Need a bit of advice....

Hi everyone, hope all is well across the board! I wanted opinions on what I should do with this situation....

I had an interview with family B back in the summer even though they would not need daycare until mid march of 2012. I put them on the top of my waiting list and they are still interested in placing their child with me.

I have family A who gave notice they will be leaving as of January 9th, 2012. I have been advertising for a few weeks now for a full timer and have had no luck at all. However with Christmas coming, its a bad time to advertise, so I am not surprised at how slow it is at the moment.

My question is....should I approach family B and ask if they want to start perhaps on a part time basis (couple days a week?) to secure the spot for March or is that being too pushy? What do you think?

I like family B - they have good hours and their child is adorable and seem reliable as they are friend of a friend too.

Any advice? Do I keep advertising and just wait it out and if someone comes along then say no to family B? Or do I offer it to family B first? Its a basically a month and half early....let me know what you guys would do....I trust and respect all of your opinions. Thanks in advance! Merry Christmas too! :)

Personally (and I am sure many will disagree)...I would save the spot for March for family B. You say they seem nice and the child seems nice and finding a good family and child is priceless. The right child and the right family is what makes the home daycare work.
I wouldn't pick another family just based on $$ if I was really happy with the hours and other criteria of Family B.
Plus it only means a month and a half of lost income. I would take it easier those days and prepare more crafts etc and use that time as sort of a breather.
I guess it depends on what you can afford though.
I value the right matching family so much that I do wait months for them and hold spots.
I would get a finance agreement in place though in Jan with Family B and get a non refundable deposit from them. Then in february I would meet with them again to fill out all necessary forms etc.
But that is just me

I agree with Spixie33. It can sometimes take that long to fill a daycare space in my neck of the woods and you don't want February to roll around and you still haven't filled it when you had these people ready to sign up. Take at least two weeks worth of child care fees as a nonrefundable deposit that will help a little towards your income. Good Luck!

In a way it isn't that long until March if you think about it since it will be January before you interview someone interested and they likely wouldn't start till February at the earliest by which point the current interested family would be looking to integrate. At this point I would be inclined to firm up the March family and get them to sign contract and pay a non refundable deposti should they pull out - make sure it says that in the contract that they forfeit if they don't start and if they start are bound by the contract withdrawal rules. But at the same time let them know that the space will be open in January and let them pay on an hourly, half day or daily rate if they wish to use any of the days till child would start. Even if it is a couple mornings a week and gradually building to fulltime it would work for everyone.

I actually have offered part-time care to a family on my waitlist in order to hold the spot for them and they went for it (I ended up having another family who wanted the space right away, so took them instead, but otherwise would have gone ahead). It might be worth a try...maybe they would like a slow integration? However, at the same time, part-time kids take longer to adjust, so that may not be the best. It's always a gamble whether you will find someone before or whether it is better to secure what is there.

If my vacancy is immediate in nature, the family pays half fees if they want to put off enrolment. It is their choice if they want to send the child part time during this time. They are paying for it. I would not hold a spot open for two months. Nope.

I would definitely contact the March starting family and ask them if they could begin a day or two a week by mid Jan., then maybe work up to 3 or 4 days per week before the family returns to work. I do that with all my families who are starting so that the baby is phased in while the Moms can still pick them up and make it shorter days for the baby's sake.

I would also contact the family and at least offer them the option of starting early. It's not always possible and money can be a factor (I'm sure you all remember well how lean things can get when you're on mat leave and there is only 1 income coming in) I would be inclined to save the space for them too but I would also firm up their commitment to you. You don't want to be caught saving a space and have them back out. I'd probably also advertise, cover all of my bases.

If you are interested