Hey, maybe we're in the same city! Mine is that size and people seem shocked when I mention a contract. Most people advertising "daycare" here are actually "babysitters." Many advertise right on their ad that they do not provide receipts, have the lowest rates in town, etc etc. I've reworded my ad and use phrases like "a professional environment," say that I follow all government regulations and provide receipts, etc, in order to weed out people that are looking for a cheaper under-the-table arrangement. Then if I get any enquiries, I tell them a little about myself, my family, and my daycare, and I always end it with something like "I would love to meet with you and your children and show you my home and daycare space and go over my contract."

I get a TON of one-line enquiries asking about my rates, and then the minute I email back and tell them (I'm not the most expensive, but I've raised my rates recently as well) and mention a contract I never hear back from 95% of them.

It sucks, as I JUST managed to fill 2 of my THREE open spots, though only with part-timers. I figure though, I want clients that I won't have to terminate in a few weeks anyways, for not following the contract. My last family that I had to let go had 2 siblings who were completely out of control, which is the main reason I ended up terminating them, but the parents tried to bully me into changing half my contract when I first met with them, and were forever ignoring things in it. The kids would show up with no snow pants, no spare clothes (they refused to leave clothes here, for some reason), having not eaten breakfast, pickups would be up to an hour and a half late with no phone call or email and no answer when I called, it was ridiculous.

So I decided that I'd rather wait to find a family who understands what professional childcare means, and if that means a ton of silly enquiries that don't pan out and taking 2 months to fill a spot, then so be it. It hurts financially a lot, since we rely partly on my income, but in the end, I was so stressed out, it wasn't worth it.

I would continue to tell them upfront, and simply let the idiots go. Eventually they'll either find a bottom-of-the-barrel illegal set-up or realize that most reputable providers have contracts in place for a reason. If they're that dead-set against any rules, I don't want to touch them with a 10-foot pole...learned my lesson I guess!