"Are your prices negotiable?"

[horsegirl]

You don't want a family in your daycare that is always trying to negotiate a better deal. I have dealt with parents like this before and I explain to them that I charge $40.00 per day and that this works out to be $3.81 per hour ( I am open 7am-5:30pm). I ask them if they don't think that their child is worth this small amount. I also ask them if they would work for this amount per hour.

I have a paragraph in my contract that explains why I charge what I do. I state that I do not have a medical or dental plan, nor do I have a pension fund, I cannot take off emergency days, nor can I accumulate my overtime and take it off as paid holidays. I have to pay for extra house insurance, liability insurance, special auto insurance and all the equipment and materials that their children use in my daycare. I also remind them that the benefits that most of them get from their employer is approx. 35% of their wage. They seem to forget the amount that they pay their babysitter while they go out for the evening--$10 per hour, or their favorite bottle of wine. Again, is their child not worth the $3.81 per hour.

Think twice about these families you do not need the hassle.