Difficult parents

[Emilys4Guppies]

That is a really good idea, having them initial the major sections. My problem with the parents that had to terminate was that I had given them 3 copies of their contract. They kept loosing it. They were just trying to get out of the contract any way they could. Unfortunately with being a day home. I would not have the resources to go after them. Yes i could have gone to small claims court. But that takes up a lot of time. I have now put in my contract under the termination spot. If you cancel and have a remaining balance outstanding. I will not send you out tax information for the tax year. You will not be able to use it as a tax write off. I have not had any problems since I put that in my contract.

Perhaps I'm wrong, and have watched just a little too much Judge Judy (LOL), but I don't think you can legally withhold their receipts for the services they have already paid for if they were under the assumption that they would get receipts. They could claim that income and use your name/address instead of reciepts and you would likely be audited for the unclaimed income. I know you haven't utilized that rule yet, but just my thoughts.

[playfelt]

Whether you give them a receipt or not they can still claim what they paid if they have proof which would be their duplicate cheques. I give a receipt each week after payment is received and a final formal one page statement at the end of the year. The annual statement is ONLY available to families that are paid up. I also have it in my contract that after two weeks of unpaid fees I have the right to terminate without notice - the assumption being is that their failure to pay was the equivalent to no longer wanting their children in care.

[Tot-Time]

In Ontario, please becareful not providing receipts to families. We HAVE TO PROVIDE receipts for what the family has paid for whether their account is caught up or not! If we even so much as neglect to include our SIN or BIN #'s we can be fined $1000 for each family! I don't know the penalty for not providing the receipt, but I can imagine it is at least $1000. Not worth it in my opinion.

Instead there are other ways to protect yourself like playfelt mentioned, you can withold your annual statement if the family already has your SIN or BIN. You can also refuse to provide childcare until the account is paid up. You can ask for a deposit which is applied to the last two weeks of care, etc.

[cfred]

Aww, poor kid. I typically have to send a letter out late every fall reminding parents to send mittens, hats, boots, etc for the upcoming weather changes. I also put a sign right in front of the cubbies where the parents have no choice but to see it. It has helped but there will always be occasions when some items are forgotten. My biggest beef is parents who complain that their children's things go missing, despite the fact that I've asked them repeatedly to label every item. Ugh! I too have extras, just in case. Unfortunately, I don't have extras of clothing, so I have had to send a little one home in a t-shirt of my 12 yr old son's because there was an accident. Fortunately, they usually feel like it makes the child feel special (for reasons I can't fathom) so they go home happy.

[kidlove]

sometimes you have to explain to the parent that your efforts are the same as theres, which is working together with them in helping their child be the best he/she can be. You are not "blaming them" for bad behavior or issues that have come up, rather going to them to solve things and work on helping the child. "the childs well being a proper developement is the forefront of what we do"