 30 day notice period to changes of policies which if the changes were not agreed upon would serve as notice period. We live in the real world where things happen and things change. We aren't employees punching in and punching out, we are running a business while caring for our family. I'm sure as hell not going to put the needs of my own children after my daycare families. It's a give and take relationship. I will be flexible and accommodate changes a parent needs to make where I can, and they should do that for their providers if possible but if things aren't able to be accommodated, people shouldn't take it so personal, such is life. I have been a daycare provider for nearly 9 years, I have also had my children in home daycare and centre care prior to this so I have experience on both sides. It's not my years that make me good at my job, it's being in touch with the reality of this job and my quality of experience that makes me a good provider. I know providers who have been doing this job for 30 years and they are a total waste of time, so the years mean nothing.

I think I understand what jplr...is saying. Yes this is our business and of course we are going to do what is best for us, the business and our family but it can't ALWAYS come at the expense of our business or it won't be a successful one. This is a business where multiple families depend on us daily to be consistent and reliable. If we are not those things we will have issues keeping clients.

Finding the balance of running a reliable and trustworthy hdc and keeping our families needs 1st priority is key but can be tricky. If one were to need to be flexible and always accommodating their family than owning a business may not be the best choice. It's no different than owning any other business. I grew up with a family run business and unfortunately there were times that both my parents couldn't be somewhere for us kids but someone had to take care of the business as that was our income. Taking time off whenever is not a luxury most self employed people have that work for/with clients.

However, I don't think this was the issue with the OP.

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Originally Posted by 5 Little Monkeys

I think I understand what jplr...is saying. Yes this is our business and of course we are going to do what is best for us, the business and our family but it can't ALWAYS come at the expense of our business or it won't be a successful one. This is a business where multiple families depend on us daily to be consistent and reliable. If we are not those things we will have issues keeping clients.

Finding the balance of running a reliable and trustworthy hdc and keeping our families needs 1st priority is key but can be tricky. If one were to need to be flexible and always accommodating their family than owning a business may not be the best choice. It's no different than owning any other business. I grew up with a family run business and unfortunately there were times that both my parents couldn't be somewhere for us kids but someone had to take care of the business as that was our income. Taking time off whenever is not a luxury most self employed people have that work for/with clients.

However, I don't think this was the issue with the OP.

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I agree with you for the most part but in reality when you run a home daycare while having your own children things are very different. I understand taking constant time off and making changes frequently to the original parent provider contract is a recipe for an unsuccessful business and bad reputation but we aren't talking about that. We are talking about a change in circumstances which meant the provider changed her operating hours. This isn't a reflection of poor business practice but a reality of life. It would be the same for an employed person if suddenly their life circumstances required an earlier finishing time. They could ask for a change in working hours or seek employment elsewhere but it wouldn't mean they were a bad employee or person for that matter. My response was directed at the post saying that provider acted unfairly which I think is silly. Just because something didn't work in the parents favour and was a major inconvenience doesn't make it unfair it makes it unfortunate but it isn't personal to them it is just simply that things change and peoples needs change both that of the parent and the provider. It could happen on both angles.

Here is an example of things I am dealing with now. My kids have summer camps which I have never enrolled them in before to save the inconvenience of the daycare parents who rely on me. This year I decided that the needs of my children are important enough that I needed to ask these parents to be flexible where possible. I have no issue with parents switching days, picking up late on occasion because their life throws a curve ball at them so I need parents to collect early so I can get to my kids on time or I have given them the alternative option that their children will come with me to pick up and I will drop them home myself on my way back. It's a give and take relationship. If they said flat out no to both of them and got all offended with me that is not my fault, not my problem and not a reflection on how I conduct my business. It is simply that I am trying to fulfill the needs of my daycare families and my own family without neglecting either. It requires some give and take on both ends.

I can see that you jplmrk045 have taken into consideration the parents views on home daycare reliability, stressing the importance of commitment to children and families. This is all good, as for the amount of years spent as an IPC I would imagine you held the same regard since day one...respect for the working parent who have to juggle their lives around childcare and busy working days. I feel from viewing many opinions from other IPC's that their family comes before business, child providers are lucky to have the job security that their children have a parent who can be there for them when ever needed. Most parents who are in need of childcare are at the mercy of the provider with the high demand for childcare and less space available to accommodate the numbers of children. Unfortunately, most parents do not have enough selection to find the ideal care provider, that being said, often settling into the daycare in desperation before having to return to work. Without a strong human to human mother to mother form of mutual respect these unfortunate situations will continue to happen. I strongly believe that beautiful relationships can develop out of sharing in the lives of each child so that the bond can continue to flourish over the years.

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Originally Posted by LITE-BRITE

I can see that you jplmrk045 have taken into consideration the parents views on home daycare reliability, stressing the importance of commitment to children and families. This is all good, as for the amount of years spent as an IPC I would imagine you held the same regard since day one...respect for the working parent who have to juggle their lives around childcare and busy working days. I feel from viewing many opinions from other IPC's that their family comes before business, child providers are lucky to have the job security that their children have a parent who can be there for them when ever needed. Most parents who are in need of childcare are at the mercy of the provider with the high demand for childcare and less space available to accommodate the numbers of children. Unfortunately, most parents do not have enough selection to find the ideal care provider, that being said, often settling into the daycare in desperation before having to return to work. Without a strong human to human mother to mother form of mutual respect these unfortunate situations will continue to happen. I strongly believe that beautiful relationships can develop out of sharing in the lives of each child so that the bond can continue to flourish over the years.

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Before I respond would you just mind clarifying what an IPC is? Thank you