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There are many providers that charge a different fee for infant and toddler- I'm wondering why. I myself don't and don't as I don't find one more challanging than the other. There is nothing wrong with it, as I've always said, it is our business but wondering the reasons ( my parents supply the diapers, wipes and formula if they are on it )
Thanks
I started out with an agency - agency charge more for children under two because they limit the # of children a provider can HAVE under that age group to two .... this makes this age group a PREMIUM SPACE to find care for because they are more limited, plus it means a providers other spaces could be sitting 'empty' once the provider reaches that max if she cannot find children over two to care for right away .... if that same provider were not with an agency and having to follow the 'rules' for a licensed program she could have all her kids be under two if desired therefore the spaces are not 'premium' in her program and do not need an additional fee attached.
I left the agency cause I do not need the support and can make more wage without them but I still follow those ratio rules as close as possible - although unlike an agency I can use my discretion that if a child is going to turn two in 3 weeks but needs a start date NOW I do not have to make the client wait and potentially loose that .... so because of that I still charge more for children under the age of two.
In addition some providers feel infants have larger more expensive equipment required to maintain ... high chairs, cribs, multiple child strollers, infant sleep monitors and so forth that eat into 'revenue' in comparison to if you only cared for 'over twos' you would not have to invest as much etc.
Mmmm, I get what your saying but once you buy the fold and play and highchair- you keep it. Most infants aren't as tough on toys as toddlers? Once the toys are bough, you keep them and roatate them no? My mode of transportation is good for toddler or infant ( mind you I want the cool stroller that Alpagetti has!! Saving for it just cause I want it, not need it )
I'm not saying charging more is wrong just wondering if there are other reasons out there.
Ya ... for me my prime reason is that if I have two infants in care and a space opens up I might have sit open for a while loosing income while trying to find an 'older' kid because I have made a commitment to the two clients that I will not enroll another under two kid.... if I did not DO that than no I would just charge 'different' .... cause if I needed the income I could take 5 children who were 10 months - 16 months and be full ALL the time ;)
I know providers in my area who run a program with 'low ratios' aka they promise to never have more than 3 kids in care at all .... so they charge MORE for that premium lower ratio to clients who value that verses the other option of having 5 kids in care plus the providers own kids.... they need their business to still be viable to them as well.
Lots of reasons for varied fees in our industry ... I honestly look at some providers fees and cannot fathom how they possible make ANY money at all ... $20 a day would not cover my expenses for a child for example - I spend half that on food for ONE kid, than there is insurance premiums on my home and vehicle, increased cost of heat, hydro, sewer, etc, advertizing and website costs, the paper and ink to cover registration and my bookkeeping costs ... not to mention field trips, consumable program costs for creative, sensory, science, baking with kids ... and well toys and equipment too boot!
LOL - just thought of another for me just for fun .... infants and toddlers are more physically demanding on the body ... repetitive bending and lifting to meet their needs verses an independent preschooler KILLS MY BACK and therefore providing service to them means more trips to the massage therapist for treatment which is an additional incurred expense on my part to care for that age group verses should I choose to specialize in just the over two age group ;)
Cause seriously everytime I enroll a newbie infant my sciatica gets NASTY for months afterwards!
Ouch ~ your sciatica is reason enough not to want to take infants on!! ;)
I used to have two rates when kids came into care as actual infants (4-6 months) but once we went to them starting as one year olds I just dropped the infant rate. The higher rate was based on the amount of my time their care took. To move to my toddler rate you had to be over 15 months, able to walk unassisted, crawl up and down stairs, use a sippy cup and finger feed.
I've always included my own kids as part of my numbers in my daycare and always super excited when I was able to bring on another to fill their spot while at school.
Yikes playfelt- your brave I'm not sure I would take them on that young. Your right, that is a lot of work at 4- 6 months.
I've only ever taken them from 1 year - and been crazy busy in winter getting them all dressed but, just did it one at a time and i'd be working up quite the sweat. It was my winter work out!!
I've never taken into consideration the extra work done at times and just considered it part of my job.
People are paying for a spot in my daycare. I don't care how old their kids are, they pay my full fee.
Do you charge different rates for infant verses toddler?Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphaghetti
No. That's what I meant. Everyone pays the same fee regardless of age.Quote:
Originally Posted by jec
My fees are the same regardless of age. I generally don't take kids over the age of 3 unless they have been with me since the beginning.
I do however, think I am going to change my fees according to hours. Right now its the same whether your child is here for 9 hours or 12 hours...I find that now I have families leaving their kids for 11-12 hours just because they can and not because they need it. They are going shopping after work, out for an early dinner, visiting friends etc and then coming to get the kids. not fair to their little ones so for that to stop generally you need to hit the pocketbook!
I had to change my contract that anything after 9.5 hrs is considered over time. I had a family do just that, take advantage and leave their little one from 7am until 6pm. I was exhausted!
Yikes - are you working that long every day Michelle?
Yes - my fees are based on a nine hour day cause that is the 'average' work day for society and only Monday - Friday... I set those nine hours as 7:30 - 4:30 because that is my preferred hours of work and work best for my family ... so if you need me to work OVERTIME before or after that either because you cannot arrange drop off and pick up between you and your spouse or a family member within those nine hours than yes just like any other industry where someone is ask to work more than 45 hours a week or to work evenings or weekends and so forth - you unfortunately compensate those extra hours with an extend hour fee!Quote:
Originally Posted by michellesmunchkins
And even than I only work a 10 hour day max .... I could not work 12 hours a day and kudos to you who do - by 5pm I am running on fumes!
Heck no, I couldn't work a 12 hour day every day, especially without any monetary compensation! My hours are 7-5, and families can pick the 9 hour block that they'd like to attend. Ten hours a day is an extra ten dollars per day.
You have to remember I started daycare back in 1985. Back then very few moms worked right up until delivery day and only had 6 months off from the time they left work not the time the baby was born. So it was common to have kids come to care at 4 months old. Good thing is mom provided bottles and they slept a lot.Quote:
Originally Posted by jec
Just for curiosity when did the one year maternity leave start.
In the last few years I have had a few that came to care at 8-9 months because the parents shared the mat leave with the dad taking some of it at the beggining at paternal leave - they can do a total of a year between them.
The biggest advantage of getting the babies was that they were off the bottle, used a cup and fed with a spoon around a year old. Were almost always walking and saying a few words. They were around the other kids all day and my expectations were that they would keep progressing. Enter one year mat leave and is it any wonder kids under age 2 are considered babies.
I do physically have kids here from 6am-6pm...some days I have one who doesn't get picked up until 6:20! Its exhausting, both physically and mentally. I'm ok with parents who legit need those hours because they may work 10 hour days plus travel...but...
The ones who are taking advantage are starting to drive me NUTS!!! They tell me that they are just working around the house, doing some cleaning, running some errands as they have the day off yet their child is here at 6:30am (normal drop off time) and picked up at 6:00pm on the nose (normal pick up time). To me, this is taking advantage. Especially on days when they are the last child here and I'm stuck not being able to do what I need to do until he leaves...very frustrating!
I REALLY think its time for some contract changes...sad that I've never had to consider this as I've always had great families who drop off with enough time to get a coffee and get to work and come to pick up right after work...now out of 5 I have 2 that pull this 'extended stay BS'
I also keep the same rate regardless of age.....for now. I don't have any school-kids (and don't want to anyways) but when I start that I'm not sure Id change my rates then either...we'll see
The only difference I have is in the number of days they attend. Rates vary if they are 5 days, 3-4 days or 1-2 days.
Just the thought of me having three kids under 3yrs and one 10mos old + a school kid and having to dress them up and walk in the winter to the school gives me the shivers!! no way......jose!! :D I'm holding off as long as I can!
My rates are the same for every family too. But I save some money on infants because I don't have to feed them. The parents provide all food, diapers, wipes, etc. until they start on table food.
I believe that mat leave went to one year aprox. 12 years agoQuote:
Originally Posted by playfelt
OMG you are going to burn out with that schedule. Your daycare parents are lucky to have you. I am open from 7am until 5:30 and can take 9.5 hrs when they need them. I`m flex for days we get snow storms etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by michellesmunchkins
I can`t believe that your daycare families are taking advantage of you by using your open to close hrs to get their personal things done. I feel that my daycare parents pay me and if they want to do work or personal things during daycare hrs, that is their choice but to leave their little one from open to close is so taking advantage!!:blink: Nothing you can really say is there as they are now used to doing it. You should look at changing your contract and soon so you don`t burn out and or start getting more bitter towards these families
Thanks for responding ladies. I just was wondering....
Ouch! This makes me so very sad for you! I'm open from 7:30-5 and usually have the children between 7:45-4:15ish, so I'm super lucky right now. Next week I have a family who has to be here at 7:30 all week and I'm going to have to get up 15 minutes earlier and that's going to hurt me! I don't know how you do it! Hopefully you have a 9 hour maximum for each family though.Quote:
Originally Posted by michellesmunchkins
If you became a new parent of a child who was born or first came into your care before December 31, 2000, you can take a parental leave of up to 18 weeks off work to care for that new child. You have to begin the leave no later that 35 weeks after the birth of your child or the date your child first came into your custody, care and control.
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If you became a new parent of a child who was born or first came into your care on or after December 31, 2000, you can take a parental leave of: Up to 35 weeks if you also took a pregnancy leave, or Up to 37 weeks if you did not take a pregnancy leave. You have to begin the leave no later that 52 weeks after the birth of your child or the date your child first came into your custody, care and control.
http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/repos...0/10297487.pdf
:D
Ok that makes sense. It didn't take effect till I moved to Ottawa then. I know in London I still had babies, then a year in Kingston of doing relief care - I just let a group know I would fill in when they were going to be away and I was used a lot and not a threat because I was only going to be in Kingston for a year while hubby was on a course at RMC. Then we were posted to Ottawa in 2001 so once here it became a factor then. I knew it has been quite awhile.
Looks like I am the odd man out here.... Kids under one ARE a higher fee, for me. Not by much, it's only a 50 dollar per month difference. Children that age are more physically demanding, in my mind. They need to be fed by my hand often, picked up/ lifted/ carried more, need more diaper changes, and so on. Ages one to 10 are the same fee.
I am interested in the idea of implementing higher fees for using the entire 10 hours though. I like that idea. I know for a fact that I have parents who wait until 5:27 to pick up, because "they pay for it".
The reason that daycare centres charge more is due to licensing standards. We need to have 1 staff member for every 4 children. The ratios get higher as they children get older. So I can have 16 preschool aged children with two caregivers but only 8 infants for two caregivers.
(In Alberta anyway)
I have some providers in my area who advertise a wage of around $35 for under 2 and then $30 for 2 and up.
I don't get it. at first I was thinking that maybe they are factoring all the diaper changes for the little ones but now that I am in the midst of toilet training 2 and 3 year olds I think diapers are actually easier and less messy than toilet training and accidents all over the place.
I charge the same price for everyone here regardless of age and I can't imagine how a 2 year old or a 3 year old is less work. Sure the toddlers get more independent but then you have to still be vigilant with them because they are trying more dangerous play equipment, wanting more interaction and 1 on 1 time, voicing complaints about food or going inside or outside etc. lol There is no easy age imo:D
I have two fees one for a child in diapers and another fee for children who are completely trained. I offer it as an incentive for Parents to get their little ones toilet trained. ( when they are ready of course).
I'm with you on this one Spixie33!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Spixie33
Me too. I charge the same amount for all children. No matter what the age you run into challenges as they grow so I don't know where on earth I would draw the line! I think I would charge a fortune for a 5 year old though, I can't do attitudes!
A bit off topic, but do you consider regular massages a business expense if you are lifting children? I get regular massages to prevent migraines, but it never occurred to me that in a daycare situation they might be deductible.
Haha, no I wouldn't deduct that or I would have to deduct all my aspirins due to aches and pains and headaches. But I would be interested to see other people's opinions about that.
I am not an accountant but my GUT response is NOPE that is not a business expense ... however if you were to invest in an 'extended health care benefits for your business' and cover yourself for massage/chiro/etc than the PREMIUM you paid to the insurance company would be deductible from the 'business'.Quote:
Originally Posted by treeholm
That said if it is a REGISTERED massage therapist you are seeing you can claim it as a 'medical expense' just like any other Canadian citizen can .... along with your prescriptions, dental, eye glasses and so forth and depending on your tax bracket and income you could get a 'rebate' for the cost of this form of health care that way?