Changing maximum 10 hour care policy

[33 Daiseys]

So SAD, I hope the children feels loved at the weekend

i had a family that the kids were here 12 hours a day, in activities after care, in activities all Saurday, and spent Saturday afternoon and night and all day Sunday with grandparents. Grandparents would drop the kids off right before bed.
I thought and when do you as a parent actually spend any time with their kids? How can an individual even call themselves a parent if the spend less then 20 minutes a day with their kids. Thats less then 3 hours a week?????
Really why have kids in that case?

[Peacefulbird]

Hi, I do not find it disgusting. We are all different and have different strengths some like us are.more patient with children and are able to handle it and some aren't. But we all want to be parents some day (that is our human nature); I fin that parents that can not handle or basically entertain their children value much more our work, they know how hard is with just one. I've seem new parents in need of guidance (I was a young parent too). What I do is try to get resources from my community and at least guide them towards other programs (summer camps, drop in, sing alongs, parenting workshops, etc). We are all in it, we are raising our new generation and we need to help each other out one way or another, anything counts. I have seen successful proffesional parents and no clue of how to keep a baby or toddler busy; they do not have our experience and long accumulated knowledge in childcare. When they look for care they also rely on our experience.

As soon as you show how rich your experience and knowledget is, these parents will stay for a long time keeping your spots full. You have not only helped raising their child, you have also helped them to become better parents.

[Rockland ECE]

I tell my families that a full time spot is for 7-9 hours. And even that is a long day for little ones! I work long days...7am-5:30 and each daycare spot is really filled with 2 children (one before school and one for the rest of the day)...but for the sake of the child, I wouldn't let them come for the entire 10 1/2 hours I'm open...it isn't right..

[cdngirl]

Lately I reluctantly changed to a maximum 10hr day because I was having some trouble filling spots. But based on some families I've met with I decided it's not worth it. I am going back to 9hrs even if that means I will have to turn people away. May try 9.5hrs which is a compromise...If I could raise my rate and stay competitive I would do that and increase my max. I don't want to work more hours for the same pay :/

Interviewed one family who could comfortably do 730-430 but once I mentioned 10hr max she mentioned some days could be 530 pickup. That annoyed me but if you give them the time people will use it.

I envy the hours a lot of you keep.

[Peacefulbird]

If you find your suggestion of 10 hrs open missleading, then do not even mention it. Just stablish your hours and thats it. Unless you are open 10 hrs. But everyone has different contract time agreements. Ex 7:30 to 4:30, 8 to 5, 9 to 6, etc. I have tried that but to keep up with my records was also extra work. But I have charged accordingly. I will bill my 9 hrs of service plus extra time if they were late(with a recorded date and pick up time). You can also stablish a 9 hrs rate 9 and a half, and 10 hrs rate. I think parents will be more helpful if you give them the choice to decide to pay for 9hr. Service or 10 hrs.

[kindredspirit]

To clarify, I charge the same rate no matter how long they are here for (8-9.5h), but each client has contracted hours that they must stay within. My reasoning is that if my latest pick up client leaves, and I replace them with other parents with early hours (say I finish a 7:30-5 contract and get a 7-4) then I would have every child contracted to be picked up by 4, and I can plan my life around that. If I give them a set close time or max hours, I never know when I'm going to be working later, or entertaining just one child for an extra hour while they wonder why every parent came except theirs.

[Van]

I do 7.30 to 5 now after I had to change it from 7.30 to 4.30 as that half hour made a big difference to the parents in travelling to and from work and I know they are not working out at the gym

[Peacefulbird]

I personally think there is a missunderstanding. And I remember someone explaining it long ago. We are selling a service and we are open for a certain length of hours but, it shouldn't matter what the parents do or not do during their hours and I do not find it ethical to post it and then judge it, unless we are perfect human beings.

I'm just glad that at least I have made a living, from responsible and caring parents that had made the decision to choose my care to help raising their children. Other than that I do not ask what they do or not, it is their private life, I respect it and they also respect mine.

What I find it sad, is the fact to use a website like this one very popular to parents, when they look for care, and find this kind of unethical comments against them, I'm a parent too and I'm not perfect.

[Lee-Bee]

I personally think there is a missunderstanding. And I remember someone explaining it long ago. We are selling a service and we are open for a certain length of hours but, it shouldn't matter what the parents do or not do during their hours and I do not find it ethical to post it and then judge it, unless we are perfect human beings.

I'm just glad that at least I have made a living, from responsible and caring parents that had made the decision to choose my care to help raising their children. Other than that I do not ask what they do or not, it is their private life, I respect it and they also respect mine.

What I find it sad, is the fact to use a website like this one very popular to parents, when they look for care, and find this kind of unethical comments against them, I'm a parent too and I'm not perfect.

For many of us, we are isolated in our work. Other jobs provide lunch rooms and water coolers to chat with fellow coworkers and vent their frustrations. For some of us this chat room (this section which is dedicated to caregivers), is the water cooler. We don't have other people to vent to. We vent, we know that others can feel our frustrations and we then can perform our job that little bit better.

[Peacefulbird]

I agree we need to vent. We need to share and support each other but in an ethical an proffesional way. I do not think there is a need to denigrate other human beings, especially when you are making a living from them. You can address any issue but focused in what it is occurring to you or explain what is your situation. There is no need to go over others people's lives or activities on what they do or not after your hours of work. As mentioned before, this site is not just for caregivers to vent, it is for parents to search for childcare, and caregivers to advertise. And along the way it also offers a chatroom to support each other through empathy, experience an thoughtful advise.

When you go through some comments, it doesn't show respect for others private lives which also doesn't speak in a positive manner from our side including me as a."caregiver". I know centres have a break room but, lately they're also taking action about the discussions teachers have, mostly ethical, proffesional and respectful. The college of early childhood educators have sent letters to this regard. They now have fines and if a family finds out how some of their personal information is being shared or handled they have all their rights to take legal actions for invasion of privacy.

This post started with the length of work ours and how some children stay until the end of the opened hours. Most of us have given advise and reason and ideas of reducing hours, charging more, giving choices to parents in hours with extra pay etc. I think this keeps it more focused to the problem or issue.