Ontario Caregivers - daycare announcement due today

[momof5]

As many of you know I have struggled just to fill my spots, I had finally filled them! And now this! I have to now count my own 2 youngest ages 3&4. Now I'm over ratio once this passes, plus the age restriction, I have to term 3 families all at once!
This is completely ridiculous! I'm considering raising my rates for the 2 families that I will have left, or just close completely! Heartbreaking for all the innocent families that will be left with no childcare, also for all of us that will take such a huge financial hit!

[treeholm]

Oh wow... in all this stress, I COMPLETELY missed the fact that we can now double our rates for one year olds since spots will be a hot commodity... wait until we let the media know this... "No problem, we applaud the government for taking steps to keep our children safe, and as long as parents understand that the daily rate for a one year old will probably double due to the lack of available spaces, we're sure everyone will be happy with the new legislation."

[Artsand crafts]

Oh wow... in all this stress, I COMPLETELY missed the fact that we can now double our rates for one year olds since spots will be a hot commodity... wait until we let the media know this... "No problem, we applaud the government for taking steps to keep our children safe, and as long as parents understand that the daily rate for a one year old will probably double due to the lack of available spaces, we're sure everyone will be happy with the new legislation."

and these will be the lucky ones. The rest of under 2yo will not even have a daycare to go even if they want to pay more

[playfelt]

and these will be the lucky ones. The rest of under 2yo will not even have a daycare to go even if they want to pay more

Maybe we could hold a lottery and spaces go to the highest bidder you know like happens on house sales with multiple offers.

[cfred]

Treeholm, that was a realization that hit me last night....and I slept like a baby. This whole situation blows beyond the telling of it. But on the bright side, competition among parents will be fierce for these precious few spots. It might actually be good for business in some ways. And to those with school aged kids counting in the ratio, it might be worth looking into before and after care for them. It might make more financial sense to have them elsewhere so you can bring in the larger fees with the little ones. I think all the fees will go up, not just 1 yr olds. I was worried sick about my own situation, but as I sat and thought it through outside of the heat of the moment, I realized that we can absolutely work this out....those without small children anyway. At least, with the full day kindergarten, even those with young kids only have a few lean years to get through.

Of course I'm only looking at this from MY perspective. I don't have to ax any families...all the ages line up well. So long as no one leaves unexpectedly, we're cool for at least a year or 2. My kids are grown, so that's great. I feel horrible for the posts I'm reading about having to cut 2/3 of client base, thinking about putting off having another child because of the daycare.....awful and I'm so sorry for all of you. I'm simply looking at it from my own, completely self absorbed standpoint right now. While I feel badly for the parents left without care (and I really do feel for them), my main concern is that of my business and being able to keep a roof over my family's head.

[treeholm]

I was just thinking of giving the spot to the first family who renews at the 2014 price, and letting everyone know that first families get the spots, the others will have to be let go. Or, wouldn't a bidding war be fun! Joking aside, it is a disaster for most families who scrape by paying daycare... I'm not really that callous... just trying to add some comic relief...

[treeholm]

Yup, one year olds will pay double since they are really taking up two spots, so to speak. Could be a really good thing for providers after all... it's like any other business.. supply and demand rules the market. Where the demand is higher than supply, the prices go up (putting my business prof hat on and remembering when I used to teach marketing). How could I have missed this...

[Wonderwiper]

The main problem is that no one knows about these changes except us!!! The news does a two minute clip saying there are changes on the way to protect our children. That's all parent hear. Unless you are in a rare area where there are only a few daycares, I'm sorry to say that doubling your rates will just make most parents look elsewhere. There are hundreds of providers advertising in the GTA right now.

Contact the media and your MPs if you want anyone to hear you.

[treeholm]

Wonderwiper, I'm in an area where there is already a shortage of spots, so local providers here can easily raise their rates. Maybe not double them, but at least make up a good portion of lost income. It is just dawning on me that this is going to be a larger problem for parents than providers. And while I'm not happy about that, it does bode well in terms of parents complaining about the legislation. So far the media has been portraying it as a positive thing... but that will change when parents are informed of the possible doubling of rates for spots for one year olds. That should motivate parents to protest now.

[crafty]

Would anyone minde taking look at my letter ?? English is not first language but I would prefer sending it in English so other people can use it. ???