Quote Originally Posted by bright sparks View Post
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.