When I first started taking a deposit it wasn't the norm but I made it be for the first week of care and then later made it be two weeks worth of care. I explained that it was a help to the family too because then they would get back to work and start getting paycheques before having to pay much more. But it was also nonrefundable if they didn't come and most forgot about that part when they changed plans. Now my two weeks is for the last two weeks since that has become the norm in my area.