New baby for d/c parent but daycare currently full. What to do?

[Momof4]

February is exactly when I have a mat leave dcMom returning with a new baby. I have 5 children in care right now, 4 are under 2.5 years old and then my oldest child is every other day in JK and I had made my mind up that I would have to let her go in Feb. when the new baby starts so that my group is all young ones again. I like that kind of group so they can all grow together.

I worried and fretted and guess what? My 4 year old girl's Mom got pregnant and is going on her mat leave in Feb!!! Fate made everything work perfectly so that it will all be smooth sailing for me. So relax and go with the flow for now.

I was planning on giving my family that I would have to let go a letter at the beginning of Jan. so that they had 5-6 weeks notice so if you do that don't feel guilty about it. We all learn the hard way that we have to do what is best for us and our families and our daycares. Of course the families in our care have to do what is best for them too.

[Momof4]

Can you not keep all of them? I mean he is b/a school care anyway so couple of hours a day shouldn't be a problem no?

That's against the law in Ontario. I think the fine is very large if you ever get caught doing something like this.

[sunnydays]

It doesn't matter if he is before and after school..if you are over your limit, that is illegal, even if it is just for a few hours!

Can you not keep all of them? I mean he is b/a school care anyway so couple of hours a day shouldn't be a problem no?

[Inspired by Reggio]

IF you can arrange that none of them overlapped so that children were dropped off after and picked up before the school age child's time frame you CAN have more than 5 children on enrollment ~ they just cannot all be in 'attendance' at the same time .... my first year in business I had 10 clients on my roster ... 1 full time and 9 part time clients sharing my other 4 spaces ~ it was a scheduling nightmare but it was possible and thankfully eventually i got all my spaces to FT through attrition!

But yes in Ontario if you have more than five children in attendance at any given time as a home childcare provider not only would your insurance be void but you do so with the following risk if caught ...

On conviction, the fine is up to $2,000 for each day the offense continues, or imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or both.

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/parents...package-en.pdf

Problem with how that is worded is providers who practice 'illegal daycare' know that basically the FIRST time you get caught you just get a warning but if you continue to do it anyway and get caught than they can go back and fine you $2000 a day for everyday you were 'over ratio'.

Providers prey on the fact that the first time you get caught is basically a 'freebie' and the likelihood of getting caught is slim anyway because well the rules are illogical in Ontario and actually promote the culture of illegal daycare specially in areas where there is high demand for daycare as some providers are 'legal' to have eight children and others are not legal and it is hard to know the difference because of the rule that you are allowed to have '5 daycare children plus your own' in an unregulated setting and well most passersby do not know when they see someone with 8 kids if they are 3 of their own or all of them daycare kids and they do not want to 'get involved' in reporting and my guess is that parents who choose to put their kids in 'illegal' daycare figure well if it is ok for someone to do it when 3 of their kids are their own what difference does it make if none of them are?

I have a lady on my street who has run an illegal daycare for over 25 years working with more than 5 children as well as working 'under the table' ... she has managed to avoid getting fined despite neighbors having called to report her on more than one occasion but karma must have something else in store for her cause the days they show up she lucks out to be 'within numbers' that day and just gets the 'reminder' of the rules ... one of these days her karma is going to run out and someone is going to use technology to video tape her being 'over ratio' but the fact will remain that for over 25 years she has pocketed a lot of tax free money

[mimi]

Wow Reggio, I really like to sleep at night so there is no way I could be over ratio AND not declare my income. Makes me wonder about parents who bring their kids to over crowded d/c's and don't expect any receipts.

[apples and bananas]

I have the exact same situation coming up in Fall 2013. However, my before and after only brings in about $30 a week compared to the $140 the new baby will bring in. I am not going to give notice until late summer. Things could change, someone's hours could change, someone else may leave, I may be able to do before but not after. You just never know. It's hard to try to accomodate everyone. I'm horrible at this. I feel like clients rely on me so i have to bend over backwards to make things work, when really, I have to be more realistic about what I can do and what I can't do.

Don't stress over it too much. It's a great problem to have, having too many to fill spaces.