How would you handle this?

[lilac]

I am 32 weeks pregnant and was going to take daycare kids up til Christmas (so school is open til Dec 23rd this year), so I have just over 4 weeks left. A couple of them may come for a couple days in Jan before school is back in but that's about it. Then kids were all coming back in March giving me 8 weeks off (6 weeks after the baby is due). I discussed with all my parents early on and this was no problem for anyone. (well I did lose 1 family but they never even started with me so I dont really count them)

Today, the parent that I figured was a for sure, there would be no way she wouldnt come back in March, told me that they are going to hire a Nanny to come to their house so that she wouldnt have to get the kids up earlier than they would need to be to get them to my house for her to go to work. As her kids are giving her a very difficult time (as do my own who are the same age exactly but whatever) getting up in the morning. She said it will be in the next week or so....

So immediatly the thought crosses my mind (I cant see hiring a nanny for only 2 months to cover a mat leave) and I ask if she is planning to bring the kids back to me in March and she told me it depends on how the nanny works out, but if she does, then no they will not be back (its 2 kids, 2 spots). Needless to say, I'm slightly upset.

In my contract I have the 2 week notice thing, it seems how shes talking that it will be less than 2 weeks that they are having this nanny start, do I make her pay me for the 2 weeks anyways wether she's decided or not to have the kids come back in March?

Even if she was planning on coming back in March, she's pulling them 3-4 weeks earlier than planned, (and right before Christmas I might add....and at the point where there is no chance of me filling their spots before I take time off) do I still ask for the 2 weeks in that case?


I feel like I go a bit extra with these kids, and with their parents, being more flexible with them than I am with other parents and in the end, it doesnt matter, they all turn around and stab you in the back anyways... I guess this is my wake up call to business is buisness.... with EVERY family, no exceptions.

[Judy Trickett]

YES.....she owes you two weeks notice.

And Yes, my guess is she will not come back after your mat leave. Once they get accustomed to having a nanny and not having to haul their kids out of the house every day they will likely not go back to daycare.

[Cocoon]

I wouldn't say this as stabbing as parents also looking after their interest. I have no idea what you should do as I'm not familiar with day home care rules here in Canada tho I'm learning. What I can suggest you to advertise for March and if they do come back and you have space then take them back. I know it won't help in this case but if you put month notice in your contract and take 2 weeks deposit beginning of the care and not to use that deposit for first 2 weeks care. And yes you should make her pay for that 2 weeks.

Hope it helps.
Cocoon

[playfelt]

When taking that much time off it is almost for sure that you are going to lose some if not all of your families. Even those that said they would come back for sure, once they spend almost two months at a new home the kids will be settled in, have forgotten about their old friends and made new ones. They are less likely to want to now change what is a working solution back to one where they will be starting all over again since you will be restarting your whole program now to integrate the baby into care. Loss of income is bad at any time of the year but now yes we feel it more. Plan on starting in January to advertise your openings and interview as many families as you can and plan on selecting a whole new slate of kids. In a way that will be nice for you since you can now tailor the ages, hours, etc. to meet with the new reality of having your own newborn in the mix.

[sunnydays]

I agree with what the other ladies have said. Make her pay the two weeks (I ask for a month, so you may want to change that in future). Also, look at it from the parents' point of view. I had my son's daycare provider go away for a month right before I went on mat leave and it was very stressful changing daycares...I didn't want to switch him back because he was really happy with the new provider and I only had a few weeks before my mat leave. If I had to switch for 2 months, even if I were not on mat leave, I may not have gone back to the original provider unless I found that my child was way better off there.

[lilac]

I understand it is a while to take off of from daycare, however, I approached it early, told them that if they felt they needed to move on then I understood. What I'm upset about is that this parent was the first to say "Oh yes, of course we will be back in March! That will be no problem at all. Really? Is that all the time you are taking? " and the fact that I know they have dealt with a few months time off in the past (the provider before me was diagnosed w/ cancer and had to take some extended time off for treatment 2x within 2 years. The second time, the provider decided not to re open which is how they ended up with me.

I'm just hurt, I wish she would have been honest with me sooner rather than now. I'm going to miss her kids, and my kids are going to miss them too.

[sunnydays]

She may have initially thought that it would be no problem, then started thinking about it more...especially in light of the fact that she had to go through this a couple of times with her past provider. She may feel bad about it, but honestly, if I were her and had the option of a nanny, i probably would go for it too. It seems like her kids have been in a lot of back-up care over the time they've been in daycare and she probably just realized she really didn't want to keep doing that...or perhaps the husband came up with the nanny solution.

[mom-in-alberta]

When I had my daughter in Sept, I only took a month off. I spoke very often with parents about what the process was going to be, what to expect, asked them what their plans were, and so on.
I had one family that said "we'll be back" and then "we won't" and then said yes again.
2 days before I re-opened, I called THEM (they didn't even have the courtesy to call me) and they told me they were continuing with the system that they had been using while I was off. Various family members.
My lesson? No matter what, these folks look out for themselves first, and then they think of you. And I say that as UN-cynically as possible. Not a pessimist, just a realist.

[sunnydays]

As a parent, wouldn't you look out for your own childrens' interest first? I don't mean that it is okay to trounce on us caregivers, but I just think it is realistic that parents will make decisions based on what they think is best for their children.

When I had my daughter in Sept, I only took a month off. I spoke very often with parents about what the process was going to be, what to expect, asked them what their plans were, and so on.
I had one family that said "we'll be back" and then "we won't" and then said yes again.
2 days before I re-opened, I called THEM (they didn't even have the courtesy to call me) and they told me they were continuing with the system that they had been using while I was off. Various family members.
My lesson? No matter what, these folks look out for themselves first, and then they think of you. And I say that as UN-cynically as possible. Not a pessimist, just a realist.

[Judy Trickett]

As a parent, wouldn't you look out for your own childrens' interest first? I don't mean that it is okay to trounce on us caregivers, but I just think it is realistic that parents will make decisions based on what they think is best for their children.

I agree. And that is why it doesn't have to be nasty. It just needs to be BUSINESS. The facts are that this parent has expressed a desire to seek care elsewhere. That is her perogative. So, you invoke the two week notice and IF she comes back you start fresh again in March. IMO, ALL the dcparents of the OP should be treated in the same manner because there are NO guarantees in this business.

It's not personal. It's just business.