Increasing Fees...how do I tell parents?

[Momof4]

Agreed! Unless you make a huge change like feeding the children when you didn't before or something equally drastic I'm afraid I'd suck it up for the first year and raise rates slowly, like $2 or $3 a year until I was in line with where I felt I deserved to be. That's what I've done for the past 5 years and I started out undercharging. I'm now charging a higher rate, have added days off to my contract and have made adjustments that are fair to my clients and to me. However, I have an annual renewal date of Sept. 1st and every year I get all my clients to sign a new contract for the year so that if I've made any small policy changes or a rate change, etc. they know when to expect it. I also give them a couple month's notice.