Didn't Read My Contract . . . .

[Cadillac]

Update: I texted the parent and said that I would like to start again and would love the whole family to come over so that I can go throug the handbook with them so I can better explain my policies and I told him that having a nanny is so different from daycare so I understand that this may be all new to them . . . . blah blah blah. I was very nice and very professional.

I can see that he read the message (I phones tell you)

It's been two days and he hasn't responded

[Inspired by Reggio]

That sucks ~ do you think they have decided to return to the control of a nanny?

[Momof4]

Cadillac, get your money, cut the ties, move on, wishing you good luck.

[Cadillac]

They had both. the little one was just coming to me for socialization with kids his own age.

got the money. just waiting for the two weeks to be over so I can write this family off officially

[mom-in-alberta]

Aw, too bad. I don't think you would have wanted them in the long run. As it's been said, there is a huge difference between a nanny and a dayhome, and something tells me that would have caused problems. They would have continued to treat you as their employee. Would have ended badly eventually.
Good luck with the next family!!

[daycarewhisperer]

They just want to pay for the days they need day care and not have any obligations for any scheduled days should they not need it. It's called drop in care. LOTS of people want drop in care but few are willing to pay a rate that would make it worth it to the provider to only receive income when the parents needed care. What people want is drop in care for a daily rate that is equivallent to one fifth of a week of full time care. What people really want is that one fifth daily rate to be cheap too.

You are always going to run into people who want dependable drop in care that is cheap and always a "yes you can come whenver you want". The problem is finding a provider who can afford to just have the income when someone happens to need them that day.

Many many parents believe that what they are paying for is the physical care and supervision of the child on the day they bring them. Providers who only charge for that go out of business real quick like. There's no money in physical care and supervision of children. The money is in the "housing" of the child and the utilities and goods, equipment and space needed to physically have the child in the house. That has to be paid for whether the child attends or not. The physical care and supervision is a small fraction of the cost. Parents believe it IS what they are paying for. That disconnect is what leads parents and providers coming to the relationship with completely different mindsets. It's our job to educate them about what they are really paying for. It means having the conversation that's not in their financial best interest. It means saying that what they believe they are paying for is really incidental to what we need to be able to offer services.

[kidlove]

The most important thing here is that you make sure this family knows that although you value them and are willing to waive a fee this time ( if that is what you decide) they clearly understand that they not only need to read the handbook through and through and call with any questions as to get everything completely understood before providing MORE care, but they need to know you will not be giving ANY MORE "waives" in the future. I have had parents do this before and continue to try through out our parent/provider relationship. Can really put a strain on things and sometimes ends badly. Hopefully they really did just not read your contracts and are not tryingto push and move things to better suit themselves....have had many like that in the past....not fun. Make sure everything is clearly understood from here on out. Good Luck!

[mamabear]

Soooo, did you ever hear from them?

[Fearlessbaby]

Hi Cadillac, I think you were right to stick to your guns- it was inconsiderate of him to blame you for his obvious mistake. He didn't read the manual and then tried to make you feel guilty because he paid his nanny. If you ask me, he sounds very patronizing. I know you said that he seemed nice in the beginning- but first impressions are sometimes not always true . This is a business relationship and he did not respect that- good on you for telling him to pay what he owes. I don't know any other business where people can cop out and say "Oh I missed that part"- you wouldn't see a cell phone company saying "Oh that's ok, just pay me next time"- Come on, let's respect ourselves as dcw so that parents can respect us too.