Rate increase amount

[horsegirl]

Fee increases are a hard issue in childcare. I let the parents know individually about the increase then I give them each a letter, putting a copy in each of their files.
The average rate in our area is $40-$45 per day, with the big centres charging $60 for infants and $50 for 3+year olds per day. I remind that parents that they claim approx. 20% on their income tax, and that I supply the receipts at the end of the year. So, in actual fact they are only paying $40X80%=$32.00 per day. They hourly rate for a 10 hour day is $3.20 and I am sure that the parents would not work for this amount.
If the parent seems a little up set I remind them of what they pay a babysitter ($6-$10 per hour) and that I have more qualifications and experience than a babysitter and that I am receiving a lot less.
I have only lost one family because of fee increases and this is fine with me as I do not want the worry about my wage. This is a business and it is the parents decision as to whether this is an important issue to them, but I can guarantee you that if their favorite restaurant raised their rates or their favorite bottle of wine went up by a few dollars they would still spend their money on these things.