Personal appointment scheduling

[Crayola kiddies]

Ummmm .... NEXT..... Terminate them today due to lack of respect for yourself and your business. What would they do if you had the flu and had to close .... Who needs this kind of aggregation? Kick their ass to the curb especially if you have a waiting list .... I would never allow after payment .... Advance only! They are rude and disrespectful and by not having back up care as started in your contract they have violated the terms of the contract ( well probably not but it sounded good in my rant) look after yourself and adios to them !

[Sassygirl]

I am in the same boat as you. I am 5 months pregnant and have to now schedule appointments during working hours. There is NO getting around it.

As for your situation, I agree with the poster who said to not open your doors if they arrive. When parents choose a HOME daycare they NEED to have back up care in place. There is 1 of us compared to a centre that has numerous employees. Things like illness, vacation and appointnments are bound to come up. I would worry about placing my child in a home daycare where the provider doesn't ever take time off, burn out can happen. I would also seriously think of terming this family too. Say that you are going to close after baby arrives.

My situation, I have 3 wonderful families who are VERY accomodating however I have 1 who is a complete pain. Gives me grief every time I need to take time off and complains of how they don't have back up care. (Mom left a previous domestic situation so has no family around). I feel for them but NOT my issue.

For my pre natal appointments I book them during afternoon nap (12-3pm) and all my parents know this and are given the option of picking up early. All keep them here since the children are sleeping (or are safely confined in their playpens at least). My mother in law or husband stay with the sleeping kiddos during that time of my appt. I am also lucky that my OB is closeby so I am gone maybe 90 minutes total for these appts.

I will admit that I am worried about when I go into labour. I plan on talking to each of the parents as I begin my last trimester and remind them that if I go into labour during working hours they will need to pick up ASAP 1 hour MAX and that I may not be here their child may be left with my mother in law.

Have to admit I am quite concerned about this being an issue with this 1 particular family. I am going to see how things go with them in the next few months and they may be termed when my baby arrives.

[MonkeyPrincess]

Everyone has good replies, and pretty much summed up my thoughts (except internally i was thinking WHAT THE H*LL at the DCdad's attitude ). I just wanted to add that when it comes to your health (and unborn baby), you must come first. Don't let one of your daycare parents be the boss of you. I'd be thinking "Oh well- tough luck buddy. Don't like it? There's the door" especially if you have a waiting list.

2 weeks ago i told the parent who picks up latest that i was closing early due to a dentist appt- with 48 hr notice. She said 'it wouldn't work for her' because she couldn't get out of work early. So i told her to tell her hubby and she says 'i'll see if he can'. Next day she tells me he can't get out of work early and no one can pick up the child early. So i said "well i am already over due for a cleaning by months and it's necessary' She basically said 'sorry, we cant accommodate you'. i didn't make a big deal about it,Perhaps i should have made a bigger deal, but i knew i could easily change the appt to a Saturday. Last week when her kid got sick, dad had no issues taking the day off to stay home with her, and today their other kid is sick and mom had no problem taking the day off.

That's one thing that pisses me off about this business. we make ourselves available for 9, 10, 11 hours a day, 5 days a week. The parents can take days off yet still send their kid to daycare. They drop off late, early, whatever. When we, the provider, need to take time off, it's an issue. It's like the parents can't be inconvenienced when you need something, but they have the freedom to do what they need to do. it's a grrrrrrrrr factor.