Family Wants To Lengthen Day

[pollyo]

I watch a dcg from 7am till 4pm, 4 days a week. She is 18 months old and very easy and fun to have around. The mom drops off and the dad picks up at 4 as he works at a middle school. He told me yesterday he is having a hard time getting here at 4 and needs to pick her up anywhere from 4:30 until 5pm. I don't have a problem with it because there is at least 1 or 2 other kids here until 5/5:30 each day. The issue though is that 7-5 is a very long day for a 18 month-old (10 hours) and I'm not sure if I should charge them more, or keep the rate the same.

Right now they pay $40/day which is a little high for my area (many are 30-40/day at least that I've seen). However, I do charge 45/day for 2 other clients but they are part time (2 days/week). I gave this family a break since they do 4 days but now with the extra long day, I'm not sure if I should go up at all? I just started daycare in the fall so I'm trying to keep my rates consistent and fair. The other families do not have such long days.

Any advice?

[daycare]

I watch a dcg from 7am till 4pm, 4 days a week. She is 18 months old and very easy and fun to have around. The mom drops off and the dad picks up at 4 as he works at a middle school. He told me yesterday he is having a hard time getting here at 4 and needs to pick her up anywhere from 4:30 until 5pm. I don't have a problem with it because there is at least 1 or 2 other kids here until 5/5:30 each day. The issue though is that 7-5 is a very long day for a 18 month-old (10 hours) and I'm not sure if I should charge them more, or keep the rate the same.

Right now they pay $40/day which is a little high for my area (many are 30-40/day at least that I've seen). However, I do charge 45/day for 2 other clients but they are part time (2 days/week). I gave this family a break since they do 4 days but now with the extra long day, I'm not sure if I should go up at all? I just started daycare in the fall so I'm trying to keep my rates consistent and fair. The other families do not have such long days.

Any advice?

I think that sometimes when we try to make financial changes at the same time as the ask, parents get a little upset, at least in my own experiences.

SO I added to my PHB that their daily fee covers 9.5 hours of care, anything over that would cost $6.00 an hour.

I would ask for more money, that is a very long day for any child regardless of age.

[momma2girls]

I totally agree!! I am open 9 1/2 hrs. and that is definately long enough!!

[cheerfuldom]

Why would he need up to an extra hour each day to pickup? If it was really about the drive, he would ask for the extra 15 minutes, tops. If you agree to this, please go into it knowing that this child will be there till 5 every day and they may even start showing up later than 5. Charge accordingly. I charge my part timers by the full day's rate, regardless of the time they are here but if you have a lot of random drop offs and pickups, you might consider going to contracted rates.

[wdmmom]

$42.50 per day and they must pick up by 430pm. That should give dcd plenty of time.

[AfterSchoolMom]

I agree with cheerfuldom. 4:15 will turn into 4:30, which will turn into 4:45, which will turn into 5pm every single day, and it will happen in no time. I'd definitely charge for the extra time, and charge for the max, because they'll use it.

If you really feel funny about charging more, you could give him the option of 15 extra minutes at no charge, and tell him that anything over that will be extra.

[momofboys]

ITA with the OP - 4:30 will quickly turn into 5:00 EVERY SINGLE DAY unless you attach a fee to it. BTDT!

[nannyde]

Sounds fishy. Any chance the dad is trying to hit home with the kid when the mom gets home so he doesn't have to do it by himself?

If you do it understand it will turn into five or later pretty quickly. Once he gets a taste of the freedom of the extra hour without the kid he's going to set it up so he doesn't hit there till he has to. Once he gets you used to five then then it will be easy to tack five/ten minutes or so onto that.

Charge him for four extra hours of AWAKE time per week. I would add at least twenty dollars a week for this. It would be equivallent to about three quarters of a day here of awake time for that age group.

VERY common parental request for this age group and especially if it is the Dad picking up. Most often it's not work or traffic ........ it's that the Dad is trying to get the kid when the Mom is going to be home to take care of the kid. If they can get it for free then there's a huge incentive to do it. If it costs money... real money (86 per month) then you will find out whether they really need it or not.

I would just tell him it's an additional ten dollars per week for the 4:30 or twenty for the 5:00 BUT it has to be SCHEDULED so they have to pay up till 4:30 in advance and have late fees after 4:30 OR it's twenty dollars extra for a 5:00 p.m and late fees start at 5. Don't let them just pay if they use it. It's paid in advance whether they use it or not.

Once you attach money to it there's a really good chance they will recind the request. It's a great idea if it's free but usually not such a great idea if it isn't. Having the other kids in the house doesn't have anything to do with their hours so if they bring up the other kids just tell them the parents of the other kids pay the extra fee for the later pick ups.

I would definitely be willing to do the ten hours if the kid was just here four days a week. I only do a max of nine if it's five days a week. Max of 10 if it's four days a week.

[Crazy8]

yes, a 10 hour day is a long day but sometimes parents DO work long hours. It is up to you if you want to accommodate, since you are working till 5-5:30 every day anyway I don't really see it being a big deal. I hate how everyone assumes the worst that dad will start coming after 5pm, or is going out for a while first, or doesn't want to take care of his kid alone, etc. Maybe its that his boss is looking at him crooked for running out at 3:30 on the dot each day to get to you by 4pm. Maybe all his co-workers stay to finish their work and he can't. My DH works a job that is salaried and while his day "should" be over at a set time it isn't always.

As for rate changes - I think you need to have them SET before you decide what to do with this family. First, decide if your daily rate is for 9, 9.5 or 10 hours. Then decide how much per day you will charge for going over those hours, etc. I'm assuming you already have late fees in place as well. So, if $40/day is only for 7-4 (or any 9 hr. day), give him your rate for a 9.5 hour day and a 10 hour day and ask which they would like to contract for. Remind them that if they choose the 4:30 that late fees start after that time. I only run on contracted hours and have never had an issue with parents being late!

[pollyo]

This is really great feedback! This was one of my first families, so I am learning a lot and as new families come, I am more organized with my rates and contracted hours.

The dad is faculty at school, so often meets with teachers and parents after school. I really don't mind that their daughter stays later but was curious about what to charge. This is all really important stuff to think about- I have a new baby starting in June and the family and I are discussing rates, drop-off times and pick-ups. I think the idea of charging a certain rate for 9 or 9.5 hours is good and then per hour after that.

Thanks for the advice.