Changing daycare operating hours

[Busy ECE mommy]

Hi! I've been doing the home daycare gig for about 4 years, and have always worked a 10 hr day. I've been finding lately that my long days are draining me, and a late finishing time is limiting so many things like activities at night for my own kids, getting dinner, pursuing some night post-secondary classes etc. I'd like to change my hours to finish 1/2 hr earlier, for my kids benefit and mine. The question is:how to I get parents to buy into the change in hours, and do I have to reduce my daily fee, to compensate for this? Many providers in my area only work 9 hr days, and I'm very envious. My day would still be 9.5hrs long, so I feel it's still worth a full days care fee, without giving discounts. Any thoughts? Also, is 1 month's notice enough time to give parents to adjust to the change?

[playfelt]

How many of the families you have now pick up before the new desired close time? Be prepared to lose any families that are later as they may not be able or willing to change their hours. I work a 10 hour day but I start at 6:45 and last pickup is between 4:30-4:45 so I still have my evenings. The families I have chose me because of the early morning as they need to be at work for 7:30-8:00 but it also means home earlier.

Also depending on your set up remember that you are not required to be hands on with the kids every minute of the day and if that means having them up to the table to scribble while you put supper in the oven then so be it.

There is no need to reduce your fee. Even in licensed care anything over 6 hours is considered full time. I would hand out the notice saying that it is necessary to change daycare hours to facilitate the family schedule effective Sept 1. Expect that some of your families my look for alternate care and give notice so be prepared to have to look for some new clients. How many will depend on who you have now that is later than your desired close time.

[playfelt]

What a lot of caregivers do is make the hour switch gradually as kids leave care. When a family with a late closing leaves for mat leave let them know that when they return the hours will have changed. Then interview to replace them with a family with shorter hours.

Also if your own children need to be somewhere in the evening it is ok to feed them before the last children have gone home so that you are right ready to leave as soon as last family is gone.

[Trace of Angels]

I hear ya! I work a 9.5 hour day and that is long enough. I love my job and the children and working the shorter day keeps me happy and full of energy and ensures that I have all of myself to give to the children that truly deserve that. That is still 47.5 hours a week.........way more than most people work. I am 7-4:30 and I have had many clients enquire about early drop off and late pick ups and I say no........My family and my time are important and you too must have some "work/life" balance or you risk burn out. And then you are no good to anybody. I started working 6:30-5 when I first opened and then quickly learned that was WAY too long and cut back. I just did it with turnover. Whenever a new family signed they signed within my new hours. It took some time but I got there within a year. And the family that has been with me was super supportive and understanding of the change. I am sure the parents will understand and as long as they can work it out with their schedule be supportive to the change.

[Crayola kiddies]

I too start early (6:45) and therefore finish early (4:30) but it is still almost 10 hours and I did exactly what a previous poster said ... I gradually cut back my hours as people moved on but if you don't have anybody leaving then you should just post a notice saying that effective xxxx (what ever is required in your policy book for changes) that you will be closing at xxxx. Sometimes people can have one parent drop off and another pick up in order for the child not to be in care that long and sometimes people leave their kids in care to closing time so they feel they got their money's worth .... In my policy book anything over 5 hours is full days.

[Busy ECE mommy]

I originally hand picked all of these families because their supposed pickup hours did not fall within the last 1/2 hr of my day, so I thought I would finish early. Somehow over the last few months, they all seem to pick up right at the end of my 10 hr day, which is anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hr later than they told me in the interview, as well as they followed their original earlier pickups for the first few months of care, and then changed. I'm sure most of them are running errands after work, but it feels a bit deceptive from what I was originally told, especially when it happens daily, not occasionally. I have 3 families like this. Had I known, I would have probably chosen a different families.

[Crayola kiddies]

Then there should be no reason that they would have a problem with you changing your hours except now they will have to shop and run errands with their kid like the rest of us..... Change your hours and don't feel guilty.

[Momof4]

Do you have the original agreed upon hours in your contract? If so, pull out those contracts and talk to the families individually about the liberties they have taken. Do you have late fees? My earliest family comes at 7:40 and pick up by 4:10 and my latest clients come from 8:40 to 4:40.

When the Mom who comes for the last child is arriving about 4:50 once in a while I have her son dressed and ready to go and he's helping me water the garden or take out the garbage or waiting while I sweep up, but I let that Mom know that I really don't appreciate it that she's late. The trick is not to allow them to start pushing you. The old saying - if you give an inch, they will take a mile - is sooooo true.

[Judy Trickett]

You just change your hours and go with it. If someone leaves over it then they leave. There is never gonna be a "good time" to make changes in your daycare because they always affect someone. So, you just do it and allow the cards to fall as they may.

I did this in my second year of daycare as well. I just decided I wasn't working 9.5 hours a day and changed it to nine hours. Sorry, but nine hours is long enough for both me and the kids. And, quite frankly, in daycare the longer you are open the longer parents WILL leave their kids there even when not needed. Sad, but true.

[JennJubie]

I'm with Judy. Just do it, you may lose some people over it, but oh well. I'm on a 9.5 hour day and I find that it's still a long day. And I agree that people will use all your open hours. I guess they figure they're not getting their monies worth if they don't use every minute of your open business hours. You don't get to have a say in your bank or your hairdresser's hours, you are a business you dictate the hours you are open.