Holding a spot for a year for mat leave

[samslittleones]

Hello, I have a new client starting out hopefully within the next couple months. However she just asked me when she has her second child (they are still trying to conceive) she wanted to know if I could hold a spot for her oldest (and possibly new little one) for the year of mat leave.
Does anyone do that?
What would be fair to charge?
I was thinking of charging the daily fee for 2-3 days a week and then when the time came I would make a spot available for her but not without at least some payment that shows her commitment to me throughout the year...
Thanks for your input

[Suzie_Homemaker]

Hello, I have a new client starting out hopefully within the next couple months. However she just asked me when she has her second child (they are still trying to conceive) she wanted to know if I could hold a spot for her oldest (and possibly new little one) for the year of mat leave.
Does anyone do that?

Sure - but they will pay for it. Why would I lose the income for two FT spaces for her peace of mind? If you have 6 spaces (depending on the limit in your Province), then her two spaces represents one third of your max income.

Do you think she would take a 33% pay cut for a year for your peace of mind?

What would be fair to charge?

The full cost of the two spaces! If she wants two spaces or one space holding, then she needs to pay for it. That is fair to YOU. Don't fall into the trap of trying to be fair to customers at a direct cost to your income.
I bet you can't think of one other service that will hold something for a full year and take a loss on their business income.
It IS fair to charge for the cost of the service she wants exclusivity to. It is NOT fair to expect you to take a financial hit on her decision to expand her family.

I was thinking of charging the daily fee for 2-3 days a week and then when the time came I would make a spot available for her but not without at least some payment that shows her commitment to me throughout the year...

Why?

Why are you willing to lose your income to make her feel comfortable?

How about her showing her commitment to you and commiting to keeping the oldest child with you full time for the duration of her mat leave and when a space opens up, she has first refusal of that space but has to pay for that second space too from the time it's empty?

Don't get me wrong, I see newer provider's doing this all the time but that doesn't put gifts under their Christmas tree when they are 9 months into a 33% wage cut.

And what happens if you have a second client in this situation at the same time? Are you going to tell one client they can have an arrangement that others cannot? Or are you going to be okay with potentially 4 spaces sitting empty for a full year while two sets of sibling groups are home with their respective Momma?

And what happens if you do this and then they have a third child? Will you then be okay with the two older children staying home during mat leave and holding three empty spaces?

If you decide to say no, be prepared for the next likely question - Can they reduce the number of days their child comes during mat leave and then return to FT care after the year? Again, this equates to a loss for you. If the older child is coming 5 days a week and they want to drop to 3, you are losing 2 days pay which equates to 40% of their bill. Over the course of a full year of mat leave, those 2 days you take the hit for equal 104 days of lost income. That's 4 months lost income! Bet it wouldn't take you 4 months to find a replacement FT child and lose less by declining their request to drop days.

For me, mat leaves works like this :-

Option 1 - Older child remains in their FT space and when I have a vacancy, the space will be offered to that parent first. They are expected to pay for the second space from the time it is empty.

Option 2 - Older child leaves their space and parents have to hope I will have two spaces when they need them.

Option 3 - Older child remains in their FT space and when I have a vacancy, the space will be offered to that parent first. They are expected to pay for the second space from the time it is empty. HOWEVER, if they are having to pay for that second space for more than 6 months before they need it, I do commit to trying to find a suitable temporary client. Any days that a temp client takes, reduces the bill for the held baby space. i.e. Oldest child comes 5 days a week. Temp client comes three days a week. Parents on mat leave whose child remains in FT care has to pay for the empty two days a week to keep them reserved for their child. If the temp client's contract ends before the original client's mat leave ends, they they are back to paying for both FT spaces if they want to reserve them.

[Lee-Bee]

Like the other ladies...no way, unless they pay in full. They chose to have another child, it's on their dime not yours.

[Peacefulbird]

100% with Suzie_Homemaker; I've seen even caregivers waiting for the siblings to come and families have changed their mind almost when hey had to start (a nanny was more convenient) so, the poor caregiver was.left on the air.

In my group everyone knows that I'm not flexible. I do my best to post my openings way ahead (usually school age children leaving) and it is up to them to take the spots or not. Also I post the rate and non negotiations from there (ex. Sibling discounts), my materials, my time and dedication, the food and all other expenses do not give me a sibling break or discount.

I do not know when they came up with the "siblings discount" term. All the services and time consumption still same. So for me my rate is a non negotiable factor.

[Busy ECE mommy]

Never in a million years! Your only loyalty is to yourself. It’s a business decision. Pay in full for both spaces, or take your chances on a spot a year from now.

[Suzie_Homemaker]

I do not know when they came up with the "siblings discount" term. All the services and time consumption still same. So for me my rate is a non negotiable factor.

I might be wrong but I think it's a practice that is common in day care centers. With the ratio changes, the infant spaces in a center are hard to find but the older age groups are rarely at capacity. By offering a sibling discount, they can retain the older children.

For some parents, they mis-understand that this is an industry wide normal practice and fail to understand that in a day home at least, a space is a space.

I am sure for their requested 15% discount, they wouldn't be so keen if the care was also reduced by 15%. i.e. Sure, you can have a sibling discount but that's not cutting into my income so pick which of your children wants 15% less food on their plate, doesn't get to complete the last 15% of any crafts and receives 15% less love and affection.

Here (and I am sure in most day homes) 100% of the service requires 100% of the fees. I'm not offering a sibling discount - why would I when taking a different client means 100% fees.

[Peacefulbird]

That absolutely makes sense, daycare centres make their profit by volume not like us. Also as you said their ratio changes once they turn to be toddlers or preschoolers. Their groups are larger. Absolutely not a comparison with our rations.

I might be wrong but I think it's a practice that is common in day care centers. With the ratio changes, the infant spaces in a center are hard to find but the older age groups are rarely at capacity. By offering a sibling discount, they can retain the older children.

Thank you Suzie_Homemaker.