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...
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...
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.
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.
I was just thinking it would be beneficial to email/contact other providers on Kijiji and daycare bear (tons of providers never bother with the forum) with a quick blurb about what is happening. Just something copy and pasted with contact info for MPPs etc.
My friend told me that if she didn't think I'd be targeted, she'd recommend that I contact the media myself and invite them to my daycare. What if everyone started doing that? Hmmmmm.....actually show parents what a daycare can look like. Unfortunately, I'm having facial surgery next week that's going to leave me hiding in the bell tower for a couple weeks. Still....I thought it was a good idea.
Always ensure that your child receives quality care by taking the time to investigate the provider and by asking for references! We simply cannot verify the claims of every daycare provider.
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