New At this, Looking for Advice

[momof5]

Hi there,

This is my first time posting in a forum, but i could use some advice.
I recently opened my home daycare, and so far the family that i have, i'm starting to get an uneasy feeling about. I was orginally asked to care for the ladys daughter, after i had agreed the next day she called me about watching her 9 yr old son only for 1 hour, before school. but she's only willing to pay $5.00/morning. I did agree to watch him as i didn't want to lose the 3yr old daughter.
When i did the interview she didn't mention anything to me about payments. and now it will be 2 weeks tomorrow and she hasn't said anything to me about pay.
I don't have a contract as i honestly don't have any idea where i can even find one. The other mornning i was told that the child enjoys calling her once she arrives at work and that i should accomodate this.?
I'm starting to get an uneasy feeling, that i may have to chase after her to be paid, and having to stop a craft or activity so that a phone call can be made, do you think its a proper demand of a daycare???
Thank you everybody for your advice and opinions!

[Sandbox Sally]

PM me with your email address! I will give you my contract. You MUST have a contract. She owes you, in a big way.

[momof5]

PM me with your email address! I will give you my contract. You MUST have a contract. She owes you, in a big way.

Thank You sooooo much for helping me, i honestly don't know how to contact anybody on here though.

[Sandbox Sally]

Click on my name, and it will have a private message option.

[playfelt]

Momof5 welcome. She is totally taking advantage of you. I see that you are in Ottawa. I am in Orleans. One of the best things you could do is contact the Childcare Providers Resource Network. They offer support with getting started in daycare, offer workshops, learning resources, etc. Info can be found on their website but also worth a trip into the office to check it out. You won't be disappointed. http://www.ccprn.com

Even without a contract there is no reason not to tell the mom tonight at pick up the amount she owes and that it is to be brought tomorrow or there is no care on Monday. You are totally being taken advantage of and she may realize that because there is no contract there is no way for you to enforce the money. But you can refuse to let them back into your home on Monday if payment has not been made on Friday.

[Bookworm]

Aside from the contract that you must have so that parents don't walk all over you, you must take charge and not let the parents push you around. If you are getting an uneasy feeling, follow your gut. No amount of money is worth putting up with a family that does not respect you. I would personally tell the lady that the phone call would be disruptful and that you can not accomodate that. Also, you NEED to ask her today for the money she owes you. If she does not bring it tomorrow morning, then you do not care for her children until she does. It is very easy to get taken advantage of in this business, so you need to look out for yourself.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Yup A CONTRACT and from now on payment in advance are a MUST in this business ... while the world is full of many respectful and caring clients who value you all it takes is ONE who takes advantage of you and makes you work for FREE - we do not have any 'buffer zone' on the money we make to afford to care for children for FREE ... you pay up front for the days committed to than there is no need for anyone to be worried!

[sunnydays]

Ditto what the ladies above have said, but I also wanted to add that it is not normal to have a child calling her mom every day during daycare hours. It is disruptive and not always a good thing for the child either.

[mom-in-alberta]

For your sake, I hope you are able to nip this in the bud, immediately. I don't think that $5 is totally insane for the 1 hour in the morning. As long as you don't need to feed him, or drive him to school or even take him to the bus stop. A 9 year old shouldn't really need anything from you during a short period of time so early in the morning. Give him a book or whatever, and that should be enough. But what about PD days, or holiday days? Are you going to be watching him then? I would not be surprised if mom springs that on you in the next little while. And you need to charge her your full day rate!! You will be feeding him and entertaining him the whole day at that point, so no discounts.
You need to hammer out an arrangement that is suitable for payments, ASAP. It is waaaay too easy for someone to walk away from a childcare provider and leave them unpaid. In my area, it is completely common for payment to be made in advance. I would not offer care otherwise.
I would not allow a daily call to mom, for all the reasons stated by yourself and others. Just let her know that you are busy with various activities, and that sometimes it actually makes it difficult for the child to talk to mom. Most of the time, this type of request has everything to do with the parent, and nothing to do with the child.

[momof5]

Thanks to all of you for your opinions and advice! I got paid in full today, and now have a contract signed Huge thanks to Alphaghetti for helping me with the contract! I will be mentioning that the phone call will not be permitted unless it is due to illness or emergency! It most definately is the mother demanding this call, since the child doesn't ask to call, and when no call is made, i am told to make sure i accomadate this each morning?!