Angry And Hurt Right Now

[dEHmom]

I didn't read all the responses, but if you know that you are cheaper than most daycares, let her walk, she'll want to come back, or be too proud to call you and say you're right.

Then she'll end up paying more somewhere else.

If you are equal with every other daycare in charges, she will see that you've been nice to undercharge her all this time as well as they will likely not be so accomodating to the "special" as nanny usually puts it. She won't receive the discounts for the 6 yr old, etc.


I would also say that by the tone of the text, or at least what I hear, she is used to the "special" and fully expects you to bend over backwards for her again.

Hold firm, don't give in, and don't give her the special treatment, not even one ounce

[awestbrook713]

melskids I clicked on link but it just brings me to google sign in.

DEHmom your right she is, I am so nervous about this sit down with her and the dad, she is the type of person I wouldn't put it past her to blow up on me when she doesn't get her way which I will then just show her the door and not have to deal with the family anymore.

As far as today being a better day I want to announce it is 10 times better. Just had another parent tell me she is staying with me, my rates are fair and I am a good person and awesome babysitter(daycare provider ) I needed this boost of confidence and I was really worried about losing this family because they are so dependable and the kids are great!!

[dEHmom]

melskids I clicked on link but it just brings me to google sign in.

DEHmom your right she is, I am so nervous about this sit down with her and the dad, she is the type of person I wouldn't put it past her to blow up on me when she doesn't get her way which I will then just show her the door and not have to deal with the family anymore.

As far as today being a better day I want to announce it is 10 times better. Just had another parent tell me she is staying with me, my rates are fair and I am a good person and awesome babysitter(daycare provider ) I needed this boost of confidence and I was really worried about losing this family because they are so dependable and the kids are great!!

glad to hear that things are working out.

Just remember, keep your cool, no finger pointing, name calling, or even bringing up the past. She remembers what she charged you, so don't bother bringing that up. Just hold your head high, bite your tongue, only say what you need to say and make sure you remain professional. Then they will walk away, storm away, name call and all that, then they will calm down and realize how much of a jerk they were being and they will feel like ****. And will respect you more in the end. Whether they admit it or not.

[Unregistered]

That is what I am trying to do but the parents don't want to have to pay that much if there child only ends up here some of the days. They feel they are paying for something they aren't getting but what they don't understand is they are paying for there childs spot. Parents just don't get it.

From the parent perspective, I get that you want to charge by the spot, but that "spot" I'm paying for had better darn well be available every single day if I want to use it for a few hours. It's not a matter of parents don't get it, it's a matter of I only want to pay for 3 days when that is what I need. I do not want to pay for 5 days when I'm not using all of them. I don't care if it's paying to save a spot or not.

Think of it this way...when you go buy a new book in your favorite series, would you like it if you had to buy the whole series just to get the new book? NO. It's a service, you say....well, say you take your car for an oil change that takes 20 mins, would you like the mechanic to say you have to pay for an hour of service because he only counts his "spots" by the hour, and not by what you actually need? NO Why is daycare the one place that thinks you need to pay for 5 days if you're only using 3 of them?

[Blackcat31]

From the parent perspective, I get that you want to charge by the spot, but that "spot" I'm paying for had better darn well be available every single day if I want to use it for a few hours. It's not a matter of parents don't get it, it's a matter of I only want to pay for 3 days when that is what I need. I do not want to pay for 5 days when I'm not using all of them. I don't care if it's paying to save a spot or not.

Think of it this way...when you go buy a new book in your favorite series, would you like it if you had to buy the whole series just to get the new book? NO. It's a service, you say....well, say you take your car for an oil change that takes 20 mins, would you like the mechanic to say you have to pay for an hour of service because he only counts his "spots" by the hour, and not by what you actually need? NO Why is daycare the one place that thinks you need to pay for 5 days if you're only using 3 of them?

Daycare is also the one service that parents pay for that they feel they have the most say in but pay the least for!

The hourly wage paid to childcare providers is so low that we are forced to charge for spaces, regardless of whether parents use them or not.

If you want to pay at least minimum wage for the 3 days you use then I would gladly only charge you for those 3 days.

Oh and FWIW, not sure about auto repair shops where you live but where I live auto mechanics charge by the hour too......even if it only takes 20 minutes to do the job, the rate is still hourly. Oil change places charge by the job.

[awestbrook713]

Is the mechanic limited to spots he has by the state? No if I don't show he takes the next guy that walks through the door needing an oil change. He doesn't have the same repeat clients every day, he doesn't have to worry about going over numbers.

I may be here to watch your children but I am not here to be taken advantage of. If your job decided they need you one day and not the next how would you feel about not getting paid because they decided they don't need you and you have no say over the matter.

I am not here to get defensive but why are we not valued like we should be when we are responsible for the most valuable things in our lives children?

[SilverSabre25]

From the parent perspective, I get that you want to charge by the spot, but that "spot" I'm paying for had better darn well be available every single day if I want to use it for a few hours. It's not a matter of parents don't get it, it's a matter of I only want to pay for 3 days when that is what I need. I do not want to pay for 5 days when I'm not using all of them. I don't care if it's paying to save a spot or not.

Think of it this way...when you go buy a new book in your favorite series, would you like it if you had to buy the whole series just to get the new book? NO. It's a service, you say....well, say you take your car for an oil change that takes 20 mins, would you like the mechanic to say you have to pay for an hour of service because he only counts his "spots" by the hour, and not by what you actually need? NO Why is daycare the one place that thinks you need to pay for 5 days if you're only using 3 of them?

You pay for 30 days (or 31 days) of cable even if you only watch your TV 20 of those days.

You pay for 30/31 days of water even if you go on vacation for 14 of those days.

If you need daycare the same 3 days, and only those three days each week, most people will charge for those three days--and try to fill the other two with another child. If you need 3 days per week, but they VARY (one week it's MWF, the next it's T,TH,F, etc), then the provider has the right to charge for all 5 days, because they can't predict WHICH 3 days you will need, and therefore can't fill the other two days...do you see?

(and FTR, you pay a mechanic a flat rate for an oil change...whether it takes 10 minutes or 55 minutes...so, the same principle on which daycares charge).

[small_steps]

From the parent perspective, I get that you want to charge by the spot, but that "spot" I'm paying for had better darn well be available every single day if I want to use it for a few hours. It's not a matter of parents don't get it, it's a matter of I only want to pay for 3 days when that is what I need. I do not want to pay for 5 days when I'm not using all of them. I don't care if it's paying to save a spot or not.

Think of it this way...when you go buy a new book in your favorite series, would you like it if you had to buy the whole series just to get the new book? NO. It's a service, you say....well, say you take your car for an oil change that takes 20 mins, would you like the mechanic to say you have to pay for an hour of service because he only counts his "spots" by the hour, and not by what you actually need? NO Why is daycare the one place that thinks you need to pay for 5 days if you're only using 3 of them?

In childcare we are limited to the number of children that we can keep. If you want to bring your child to a provider 3 days a week but only want to pay for your 3 days then your provider needs to find someone that can use the other 2 days of the week. That is not very easy to do. I charge a flat weekly rate, whether the child is here or not and none of my parents complain about it. They understand that if they only worked Monday-Wednesday that it would be almost impossible for me to find another child to fill in Thursday and Friday. So they pay for the spot, and are allowed to bring their children any or all days that week. I'm sorry that it's hard for some parents to understand, but most providers that I know charge this way.

[Cat Herder]

Why is daycare the one place that thinks you need to pay for 5 days if you're only using 3 of them?

Minimum wage is $7.25hr.

$7.25 x 30 hours (3 days) = $217.50

More than TWICE what I get for 5 days. Full-Time

IMHO, Your point has NO validity.

[Country Kids]

I'm totally confused on what hours the children the children are there.

It looks like they are 3 years old and 6 years old.
I can see the 3 year old being there all day but wouldn't the 6 year old be in school? Wouldn't you charge them a school age rate through the school year? It sounds like they are only there full-time in the summer so why the big changes 8 months ahead of time? I would have done it much closer to the summer.

Maybe do a 3,4 and 5 day rate. Alot of providers in my area do that because parents really don't want to pay for a whole week if they are only using 3 days. I would have everyone fill out a schedule form and let them know that the days they put down are the days they will be charged for BUT if they aren't putting down a full week don't expect there to be room for their child if they were to need care on another day other than what they put down. That is what I do for my parents.

[dEHmom]

From the parent perspective, I get that you want to charge by the spot, but that "spot" I'm paying for had better darn well be available every single day if I want to use it for a few hours. It's not a matter of parents don't get it, it's a matter of I only want to pay for 3 days when that is what I need. I do not want to pay for 5 days when I'm not using all of them. I don't care if it's paying to save a spot or not.

Think of it this way...when you go buy a new book in your favorite series, would you like it if you had to buy the whole series just to get the new book? NO. It's a service, you say....well, say you take your car for an oil change that takes 20 mins, would you like the mechanic to say you have to pay for an hour of service because he only counts his "spots" by the hour, and not by what you actually need? NO Why is daycare the one place that thinks you need to pay for 5 days if you're only using 3 of them?

We understand that, AND the mechanic thing has already been touched on so I won't go there. It wasn't a great example.

IF you want drop in/casual care, some or most daycare will offer that, but you're taking a chance of not having care on the days you need. IF you want 3 days a week, you need to find a childcare center/home that offers that for you.

When you enroll in daycare, you are taking a spot whether you use it or not. More daycares would probably be willing to do drop in care if we weren't limited on numbers. But if every daycare could do this, I guarantee you the rates would double. For a casual I had, because some weeks she came 1 or 2 days, other weeks she came no days, her rate was 40/day. Normally my average rate is about 21/day. She didn't pay as much for full time, but she paid nearly a full time rate when she was here 3 days a week. If mom was sick one day, she brought her a different day. But mom was fully aware that if I had interesting in a full time spot, she would have to bump up to full time, or lose her spot.

[awestbrook713]

Country_kids: 3 yr old here 4 days a week during school year weekly rate is $100. I'm not charging for the 6 yr old during the school year unless she is here on holidays/school closings.

They will both be here in the summer 4- 10 hr days and the weekly rate will be $200 for the both of them.

[small_steps]

Country_kids: 3 yr old here 4 days a week during school year weekly rate is $100. I'm not charging for the 6 yr old during the school year unless she is here on holidays/school closings.

They will both be here in the summer 4- 10 hr days and the weekly rate will be $200 for the both of them.

I think you're being very fair. If mom gives you trouble about it, like you said, you may be better off without them anyway. Good luck to you. I know its not easy having these "talks" with parents. I do not like confrontation so these are hard for me too but things like this have to be done. Let us know how it turns out.

[melskids]

if this doesnt work, PM me your email and I'll try to figure out how to email it to you...i'm not always very computer literate...

[dEHmom]

Minimum wage is $7.25hr.

$7.25 x 30 hours (3 days) = $217.50

More than TWICE what I get for 5 days. Full-Time

IMHO, Your point has NO validity.

wow, that's low minimum wage!

here minimum wage is 10.00 per hour!!!!! I average about 2.10/hr on a normal day. Then factor in my expenses such as food, crafts, water, hydro, etc. I get to write off a portion of my bills, but when you have 4 or 8 or 12 kids flushing toilets, that's a minimum of 1 flush every half hour.

So even a single mom working at mcdonalds here makes 5 times what I do. I realize that childcare is a big chunk out of a paycheque, but when you consider what you make per hour, and what I make per hour, I don't understand why it's such a big fuss.