3.5k
Daycare and childcare providers in Winnipeg, Toronto, Vancouver, Ontario etc. in CanadaGarderies à Montréal ou au QuébecFind daycare or childcare providers in the USA
Forum control
+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 18

Hybrid View

  1. #1
    Euphoric !
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Posts
    1,505
    Thanked
    479 Times in 345 Posts

    Booked my vacation...one parent not too happy

    So I decided to book 2 weeks off in April. I decided to do this one thing for my family and me and of course one of my parents gets all huffy about it. She writes me an email about how this is inconvenient for them and that I should really either a) hire an employee or b) have a pre approved provider as a back up for my families. Seriously, aside from my vacation I have only closed for 2 days in the year I have been open. This was for illness and I really should have closed for the week but I know people rely on me. I don't close for Dr appts for myself or my children. This is also the family that I accommodate most. They have "forgotten" to pay me more then once, never charged them a late fee, feed their kid a separate meal at times as they "forgot" to tell me at the interview they don't eat red meat. Vent over

    Questions
    I have looked into an employee in the past but I am concerned about the liability risks e.g. if they were to harm a child or do something stupid. For those of you that hire someone and leave them alone with the kids, how do you manage the liability risk? Does your insurance cover them/you if they do something?
    One of the reasons I am wondering about this is I have toyed with the idea of instead of closing in Sept. hiring someone to run my daycare. My youngest will still need daycare so this I thought could be a good option.

    How much vacation does everyone take per year? I worried a little about taking the 2 weeks because I took 2 weeks at Christmas and plan on taking 2 weeks in August (possibly just closing down altogether the last 2 weeks). When I had a job outside the home I have 6 weeks of vacation plus lieu time which of course if we counted ours we would never be open.

  2. #2
    Euphoric !
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Posts
    1,505
    Thanked
    479 Times in 345 Posts
    Oh- and her husband is unemployed

  3. #3
    Outgoing
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Posts
    322
    Thanked
    52 Times in 44 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by torontokids View Post
    Oh- and her husband is unemployed
    WTH Indeed!!! Then they should have NO problem with your vacation if he will be home (unless he knows he will be back to work). Why is it always 'that' family that has a hard time with DCP time off? You know, the one that pays late, picks up late, doesn't call when the kid is absent and are a pain to deal with. They have the audacity to give you a hard time about what is rightfully yours (ie vacation and sick days) despite it being written in the contract that they signed! Besides, it's not your responsibility to find back up care, it's the parents responsibility. Do they not think you are ever going to take a vacation or close due to your own illness? Geez, the stupidity of people floors me sometimes.
    Last edited by MonkeyPrincess; 01-24-2014 at 08:27 AM.

  4. #4
    Euphoric !
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Posts
    1,670
    Thanked
    629 Times in 475 Posts
    How annoying! I don't know anything about hiring an employee so I couldn't help you with that. I will say though that you can close whenever you want and for as long as you want - you are self employed and that is too bad for the family. If they can't make alternate arrangements then maybe a center is better suited for them. Just take the time you want and if they leave then so be it.

    For myself I will admit I rarely take time off. Maybe 10 days a year but it is usually just a day here and there added onto a long weekend. I can guarantee though if I did choose to take a whole week or two that if a parent was upset I would not be accommodating them if they complained it wasn't convenient.

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to mickyc For This Useful Post:


  6. #5
    Starting to feel at home...
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    97
    Thanked
    16 Times in 16 Posts
    Considering that that is a parent you've had previous issues with, I wouldn't worry about it. You have the right to take vacations. They have the right to leave their child with you or go elsewhere. You gave them more than 2 months notice. That's enough time for them to find an alternative arrangement.

    As for insurance for an employee, that depends on the policy. You have to ask your insurance provider about that. I will be getting insurance that does cover that because I plan to have a part time helper for outtings, days I need to take off, and just to give the children a female adult figure now and then.

  7. The Following User Says Thank You to Mike For This Useful Post:


  8. #6
    Expansive... Artsand crafts's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Ontario
    Posts
    561
    Thanked
    145 Times in 116 Posts
    WTH that is very selfish of her. You are informing them very well in advance. I think 3 months is more than enough for them to find alternative care/take their own vacation.

    I closed on December for 3 weeks. We were out of town. Even I have an assistant I would not let her stay with the children in the house by herself during my days off. Even I know she is a mature and very responsible person things could go wrong. Even when we are in charge accidents or emergency situations could happen. She sometimes stay by herself with the kids for our doctor's appointments or visits to schools for getting my degree, but it's only for a few hours and have my cell phone with me.

    So on December I closed for those 3 weeks and all parents found alternative care or took vacation days. My contract reads that I have to tell them one month in advance about my vacation days, but in this case I told them 8 months in advance.

  9. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Artsand crafts For This Useful Post:


  10. #7
    Euphoric !
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Newmarket
    Posts
    1,130
    Thanked
    550 Times in 347 Posts
    Enjoy your vacation and don't let anything dampen that. I can't answer as to the insurance questions. It might be a good idea to talk to you broker about this. For vacation time, my contract states that I take a minimum of 3 weeks per year and up to 5 weeks (all unpaid). Most vacations are 2 weeks and under, requiring 4 months notice. For anything over 2 weeks, I give a year. For my 2.5 week I'm leaving for on Wed, I told them last February. I just gave a rough time that I'd be going and firmed up specific dates once the flights became available for booking. Should a trip come up unexpectedly with less than the prescribed notice available, I will ask if everyone's ok with it with the understanding that I might not get to do it. I've not had a problem yet and my clients are always very accommodating. I'm actually amazed that my clients were still ok with me going on this vacation because I just had 2 weeks off before Christmas for a surgery. They were actually very insistent that I go!
    They're a pretty awesome crew

    I would think that booking time off in April should be just fine. That's lots of notice. Also, which might be helpful for you in the future....when I interview, I make it very clear that I travel at least once every year and like to take advantage of any cool travel opportunities that come my way. They know right from the minute we meet that having solid options for back up care is imperative. I don't take anyone who doesn't have good back up. So far, no complaints. Good luck

  11. #8
    Euphoric !
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Posts
    1,505
    Thanked
    479 Times in 345 Posts
    Arts and Crafts- do you just take the 3 wks per yr?

  12. #9
    Euphoric !
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Posts
    3,161
    Thanked
    1,085 Times in 810 Posts
    I would email her back and explain to her that parents that choose to go the hdc route NEED to have a back up as dcprovider's deserve holidays too!! I explain this in my interviews....someon e that does not have a back up would not be a good fit for my hdc.

    I try not too take too much holiday time but I do take at least 2 weeks unpaid in the summer, sometimes 3 as my fiance now has a job where he is off all summer so we like to enjoy that. I have been lucky that the past 3 Christmases I have had all families take holidays so I never technically closed but didn't work. I have no children of my own and I want to enjoy life childfree and enjoy holidays from time to time but still be a reliable hdcp. So far, no one has really complained!

    I'm not sure about hiring someone else to run your dc. I have 2 people that I can sometimes use if needed (one is my fiance tho) but I would never leave my other one (a cousin) alone for a long period of time. This is my home and my business and at the end of the day, it would be me held responsible for anything that went wrong.

    Enjoy your holiday!!
    Last edited by 5 Little Monkeys; 01-23-2014 at 08:41 PM.

  13. #10
    Euphoric !
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Posts
    2,008
    Thanked
    677 Times in 507 Posts
    I take three weeks per year paid and up to 5 paid personal days .... I have it in my policy book that if parents don't want to take holidays when I do they must find a back up.

Similar Threads

  1. Not happy
    By pink in forum The day-to-day as a daycare provider
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 08-20-2013, 03:26 PM
  2. Happy wednesday!!!!
    By Wonderwiper in forum The day-to-day as a daycare provider
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 08-14-2013, 12:45 PM
  3. Parent Summer Vacation...
    By smileyface in forum Managing a daycare
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 07-11-2013, 01:46 PM
  4. Parent on Vacation
    By gcj in forum Daycare providers' experiences with parents
    Replies: 46
    Last Post: 03-20-2013, 07:10 PM
  5. Happy Halloween
    By BlueRose in forum The day-to-day as a daycare provider
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 10-31-2012, 07:08 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts

A few tips...

Do not hesitate to refer to this article to help you choose a daycare provider, know which questions to ask, have an idea of what to look for...
Did you know?
DaycareBear.ca has helped over 22600 daycare providers fill out their openings since its launch in January 2006!
Partner in your
search for a daycare provider