Difficult Situation!! any advice would be great

[happyheart]

I totally agree that they are trying to get their moneys worth. Many times these parents have dropped their kids off in work clothes and come to pick them up with their house clothes on right before closing time, as if they were sitting at home waiting to pick the kids up. And other times they have said oh i have a drs appt after work so ill see you when im done or have gone grocery shopping before picking up their kids. I just dont understand why someone would even want to leave their child at daycare for 12 hours, especially whens its not necessary. I think the dcm just wants her husband to have to help her with daycare even if it makes absolutely no sense. The more I think about it the more confident I am becoming in putting my foot down with this dcf. I think I will change the hours and the breakfast rule as well as a few other policies that have been causing problems and see how it goes before I decide to close permanently. Hopefully not feeling so disrespected will bring back the passion I had about doing hdc in the first place.

[Crayola kiddies]

I think that's a great idea !!!!

[happyheart]

So I re wrote my contract and Handbook to accomadate my new hours and new rules. I've changed my hours to 7:30-4:30, I think the extra time in the morning is going to be huge for my well being, it will give me more time to get to the gym in the morning and get myself and the family ready for the day. I am also including a provider maternity leave provision in my handbook. I will be taking 16 weeks minimum and I don't expect them to come back after this time but will take them back first if they decide to return over new clients. I will no longer be providing breakfast at all, I didn't realize how much time and extra clean up this was causing. Babies and toddlers are messy eaters even if they are eating only cereal and banana lol. If they come unfed they will be waiting until 9:30 for morning snack. I will also be contracting hours on an individual basis and made it very clear in my handbook that their hours are not determined by my open/close hours and by their contracted hours only. Im not sure if this will change how im feeling about home daycare for our family but it will definately make things easier now that im pregnant and need to really put my foot down. I'm going to give them the updated handbook and contract with the changes to be effective immediately and the contract to be returned one week after it is given. I'm actually kind of hoping that the uncooperative parents will leave because of the changes but will see how it goes.

[mimi]

Wow from indecision to firm and consise. You rock! I think with these changes and realising you are able to make strong decisions in your business so you and your family will benefit that you will continue your daycare even if it means finding new families after your mat leave. Congratulations on your pregnancy.

[Crayola kiddies]

Generally you should give 2 weeks for the changes to take effect to allow the parents the time to make the necessary adjustment .... Such as broaching it with the work place to get different working hours or to buy another car seat so one parent can drop off and another can pick up.... This notice would be equal to the notice you require for termination by either party. Any contract not signed by a certain date would signify that care is no longer required. Will a 9 hour day be enough for parents to be able to drop off and commute to work? .. Where I live I have to open early (6:45) to allow enough time for parents to get to work with the rush hour traffic and I'm closed at 4:45 which is a 10 hour day but not one family uses the full 10 hours.

[happyheart]

I know 2 weeks notice is generally the norm but I know with these parents they will use that 2 weeks to their full advantage and bring their kids 12 hours every day. I know they both have car seats in their vehicles as one will often do drop off and the other will pick up, knowing where they work i'm sure they are not able to trade out the car seats during the day. I feel like I have put up with enough from them and i'm not willing to risk them bringing their kids 12 hours for the next 2 weeks just so they can "get their moneys worth". The hours the mom works she would have more then enough time to drop offand pick up within the new hours if they did need extra time they can pay more for it. She just chooses not to pick up at a reasonable time right now because they are taking severe advantage of my kindness and generosity. I am not willing to sacrifice my time with my family or my house and my own perosnal time any longer. If they don't like it they can feel free to go find a provider who has no backbone who is willing to be taken advantage of for $3 an hour 12 hours a day per child. Its just not worth it to me at this time anymore.

[happyheart]

Thanks mimi!!!!

[Lou]

NICE!!!! Please keep us posted to their reaction! SO glad you're putting your foot down!

[happyheart]

@Lou, I will definitely let you know.

[jazmic]

oh i have a drs appt after work so ill see you when im done

Uhh... sure. See when you're done. But my late fee kicks in 15 minutes after closing time. $5 for the first 15 and $2 for every 10 minutes after that. So yeah, sure. See when you're done and we'll see how much your late fee will be.

I hope you have a late fee in your contract! That would put an end to that!