Discount for siblings?

[skyee]

I was ask if I can do discount for siblings? Do any of you do?

[treeholm]

No. I charge per space. If I give a sibling discount, I'm losing money. I will admit though, that any sibling parents who have contacted me have asked about a discount, and not chosen me when they found out there is no discount. Because I filled up within a few weeks of opening, that didn't worry me, but depending on the market in your area, you might be tempted to take them on. I also did not want siblings for two reasons: I didn't want the potential of "rough-housing" between siblings who do that at home, and I didn't want the financial risk of losing TWO incomes if a family moves.

[JennJubie]

I don't do sibling discounts. I still have spaces to fill, and I've had people not choose me because of this too. But as treeholm stated, you're losing money by giving it. Siblings don't share the space, or food, etc. Quite frankly, what we charge is already a great deal considering the fact that most of us make less than babysitters if you look at it per hour.

[Crayola kiddies]

I don't do sibling discounts either ..... I currently have brothers in care and in oct I will have another sibling set in care .... So I have not had an issue of being turned down because I charge full fees.

[Momof4]

Nope. I did it once in my first year in business for a few months and it was a huge mistake. I was in the red due to costs for food and crafts.

[Dreamalittledream]

Nope. I did it once in my first year in business for a few months and it was a huge mistake. I was in the red due to costs for food and crafts.

Me too! Never again.

[Cadillac]

Me too! Never again.

I did it too

terrible

[Inspired by Reggio]

Nope ~ unlike Walmart and Costco who can offer cheaper deals to customers because they buy in large bulk from suppliers ~ it does not cost a provider LESS to provide service to siblings verses two singletons so offering a 'discount' comes directly out of my WAGE and well after expenses I only make just on minimum wage as it is so not prepared to give away more of that!

Plus while they help to fill two spots in the beginning at the end of the relationship when you are use to budgeting for the income when they leave your income takes a sudden nose dive of 2/5 until you can get the space filled so they are a larger income risk than singletons!

[Serendipity]

Nope ~ unlike Walmart and Costco who can offer cheaper deals to customers because they buy in large bulk from suppliers ~ it does not cost a provider LESS to provide service to siblings verses two singletons so offering a 'discount' comes directly out of my WAGE and well after expenses I only make just on minimum wage as it is so not prepared to give away more of that!

That isn't always true so I wouldn't use that as the basis for debate. Sometimes siblings cost LESS to provide for. It all depends on how you bill and what you charge for.

When one is absent, they are usually both home. When providing families with newletters of correspondence you need only supply ONE for the parent. Sometimes I think having kids from ONE family is MUCH easier than a single child from multiple families.

Plus while they help to fill two spots in the beginning at the end of the relationship when you are use to budgeting for the income when they leave your income takes a sudden nose dive of 2/5 until you can get the space filled so they are a larger income risk than singletons!

I have never had two siblings leave at one time before. Most the siblings I have had in care have aged out of my program so that wouldn't be applicable to me either.

Siblings also mean working with a family for a longer period of time so that is a plus too.

I guess I think providers need to do what works for them but if sibling discounts are the norm in your area, parents are going to expect that.

[Inspired by Reggio]

...I guess I think providers need to do what works for them but if sibling discounts are the norm in your area, parents are going to expect that.

This is true .... providers need to ensure that their business plan is viable for them and what they are offering and that the market can bare what they are wanting to charge ~ it can be a delicate line for sure!

If it is the norm for your area to give discounts and so forth and you believe in that practice as fair than certainly no harm in offering them!

However if you are like me and you do not 'agree' IMO there is nothing wrong with being a 'pioneer for change' if you truly believe it not best for your business to offer a 'discount' of your services ~ it comes with a risk for sure cause in going against the norm is you have to be prepared to defend that practice should you choose to do so and potentially miss out on clients who value the discount more than what you might have to offer.

I researched what the norms were in my area too when I started out BUT I made my final business decisions based on what I wanted to be able to offer in my program and the income I needed to secure for this to be a viable business option for me!

So for example the norm in my direct area is to work without a contract, to only charge $20-25 a day and only get paid when they 'use' the space and in exchange for all that flexibility for the client they get NO receipts, little program and the providers seem to have little passion for their work cause it is just money under the table for them .... however that would not work for my business plan and therefore I was a pioneer in my area and choose to work with a contract, charge $32 a day when I started out (not the $40 a day I wanted to charge because I felt my service was on par with what licensed home childcare offered but I had to find a fee that the market would bare) and everything is done above board with reciepts and so forth and the same service clients would get if 'with a licensed model' I just opt to cut out the middle man.

Sure I may miss out on the clients who want the 'cheaper option' that my neighbors offer but fact is even though I am not the NORM I am able to find a full roster of clients who are willing to invest in what I have to offer them!

So IMO sometimes the norm is over rated and reality is that over the past 7 years in my direct neighborhood the bar of NORM has been raised via conversations/networking at the local parks and so forth as other providers have asked what I charge and what clients get for that fee and so forth and than said 'hey I would rather follow that model' sometimes raising the bar above the NORM raises the bar for everyone!