Rates and vacation time

[shopgirl]

Its hard for me to find alot of rates and policies without calling daycare homes and I dont want to pose as a parents and waste thier time. Just setting things up and have a couple of questions

1) what area of canada are you in?
2) what is your daily rate
3) what is your stat holiday/vacation day policy?

thanks for answering, i really appreciate it!

[playfelt]

It varies a lot from area to area. Maybe if you let us know where you live there will be someone near you that will have a better idea of how rates vary in their area.

[michellesmunchkins]

I am in Ontario. My daily rate is $35/day. Its in my contract that I am supposed to be paid for all stats but my families ignore that and most of them don't pay. As for vacation time, they don't pay for any days off that I take and they are allowed to take 10 days unpaid vacation time per year. Everyone tells me that I'm too nice and give them too much time off without having to pay. When I do my contracts up again I will be making some changes and not giving so much time off without paying though as its really hard to keep making ends meet with 5 families all taking so much time off. Hope that helps

[Emily3]

Hi! I am in a Toronto suburb. My rates are $40 full time and $45 part time. I get paid all stat days!! I think this is a must for everyone! Other vacation time seems to vary widely between providers. I do not charge for times when I am closed, however, parents pay half fees for any vacation time that they take off.

[shopgirl]

I am in the Niagara area.
Michellesmuchkins - that does sound generous! That seems like alot of time that you dont get paid. I cant believe some of your parents dont pay the stat days when they are supposed to.

so here is kind of a spin off question - if i wanted to charge a higher rate like 40$ instead of 35$ which seems to be the norm here from the little i see. What do I have to do to make myself stand out. What are some things you offer that make a parent want to get you and pay you extra. is it hours open? the look of your house? preschool curriculum you offer?

[apples and bananas]

I'm in the Hamilton area and I charge 35 per day. I do not charge for stats. I allow parents to take one week off unpaid on top of my 2 weeks unpaid. Anything above that is full week paid to hold their spot.

I'm too nice too.

[michellesmunchkins]

I am in the Niagara area.
Michellesmuchkins - that does sound generous! That seems like alot of time that you dont get paid. I cant believe some of your parents dont pay the stat days when they are supposed to.

so here is kind of a spin off question - if i wanted to charge a higher rate like 40$ instead of 35$ which seems to be the norm here from the little i see. What do I have to do to make myself stand out. What are some things you offer that make a parent want to get you and pay you extra. is it hours open? the look of your house? preschool curriculum you offer?

It really is a lot of unpaid time and it really does affect the income. I could be more of a hard ass and make them pay by threatening to not take their child the following week, but for the most part I have great families and that seems to be my only issue with them so to me, its not worth fighting with them for. I should fight for it for sure though since we are entitled to it...I just choose to pick my battles and for now I'll let the stat holiday one go.

My rates will be increasing probably next year to maybe $37-38/day for new families. Current families will keep their regular rates. I also used to offer a family discount of $50/day for the 2 children and that REALLY affected the income so I'm not going to be doing that anymore.

I'd be happy to send you my website if you want to see what I've done. My hours are 6-6 which is not common in my area so that is for sure a huge reason why most families contact me. It makes for very long days though just something to think about.

I do offer a preschool program and I also offer french and sign language in my program. It by no means sells my daycare over someone else's but just gives a little something more. In my area pretty much every second house is a home daycare so we have to stand out somehow. I think my families like that I used to teach for the school board and that I have TONS of experience with special needs children (although I don't have any special needs children in care at the moment, I am qualified to take them).

My house is just your typical backsplit in a nice area of town. I have 2 schools and a park right down the street. I find the fact that I have an inground pool deters some families even though the children are NEVER allowed in my backyard because of the pool. My daycare is the main floor of my house and I use my 3 bedrooms for nap time.

[playfelt]

One of the best places to do "research" is right here on daycarebear. Go to the home page and type your postal code into the search box. It will bring up a list of caregivers startaing with the closest to you. Then look closely at the ads maybe even making a chart of information - look at hours they are open, what they are charging, what they are offering in terms of read their description. If they have pictures look closely at them and note any toys you have the same, note things that appear in them all - everyone has the equivalent of the fisherprice farm or a climber in the yard. Look at decor and setup - what stands out to you - do you like the livingroom effect with toys more or less hidden in cupboards or do you like the school room effect where there are alphabet cards and artwork splashed all over the walls and toys everywhere. What do YOU think is the best environment for you to be in all day since if you aren't happy no one will be.

As far as charging more, I probably would suggest the opposite approach if you are just starting out. Some of those charging higher rates can do so based on years of experience and that their spaces fill by word of mouth so they aren't truly competing on the open market so to speak.

Choose a rate that is in line with your "competition" and design a program that for now is inline as well so parents have some frame of reference to compare with. Then over time as children leave and new children start you can change your rates for new families to better reflect the amount you want to earn and will be able to justify it with the experience you are gaining as well as the program which you will have established.

[Bookworm]

Hi shopgirl,

I too am in the Niagara Region. I just upped my rate to $35/day for full time and $40/part time. I charge for all stat holidays and I don't make parents pay for my holidays, but they pay full fees if they want vacation time.
If you want to charge $40, I think you are going to have to really push your credentials (RECE) or your program if you plan on having one. It also depends on which area of the Niagara Region you are in as the rates vary from $20-$35 for full time in this area. There are a lot of daycares in this region, so it may take a while to get full (I'm new and still have spots to fill). Good luck and I hope you find yourself full soon!

[apples and bananas]

I used to live in the niagara region and I only ever paid $30 per day for daycare for my kids. I still keep in contact with my old provider and she has raised her rates to 32.50. I never paid for stats or vacation time, and she had been doing it for over 15 years. It depends what others are doing around you.