How Long a Day Will You Agree To ?

I'm interviewing parents for a space that I have, and one parent would like me to care for her daughter from 7:45 to 5:45. :ohmy:In my opinion, it seems like a long day. My other parents all arrive between 7:30 and 8:30 A.M. and my last baby is picked up at 5:15. I just wanted some feedback to make sure that I'm not becoming a diva in my old age - is the industry norm still (about) nine and a half hours of care per day ? Or am I just getting to old and tired if a 10 hour day seems like too much to handle ? :laugh:(By the way, this child is 3 so I'll likely only be caring for her for a year and then she'll be off to full day kindergarten)

I will take any child from open to close, with extra charges for anything over 9 hours. their choice.

I open at 6:45 and close at 4:30..... My first year I took a flex family from 6:30 - 6 ....1-4 days a week ..... Was too much.

my hours are 7:30 to 5:30, but right now I have one dcg who is here until 6pm. Once she is gone I will never work past 5:30 or start before 7:30, unless its an emergency situation.

I think the standard really varies. You have to do what you are comfortable with. I used to be open 7:30 - 5:30 but have gradually decreased as families leave and now I do 8-5. There is no way I could stay open until 5:45 now, that just creeps too far into my evening. For interviews, I just tell them my times and they have to either work within them or look elsewhwere. It's amazing how they can end up conforming to those times if they really want to.

I am open 7:30 until 5:30. I don't have anyone who uses the full 10 hours though.

It's hard at the end of the day to have one left especially after closing. However, if you are low in numbers you may want to consider it with as kidlove says with extra charges for over 9 hrs.

I offer a nine hour day with set operational hours. I will not, not, not work outside of those hours. If a parent can work within my operational hours then we are not a daycare match. You have to draw the line somewhere or you would be working a 12 hour day.

When I started my hours were 7:30-5:30, and then one of my families asked if I could watch their kids until 6pm, well that 6pm became 6:30-7pm. After about two months, I told them that they had to come get their kids by 5:30 or I could no longer care for them. It was an extremely long day, my kids were acting out because they weren't getting enough family time, and I was burning out. They agreed to my new terms and it has been great. I will not work past 5:30, in fact I changed my hours of operation to 5:15, just so that if a parent is late, they still (hopefully) will be here by 5:30.

If they have a job where they have to be at work for 9 hours then 10 hours at daycare is normal. My kids were always at daycare for 91/2 - 10 hours a day.

You have to decide if having kids for that extra 1/2 hour (from 5:15 0- 5:45) is going to be a pain. If the child is old enough and plays independantly enough you may be able to start dinner once your 5:15 leaves and have it on the take for when the new girl leaves.

I love being closed early. I have just happened to fall into an 8 - 5 schedule and I love it. However, I know I won't have it forever.

You have to decide what you can handle and what you can committ to. In my opinion, no late fee is worth my sanity.

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Originally Posted by apples and bananas

You have to decide what you can handle and what you can committ to. In my opinion, no late fee is worth my sanity.

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Well said!

My hours are 7:30-5, but most of my families are within set hours of either 7:30-3:30, 8-4 or 9-5. It works for them AND most importantly for me! Like A&B, I don't go outside of my 'set' hours. I have a life to lead after daycare!

I open at 7am and close at 5pm. The rest of the time I'm closed and it's $1/minute for late pickups and I don't open my door 'til 7.
At the moment I don't have any kids who are actually here from 7-5. 7:30-4:30 is the longest. But as long as they're within my hours.....

I'm open from 7:30-5:30 but don't have any families here all 10 hours. I do help my neighbour once in awhile either opening earlier or keeping him late for an extra fee but that's only cuz she's a single mom and I like her AND the kid.

When I first started I was open from 7:30 am until 5pm. And I gave them 9hours care in a day. Most of my clients were coming at 8am and they were picking their kids up latest 4:30pm. Only one family was coming at 7:30am and they left last month. So now i changed my opening hours to 8am until 5pm which is great.:) not sure if i would accept a family who ask 7:30am start again:) that half an hour in the morning makes a big! Difference somehow.

Thanks for all your thoughts and comments ladies. :flower I think I'll take a pass on this one. After some further questioning, she explained that she's commuting from Arnprior (quite a drive) so I "know" that she'll be arriving here closer to the 6 P.M. mark - especially with winter roads etc. I'll just have to hang in there and wait to find a family who' a better fit.

I agree - I need to have some portion of the evenings free - both for business stuff (running to the grocery store to get fresh fruit for the daycare babies every couple of days, or if I'm interviewing families - I get a lot of families who are finding 6:30 P.M. too late to come by to meet with me.) and my own life. *Gasp* a daycare provider who wants to do more than just schlep babies all of her waking hours - imagine that ! ;D

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Originally Posted by mustbenuts

I think the standard really varies. You have to do what you are comfortable with. I used to be open 7:30 - 5:30 but have gradually decreased as families leave and now I do 8-5. There is no way I could stay open until 5:45 now, that just creeps too far into my evening. For interviews, I just tell them my times and they have to either work within them or look elsewhwere. It's amazing how they can end up conforming to those times if they really want to.

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It's pretty normal around here to have a 10 hour operational day. But, I also live in a "bedroom" community, which means most parents have a commute of anywhere from 20min to an hour, depending on traffic, etc.
I really don't have a lot of flexibility in my hours, simply because we have a lot of evening commitments with sports, etc.And I am not willing to open at the crack of dawn, LoL.

A lot depends on how far out from town you live. The closer you are the sooner parents can get home. If they work 8 hour day having the child in care for 10 hours allows for a one hour commute. By the time they drive to work, park, get to their work desk to start on time - allowing for a few minutes to visit the bathroom and such many need that full hour. Also some work places have their people work an 8 hour day and pay accordingly but do not pay them for their one hour lunch meaning they are actually at work for 9 hours - again need travel time on top of that. I open at 6:45 (6:30 if I have to which is fine cause hubby leaves to catch his bus at 6:15) and close at 4:45. I am therefore open 10 hours and parents are allowed to use whatever hours they want within those hours. I would rather have everyone up and here for the full 10 hours then allowed to sleep in and come later as that messes with who gets tired when. At the end of the day it is just freeplay so still frees me up to make supper. Because of the cost and lack of downtown parking I also have parents that drive their kids to my house and then drive home and park the car in the garage and take the express bus to work and back so go home get the car and come for their kids so that also adds time although there are dedicated bus lanes so sometimes it can actually be the fastest way.

I tend to snag commuting parents due to my location near the highway. My hours are 6am to 6pm and parents can use as much of that time as they want. However, I strongly discourage parents right from the first interview from utilizing all that time. I explain that it's not great for the children to be left that long, however, it is understandable for parents who rely on public transit to get to the city. Parents who are seen at the grocery store or jogging (you get the idea) when their children could be picked up are spoken to and the issue rarely arises again.

what time do you close? if they are asking you to take the child after you close....no go! you will resent it after so long. if they are just asking you to take the child within your hours but a long day....consider charging extra to make up for the longer care provided.
I close at 5:35, if any picks up after that they owe me a 10$ late fee at pick-up.
I take a lot of nurses kids...they work 10 hour shifts...I don't mind as long as it falls with in my hours, anything after 9 hours though has an extra hourly charge. They are all ok with that. :)

My hours are 7:30-5:00pm, but each family has to choose nine hours of care per day within that time period. I used to be open until 5:30 and I HATED it! It was just so hard to get dinner ready and get my kids fed, bathed and to bed on time. Now I am often done at 4:30 and that feels so divine...totally worth getting up a bit earlier to open at 7:30 as I now have time to spend relaxing with my own kids before cooking dinner and they get to bed on time and I still have some time to relax in the evening. I think you are right to pass on that one...it makes life so much more stressful and tiring!

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Originally Posted by treeholm

My hours are 7:30 to 5:30, but in retrospect, I should have said I would close at 5. I did tell families that closing at 5:30 means I need to be out the door at 5:30 (two nights a week I have to leave for other commitments by 5:30, including teaching at the university). One Mom comes either right at 5:30 or a few minutes later if traffic is bad. I have told her repeatedly that 5:30 is the outside limit, not the time to aim for. New inquiries are being told the hours are 7:30 to 5:00, and when the one little girl goes to school in September, everyone else will have 5 pm as the outside limit.

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Do you have a late fee? I would implement that ASAP with that mother!

I have 1 dcg that is here from 6am - 6pm 1 - 4 days a week. I had just opened my dayhome when I agreed to take her on - against the advice of all the very wise ladies on this site. She is a great baby and parents are great too - but the days I have her are LONG. The early mornings don't bother me too much, but I HATE the late pick-ups as it really eats into my time with my family. My posted hours are 7:30 - 5:30 but I think I will change that to close by 5:00 as I have kids come and go.

My hours are from 7:30 - 5. I have 1 family that starts at 7 and they pay me extra to open just for them. I won't work past 5 for anyone.

For two weeks out of the month I work from 6 am to 5pm (some nights 5:30) and for the other two weeks I work from 6:30 am to 5 pm (sometimes 5:30). It is a really long day.

I'm open from 7:30-5pm but work usually from 8am-4:45 and no family exceeds a 9 hour day. I charge fees for early or late or exceeding 9 hours and parents don't like to pay extra fees. I figure that most people work a 7.5 to 8 hour day and I'm giving them a whole extra hour for commuting, so 9 hours is the max.

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Originally Posted by Monday 2 Friday Mama

Thanks for all your thoughts and comments ladies. :flower I think I'll take a pass on this one. After some further questioning, she explained that she's commuting from Arnprior (quite a drive) so I "know" that she'll be arriving here closer to the 6 P.M. mark - especially with winter roads etc. I'll just have to hang in there and wait to find a family who' a better fit.

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Yes, Arnprior is a good length of a drive! It would probably be a long day for you.

I work 7 AM - 5 PM. Anything more is way too long for me and the child. My parents have been pretty good about pickups. Also, I make sure to include their scheduled pick-up time in their contract ie. 4:15 pm which helps.

I am open 7:00 - 5:30 and will take kids for up to 10 hours during that time. Anything over 10 hours - so if they wanted the entire time, there is an extra fee. Although right now I have a couple part-timers who I have here noon-6 on Tuesdays. Their mom is a friend and I'm not full right now, so I deal with it, but at the end of this school year (because she doesn't work during the summer), I will be telling her that if I can't keep them past 5:30 next year. It runs into me making supper and stuff, and with my oldest starting kindergarten next year, I imagine life is just going to get that much busier.

3xbluemom, 10 hours is a really long day. Children are really affected by that amount of time away from home, at least in my experience. Are you in a city where the parents have a really long commute time? That's crazy! Put your foot down and you will be amazed that the parents can make arrangements for dropoffs and pickups. They have family members, Mom, Dad, grandparents. Every one of my clients makes arrangements every day so that they never go over 9 hours. I just had a Mom who had to work overtime on Friday, yuck, but she was 1/2 an hour late so arrived with my late fee in her hand.

I adore the children in my care but I need my evenings and weekends and alone time for myself and my home and social life and my family and so do you!

I work 7:30-5:30, and they can choose a 9hrs time slot within that. I haven't had to charge a fee for anyone going over 9 hrs, because generally if they know that is your rule they will make it work. Most of my families have one parent drop the child off and the other pick up to make it work! A 10 hrs day is extremely long day for the children, not to mention myself!

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Originally Posted by Lou

I work 7:30-5:30, and they can choose a 9hrs time slot within that. I haven't had to charge a fee for anyone going over 9 hrs, because generally if they know that is your rule they will make it work. Most of my families have one parent drop the child off and the other pick up to make it work! A 10 hrs day is extremely long day for the children, not to mention myself!

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Agreed ~ only I am 7:30 am - 4:30 pm for my normal program hours and than offer 'extended hour services' as early as 7 and as late as 5 with an 'additional fee' attached for me working over the 9 hours in general ... I started out working long hours and quickly realized that I was going to burn out!