Teachers kids

[bright sparks]

I charged based on days registered for care, not attendence. I do not amend that based on who the parent is employed by. (school board). When I have a school board employee here, they are very clear that payment is required all summer, regardless of attendance. They can send their child or keep them home, it's up to them, but I don't cut my income.

Here, teachers are contracted to teach 195 days a year. Teachers average $60k for those 195 days. Strictly speaking, no they don't get paid for the summer which is common argument from a teacher but heck, they are well compensated for the handful days they do work since the salary is not pro-rated based on worked days/days off. If a teacher is not able to set aside some money from those paid 195 days to cover the remaining 170 days OFF they get, then I don't want them in my dayhome because their money management skills are so poor, I'll likely have other issues being paid.

I know my local school board actually deals with "banked hours" meaning that the 195 days teachers do work, are spread over 10 months but rather than take their income as salary/10 months, they bank part of it and take a slightly smaller pay cheque each month, and bank some hours/pay. This ends up with them earning their salary over 10 months but being paid for 12. If you ignore all the mumbo jumbo about that, it's the same as the rest of the world who does get paid leave. The annual salary is divide into 12 monthly pays or maybe 26 bi-weekly pays resulting in paid leave, and same income year round.

I don't have contracts specific to nurses, doctors, teachers or any other profession. If they want one of my spaces, they pay for it year round. If they don't want to pay for it, they can go somewhere else.

I don't think it's a question of affordability, how much a teacher earns or how well they can budget. I think it is a matter of being at home and not actually needing childcare. Whether you have money in your bank account or not, I can understand how paying for 9 weeks of care over the course of the summer is a huge unnecessary expense. Over $2000 for that time period in my area so I can totally understand why a teacher in that situation would ask for some kind of discount as their childcare needs have significantly changed for that time period.

I have cared for teachers and took a 50% retainer, and once my last teacher left I vowed never to do this again because I couldn't take the loss and why should I. That being said, I can put myself in another persons shoes and know that regardless of affordability, $2000 for a 9 week period of childcare that isn't needed, is a huge unnecessary expense. I think teacher only providers are the best in this situation as it works in the best interest of both provider and teacher.

I totally agree, why should we take the loss when our numbers and income are so limited, but then why should a parent pay for childcare that isn't needed. It sucks to lose the income as a provider to a teacher when you offer a discount, but it sucks to pay out all that money at the same time when you are completely available to care for your child during that time too. I can see both sides and I don't begrudge a parent teacher for asking for the discount.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I don't think it's a question of affordability, how much a teacher earns or how well they can budget. I think it is a matter of being at home and not actually needing childcare. Whether you have money in your bank account or not, I can understand how paying for 9 weeks of care over the course of the summer is a huge unnecessary expense. Over $2000 for that time period in my area so I can totally understand why a teacher in that situation would ask for some kind of discount as their childcare needs have significantly changed for that time period.

I have cared for teachers and took a 50% retainer, and once my last teacher left I vowed never to do this again because I couldn't take the loss and why should I. That being said, I can put myself in another persons shoes and know that regardless of affordability, $2000 for a 9 week period of childcare that isn't needed, is a huge unnecessary expense. I think teacher only providers are the best in this situation as it works in the best interest of both provider and teacher.

I totally agree, why should we take the loss when our numbers and income are so limited, but then why should a parent pay for childcare that isn't needed. It sucks to lose the income as a provider to a teacher when you offer a discount, but it sucks to pay out all that money at the same time when you are completely available to care for your child during that time too. I can see both sides and I don't begrudge a parent teacher for asking for the discount.

I also can see both sides but IMO, it's not really an unnecessary expense on the parents part. They need care Sept to June and if they can't find a dc that runs/charges those months only, than it is necessary to pay their provider for July/August if they want care the rest of the year. I have had parents who have 6-8 weeks holidays with their job as well but it's spread out throughout the year...they don't get a discount either (aside from my holiday fee I charge if they want to keep child at home) so I don't really see the difference between them and teachers. I do think that dcp's who don't charge them for July/August is of course the better option but I don't think necessarily think it's an unnecessary expense in the grand scheme of things.

[bright sparks]

I also can see both sides but IMO, it's not really an unnecessary expense on the parents part. They need care Sept to June and if they can't find a dc that runs/charges those months only, than it is necessary to pay their provider for July/August if they want care the rest of the year. I have had parents who have 6-8 weeks holidays with their job as well but it's spread out throughout the year...they don't get a discount either (aside from my holiday fee I charge if they want to keep child at home) so I don't really see the difference between them and teachers. I do think that dcp's who don't charge them for July/August is of course the better option but I don't think necessarily think it's an unnecessary expense in the grand scheme of things.

I think if they sign up knowing the deal then it isn't negotiable, but from the point of enquiring, it is not a need. If they don't find a provider willing to let them have summers off without any fees and they sign up for a 12 month contract with full pay, then yes it becomes a necessary expense to hold the spot for their child/children. Not really what I was getting at though. I was saying from the perspective of a parent looking for care, not one who has signed an agreement to pay year round to guarantee the spot.