Need some advice re: change of schedule

[Lou]

Hi Ladies, could use your advice here in how and when to communicate something to Mom. They are a golden family, respect all the policies, never late on payment and Mom and I have a very friendly relationship. They were my FIRST daycare family to sign on 2 yrs ago, and I love dck to bits! I have outlined in my contract that I provide care for a 9 hrs day,,,,upon sign on, she asked if we could extend that by 15 min and I didn't mind at all, the child's day started at 7:30 (on wed and thurs, the others days she's here at 8:30-5) and ended at 4:45. No biggie, and it's never been an issue.

But things might change. Mom let me know that she has been offered a new job downtown and she's very excited about it. She mentioned in passing (she hasn't accepted yet) that it's regular hours, no more evenings, etc etc. I am very happy for her as it means more time home with her family but after the fact I thought about how this will affect me. IF she has to be downtown for 8 every day, she will have to make all her drop off days for 7:30 (commute is longer and busier through rush hours)...and if her days go to 4:30 then she will not arrive until 5. I'll be the FIRST to admit that yes, I'm whining about the 7:30 start...I have a 4 month old who still gets up several times per night and it gets rough. And while 15 min was fine...I think pushing it to a 9 1/2 hrs day is just too much, though I know she'll ask. Mom likes (or is expected) to do most of the drop offs and pick ups but Dad's schedule is flexible so I know he able to drop dck off later or pick her up earlier. I feel like I need to communicate to her that yes, if she takes this job dck can either start at 7:30 but then will need to be picked up by 4:30, or her husband can drop her off later and she can do the 5pm pick ups. Do I just stay quiet until she asks? Or should I pipe up now? Be passive aggressive and put in a general reminder in this month's newsletters about a 9 hrs day maximum? lol Another fact to consider is that this little one goes off to school in Sept so should I just suck it up for the last couple months? Or am I being unreasonable altogether?

See how I got myself all in a lather?? I even confuse myself, lol. If you've made it this far kudos to you!! Any advice would be appreciated.

[Momof4]

Ugh, I hate early mornings, don't know about you, but that would cause me some grief. I start work at 8am and I'm spoiled! Anyway, my contract states that my regular fee covers a 9 hour day. I charge a $5/half hour overtime fee so that's what I would implement for your client. I have had clients who had to use a 9 1/2 or 10 hour day before so I started charging my overtime fee. Guess what, they found a grandparent to help out with pickup on the over time days! See if your client can do that too. Best of luck, Lou!

[playfelt]

A 9 1/2 - 10 hour day is normal if parents work for 8 hours and then have to travel back and forth even if they live in town keeping it to 9 hours is pushing it daily. Only you can decide if you want to broaden your choices for clients or cater to a smaller group that work less hours. Remember your 4 month old won't be as needy in the next couple of months and it can take that long to make the transition to the new job. At the same time now is the time to be advertising for a September child so you will need to make up your mind soon so mom can plan accordingly. I work 6:45 to 4:45 and am often up through the night still with my child and that really makes little difference to the day. You can still get the required hours you need by what time you go to bed. I don't think a 7:30 start is abnormal in anyway but if it is something you don't want to do then say so and advertise for a new client. At the same time think about all the other things that go with it - do you like this family and want to keep them and have an older child or do you want to replace them and potentially be adding another new baby as it is moms after mat leave looking. Will the child start school this year, next year, how long would you be committing to for the longer hours.

[Crayola kiddies]

I open at 6:45 and I close at 4:30 and I thought that was pushing the envelope as most people work an 8 hour day plus an hour for lunch and then travel time which generally adds up to almost 10 hours. If the dad has flexable hours then if she accepts the job and she goes over the 9 hours then you could tell her it would be an extra $xx per day unless dad was able to drop off at a later time in order to stay within the 9 hours ..... I'm sure they will be able to do it. Generally money motivates people.

[sunnydays]

I work 9 hoours and that is it! I know many many providers who only work 9 hours...so depending on where you live, I don't see any problem with that. I personally would wait until the mom asks as she hasn't and you may be making assumptions for nothing. If she starts at 8 then she will most likely finish at 4 as most people work 8 hour days (well I am in Ottawa where we have many govt workers...so that is how it works for them).

[playfelt]

Mine is half and half of those that work 8 hours but that includes their lunchtime and those that work 8 hours but are off for lunch. Some have the option of "working" through their lunchtime to finish earlier so some take only a half hour to eat and then finish a half hour early. At the same time I have some parents that work an extra hour per day so that they can have every other Friday off but in those cases one parent drops off and other picks up to keep the daycare hours needed less.

[Momof4]

Our city is much smaller than Ottawa and you can drive across it pretty much in 1/2 an hour. I am downtown so close to a lot of people's work, but I have one dcDad who works in a town just outside of our city and he can get here in 1/2 an hour. I figure most people work 8 hours and I'm allowing 1/2 an hour commute time each way. I had shift working parents in care before but grandparents helped out and I've been very lucky to have a lot of families using 7 or 7 1/2 hours a day, I've been very lucky.

I think a 9 hour day is long enough for the children, they are excited to go home after that amount of time away! I'll be sticking to my 9 hour days with overtime on top.

[gramma]

To be honest I think most providers work a 10 hour day unless we have families all working close to home. Personally I wouldnt have a big issue with it. If you put it in your newsletter about the 9 hour day as a reminder you might get her to thinking about it and she may look for care elsewhere assuming that your hours are non negotiable. Do you want to lose them for the sake of an extra half hour or even hour a day? Just re read your post and this may only be an issue for a couple of months. I thikg I would just do since she's been there for 2 years. I'm sure you wouldnt want things to end badly at this point.

[daycaremum]

If you don't want to do it, you will lose them. If you want to keep them, lengthen your day. As one of the previous posters stated, your baby will change each and every month, so to let them go now because of your babies needs at the moment, might make you regret it if it takes some time to fill the spot, perhaps with a not so golden family, only to realize your baby is now further developed and could handle the longer hours. I too operate from 7:30-5:30, a ten hour day, to allow for travel time. If you have shorter hours, you have to be prepared to look for the right families to fit those hours, and likely turn away many people. We have a lot of factory workers in our area and I turn them all away because they need a very early start.

[Lou]

Looks like I was overthinking this as usual...better to plan for the worst though, right?! lol
Mom let me know today that as of July 1st, the new hours would be 8:30-5, perfect!!!