Holding spots on mat. Leave

What are your policies regarding holding spots open for an infant while mom is on maternity leave with child number 2?
I’m in Ontario so people are begging for under 2 years spots.
I’ve had a family with me for several years, and the preschool child has now dropped to 3 day a week attendance with moms maternity leave. The child will leave at the end of the summer to head off to kindergarten. I have not been able to find another child to fill the other 2 days, so I’m actually losing money on those open days. Mom is under the impression that once her older one leaves, that I’ll just slot the infant sibling into the older child’s space. I may not have room depending on the movement in my under 2 years groupings in the next few months.
My question is that when I’ve had other parents in similar situations, they have all left their older one in full time to lock in the space.
Do you make your parents pay for older child to attend full time during maternity leave to hold a space open for a sibling?

When is the new baby due to come to you...and will that only be 3 days also or will it be 5 days...I will hold the spot for the new sibling as long as the older sibling continues to come at least 3 days a week and the new sibling will be starting as soon as the other one leaves...hope I am making sense. As far as a child only coming 3 days a week, that is your choice. I will do 3 days a week but I charge more per day, than my daily full time rate. So it makes up a little bit of the loss of the 2 days.

The baby will attend 5 days a week, as I don’t accept the “under 2s” part time. I do charge a bit higher fee for part time preschool rates. I’m not 100% sure of the exact dates one will leave and the other one will start.

this is my policy:
I give two options one with no holding fee and one with a holding fee

With no holding fees

1) if your child already enrolled stays (no change to enrollment):
I will try to have a spot available around the time you will need it (within a month or two)

2) if your child already enrolled stays but drops down to less days:
I will try to have a part time spot (matching older child's days) around the time you will need it (within a month or two
There is no guarantee that there will be a full time spot for either child once your mat-leave is over

3) if your child already enrolled is pulled out of care during your mat-leave:
You will have to reply for care for both children to see if there is any spots available

There is NO guarantee of any spots being available within the time you wish to return to work. Please note I will be advertising to fill the spot(s) during your leave or longer.

No Holding fees

A contract for the new child will only be signed and an enrollment fee paid closer to when care is needed and once I know when the spot will become available.

If your older child drops down in days a new contract must be sign.

If you remove your older child from care, you will also need to sign a new contract, pay new enrollment fee closer to when the spot is needed and I know when the spot will become available.

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With holding fees

1) if your child already enrolled stays (no change to enrollment):
You pay a holding fee for the new child
I will make sure there is a spot for the new child the time you need it (prearranged date).

2) if your child already enrolled stays but drops down to less days:
You pay a holding fee for the new child
I will make sure to have a part time spot (matching older child's new days) the time you will need it (prearranged date)

There is no guarantee that there will be a full time spot for either child once your mat-leave is over

3) if your child already enrolled is pulled out of care during your mat-leave:
You pay a holding fee for the child you pulled from care and the new child
I will make sure you have two spots available when you need it (prearranged date)

With Holding Fees

A contract for the new child and a enrollment fee paid before mat-leave starts in order to ensure the child's spot.

If your older child drops down in days a new contract must be signed

If you remove your older child from care you will need to sign a new contract and pay a new enrollment fee for this child before mat-leave starts to insure the child's spot.

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Timing

Mat-leave 15 weeks +
Parental care 37 weeks = total one year of leave
Parental care 64 weeks = total 18 months of leave


Mat-leave Holding Fees
$100/week for weeks one (1) to fifteen (15)
$150/week for weeks sixteen (16) to thirty-seven (37)
$200/weeks for weeks thirty-eight (38) to sixty-four (64).
All holding fees will be paid just like tuition payments.
Holding fees are paid by spot.
Fees are non-refundable.
Fees are to hold the spot only.

I don't have the age restrictions you do but my policy is :-

Older child remains in FT care. They may attend on a part time basis but fees are due for the FT space for the older sibling. If and when a space opens up, the parent on mat leave gets first refusal of that space but they are expected to pay for it. This means, they are paying for two FT spaces. One that the older child is using and one that is being held for their younger child.

Should a parent not wish to pay for the second space normally because it opens up long before they need it, then that vacancy is advertised in the normal way and they risk not having a second space when their mat leave ends.

I do not accept part time children. It normally results in a loss of days that I am both unwilling and unable to absorb. This is especially true during mat leave if a parent wishes to reduce the days the older child attends because it often goes hand in hand with the expectation that those empty days are available for them to return to once the year has passed. I cannot and will not lose two days income for a whole year so a client has the peace of mind of knowing they have a FT space available to them. The reality of finding a new client who wants the exact days that a PT'er leaves empty are slim esp when you add in that after 12 months, the space is going back to an existing client.

Here they have two choices - pay for the space the older child is in and also pay for second space if one opens up for the younger child or leave and hope for two spaces at the end of mat leave.

Simply, I cannot absorb the costs of their expanding family with regards to two spaces, by allowing a drop in days for the older child and also in keeping a second empty space for potentially months, so they have the peace of mind in knowing they have two spots.

I’m almost thinking I should be requiring full time care during a mat leave.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Busy ECE mommy

I’m almost thinking I should be requiring full time care during a mat leave.

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I do it. There is no reason why you should be loosing part of your income in order to accommodate, especially when you have full day client inquires, I clearly tell families when the next full time openings are and then it is up to the families to take the full day spots or look somewhere else that suits their timing better. My openings are most likely September so they can decide to wait a month or two or to pay full rate until they're able to join us.

Personally I think it is not fair for the family to pay for holding a spot for long term and it is not fair for me to loose a full spot rate and get just a percentage. Even having siblings in care same rules.

I agree, the caregiver should not be out money because a family had a baby and wants to have their older child home during maternity leave.

I will just add, in case it is something that some one wants to consider it. My nephews (in a different city) are in a home daycare that does multiple part time families. I have no idea how she manages to always be full with so many part timers but she does.

When my sister-in-law was on maternity leave the caregiver essentially filled my, previously full time, nephew's spot with part time children and any days she was not able to fill my nephew would go. My sister-in-law only paid the days he went and he was able to socialize a bit. It worked out to being about 1-3 days a week that he went.

It worked out well for all. The part time families got the days they needed, my nephew got to go a few days a week for play time and my brother and sister-in-law didn't have to pay full time care for the full year she was off.

BUT...it must have been a logistical nightmare. It is NOT something I would consider doing...but for someone that does allow part time care it could work quite nicely. But again...the logistics!!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Busy ECE mommy

I’m almost thinking I should be requiring full time care during a mat leave.

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You should. Why lose income to give someone who isn't your family peace of mind that they have what they need? I bet if you asked them to take a 20% pay cut for a year to give you comfort, they wouldn't do it.

I'll be honest, first time Moms or people who aren't my client's baulk at the idea of paying for a space for many months if one opens up before they need it. They expect to have zero financial investment beyond a deposit for their child's space on their schedule. There are some who, once I explain, can appreciate why I do it this way but that doesn't always equate to them being willing/able to pay for the space in advance.

Those who are already client's on mat leave, who know my program and care standards, ALWAYS will take a space when they can for a new baby. I currently have a client who has been paying for an empty space since October plus has her older child here 3 days a week (paying for the FT space) whose mat leave ends end April 2018. Having had a bad experience with another provider during the first couple of months of returning to work with their first child, they are prepared to make the investment for their second child to be able to come here too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peacefulbird

Personally I think it is not fair for the family to pay for holding a spot for long term and it is not fair for me to loose a full spot rate and get just a percentage. Even having siblings in care same rules.

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I guess that depends on the quality of care in your area from your competitors and how frequently your own turnover is - i.e. will there be another space in time.

Here, there are a huge amount of day homes but a lot of them aren't very good. Don't provide food, TV on in the back ground endlessly, over-ratios, no receipts etc.

I had a space open up last month expectedly due to a client being transferred out of area and my mat leave client knew this would be the only space I have in her time frames. I don't have any children aging out until September 2019. Only one of my current client's plans on extending their family more and she's not even pregnant yet and only at the trying stage.

While you might not think it's fair for the family for pay for two full times spaces during mat leave, these client's know that had I advertised the space, it would not take me 6 months to fill it with a suitable long term new client. Having experienced a lower standard of care elsewhere when they switched their older child to here, they don't want to revert to that. No one forced them to take the empty space. It is entirely up to the client - take and pay for the space when it becomes available or start looking for someone who can take both children full time in April because I won't have a space for the baby. Basic consumer decision and perfectly fair when it's fully their choice.

Families in my area are typically unable to afford holding fees. While some want 1-3 days/week during may leave, most keep their older child home. I include the family in daycare events (like a bbq or party) but I do not hold the spaces. They go on my waiting list, and get notification if a spot opens. If the spot is for June and they don’t want to pay til Sept? Then it goes to a new family able to start in June. I can only take 4 full time children, and only 2 under 18m. This is a business, and I need full time pay if I’m running a M-F Daycare.

You could ask the parent on mat leave to pay for the other 2 days starting in Jan and to pay for the full time fee to hold the spot when the older child leaves until she is ready to go back to work.
I am sure she will understand the reasons why you have to do it this way and this is the only way you can be sure to keep the full time spot for her.