When I first started my home daycare I took on the first family I could find. There were 3 kids, one was getting ready to start school in fall. So taking 3 of my six available spots, one being a reduced school age rate. On our initial meeting the mum told me that they would occasionally need care starting at six am but that it would usually be later and that there would be early pick up to offset the early drop off days, that some days there would be late drop off ( like nine or ten am), and that her husband would always pick the kids up early on Fridays. I wasn't too crazy about this idea but I thought I would just replace them as soon as I got up and running with clients who needed a more reasonable schedule. I was also told that she needed part time for the summer, with her going back to college in fall full time for a few months, then returning to work full time in winter. So i ended up holding these spots for several months for free before they even started. So part time ended up being completely sporadic, then fall comes and she decides to quit the school course and go straight back to work. At this point I asked her to give me at least three days a week of work, considering I assumed I'd be working full time by now. She agreed.
Over time I noticed that the pickup times were stretching later, early Friday pickups didn't happen and the late drop offs were starting earlier(7:45-8:00 am). She was blaming her husband for this, but her pickups were also getting later. As she is a nurse, she works twelve hour shifts then gets many days off at a time. So I'm still only guaranteed three days and hardly ever get full time work from this family while they are loving it, both working full time with high paying jobs. A few weeks ago the daughter tells me that her dad goes home and takes a shower every day before he picks them up. I'm working ten and a half hour days on average for this family alone. I have another family starting who have one child, they need full time and hours are between 7:30 am and 5:00pm, which is amazing. I had a short term kid who is now leaving me this week for a mat leave, he's been full time within the 7-5 zone and I'm finding I'm getting pretty burnt out after the eleven hour days. I guess what I'm asking is, do you think it's fair for me to ask for extra fees for early drop off and then have a nine hour time limit after which more extra fees will be paid. I also need a full time income from this family. They are a great family, we've become very close with them. On the other hand, they've been abusing our loose arrangement and she routinely brings her kids sick. The older one also has some behavioural issues, when I asked if her mum thought she might be bored and would do better with kids her own age at an after school program she said they didn't want to make more than one stop every day and would go somewhere else for childcare if I felt that way. Even on days when I know she's not going to work she will still schedule six am dropoffs
She knows I'm having a hard time finding other full time quality families in our area ( everyone seems to work part time, I had to term a family a few months ago due to forgetting to pay me for weeks despite reminders). This family always pays on time at least. Honestly I think I'd like to replace them, I just don't want to work these long hours, I have two kids of my own who don't get much alone time with me. It just isn't working out. Do you think it would be reasonable to ask for extra fees and five days a week? Should I just give them notice and start looking for clients who are a better fit? Am i being a complete asshole? Im worried anout not being able to find new clients Any opinions would be much appreciated!