Help Help Help!!!

[bright sparks]

I thought the whole idea of a forum was to get help on whatever topic a care giver was needing help with. By definition a forum is a place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged. There is a difference between a forum and a conversation. The particular issue on this forum was the questions I was asking, not to have a debate about what someone considers a nanny because if I knew that I wouldn't have wasted my time posting my questions.

You did get some answers pertaining to your particular enquiry though right? So because myself and others were not clear on an aspect of your post we weren't to ask for clarification and hold restraint to further enquire and learn about something? That seems a very unnatural form of dialoguing to me and not at all how this forum works and I imagine most others. It's a natural human characteristic to go off in other directions when in a dialogue. This is a pretty personal place where members become familiar and discuss multiple things. If a thread goes off on a massive tangent then generally, but not always, a member would start a new thread so as not to hijack a thread. That being said, it didn't happen in this case because of all the misunderstandings/misinterpreting of info that went on and members asking for further clarification. The discussion about the specifics on Nanny and what the title means was worth discussing if people learnt something from it which I certainly did. None of it was rude, it wasn't about right or wrong, it was about gaining new perspective and an appreciation and an understanding of how things aren't always as they may seem to one individual. I think that is exactly what a forum is about. This isn't a tech support forum with very impersonal specific answers. This is a place for a community of Childcare providers to share and learn and it seems only natural for that to mean sometimes going off topic.

[Crayola kiddies]

Ok after reading all those replies I kinda forget what the original questions are .... But I'll give it a shot .... Change all your fee payments to EMT (email money transfer) so there are no excuses and the family can even set up an automatic transfer to occur every two weeks or when ever payment is required) I would send out a letter (handed to each family so they can't say they didn't receive it) outlining all your new policies .... My fees are due on Fridays by 5 pm for the following two weeks. For parents that want to hang around at pick up just have the child ready to go when the parent arrives and say " oh here's mommy (daddy) now ... We had a great day and we will see you in the morning have a nice night" open the door and wait for them to walk thru .... Easy peasy ...
Sibling rates .... Nope never .... Our salary is already capped because we can only have five children and now with the new limit of 2 under 2 the potential of having open spaces is even more so no way would I give a discount ..... I'm not from your area so I am unsure of what the community can support but it seems to me that organic Montessori would command more then )35/day .... I'm from the Ottawa area and I'm not organic / Montessori or an ece and I charge $45/day .... I charge for all 52 weeks .... I'm closed for all stat days, 3 weeks holidays, 5 personal days ..... The only time I do t require payment is if I close due to my sickness (which I have never done) .... You are young but just stand your ground .... If you plan on moving I wouldn't advertise it too much because if it not in the same demographic area that would allow all the families to stay with you then that would not be a selling point ... Most parents want to keep the same caregiver for consistency.
Good luck

[MsBell]

I am in Waterloo. I honestly think that people would complain that daycare is too expensive even if it was free! lol (just a peeve of mine, I got into it with my niece just this weekend, this of course after dicussing the brand new 52inch TV, gaming system and livingroom set.....you know where I am going) I in no way want to tell you how to run your business, but my simple advice is to drop your organic. I eat super healthy, I but the expensive breads and meats and veggies for my family, but for daycare, they get a healthy, but NOT expensive, simply because it is not in the budget. To prepare everything homemade takes a lot of time as well, time that I do not get paid for, and I just know (with my group of kids) they wont eat it anyway. I do not feed them junk, it is still a very healthy balanced menu plan, but I wont pay any more money, just to throw it away. I also find that many parents say they want a healthy menu, but I also know that most families working full time, spend a lot of money on fast and easy dinners and take out (not putting it down, I have been in the same place) Basically if the child comes to me after a bowl of fruit loops for breakfast, and is going home to a happy meal, my health serving of grilled chicken, sweet potato, and green beans is not going to appeal to them. I do serve that, but I dont pay the extra for organic (I will for myself, because I know its not money wasted) I hope I make sense, I guess I am just saying that in my area, parents want cheap rates MORE then organic menu (they just wont admit it)
And Yes I agree, Daycare centers are very expensive, and if you look at their menu plans, they are nothing to brag about.