Letter To Parents, Moving Daycare ....Please Let Me Know What You Think

[Sprouts]

It is with much regret that I write this letter. Due to financial circumstances we have decided to sell our property and move our child care to another location. Currently we do not have any interested buyers or an exact location where we will be moving. Parents will be kept up to date on any contract signing or agreements made. As you all know it takes typically 4-8 weeks for contracts and everything to go through so everyone will be given more then enough time to decide what you would like to do.

We would love for all of the families to join us wherever we move to but understand that convenience may play a factor in the child care you choose. Again as soon as we find out more information we will keep you all posted and hope all of the families will stay with us as long as possible.

This has been a very hard decision for us and we thank you all for your loyalty and kindness.

[mac60]

Unless you are in a position to lose families and income, I am not sure I would be telling them this. If and when the opportunity comes about and you have found another place to move, giving them a 3/4 week notice seems adequate at that time. I can see parents pulling children immediately not wanting to be left high and dry.

[jenn]

The letter sounds good if you are sure you want them to know right now. I would wait until you have more info, like the location of where you will move to or the last date of care at your current location.

[nannyde]

Just be prepared for them to leave shortly. If you are offering really low cost child care or you are doing odd shifts, long shifts, weekends, etc. you have a good chance of them staying until the last possible day. If you are average or high priced, have set hours, etc. there is a really good chance they will leave shortly after you tell them you don't know the future of the child care.

I've counselled some providers who put their house on the market and just tell the parents they are searching for a larger home in the same area and have been able to retain clients until they move. I've counselled providers who just tell the parents they don't know when or where but they are selling their home and lost all their clients within a month.

It's a risk to tell them anything until you are prepared to go without their income. Parents naturally don't like uncertainty when it comes to their child care arrangements.

I would NOT mention any financial reasons for moving. TMI

[momofboys]

If you don't have any interested buyers or know where you are moving to why would you even tell clients? Am I missing something? Now if you had someone wanting to buy & were getting ready to sign contracts I might say something then but it seems too early. Why worry parents about something that may not occur for 4-5 months? JMHO!

[Sprouts]

Well since we are going to be posting a for sale sign outside I feel like I should tell them before it goes up :/

[nannyde]

Well since we are going to be posting a for sale sign outside I feel like I should tell them before it goes up :/

You can tell them that you are selling your house but you don't have to tell them why and where you are going. The "why" is private and the "where" is not for certain.

Just be prepared for them to leave soon if they feel their child care situation is going to change. This is one of the highest times of the year for child care transitions and to have access to free or near free care. There are a lot more child care workers on the market in the summer.

It's a downside of working out of our homes. It just comes with the business.

[cheerfuldom]

All my daycare families stayed with me through the move but only because I was 100% sure we were moving within a few mile radius. We actually moved to a neighborhood that was a better location for all but one family.

[MamaBear]

I went thru this last year. We sold our house and moved a mile up the road. I let the family know right away when the house was on the market because we had this huge FOR SALE sign in front of our house. I felt it was better to tell them before they pulled up and saw it and totally freaked out.

I would send them an email every couple weeks with an update but I knew we were moving just a mile away. They seemed to appreciate the communication of what to expect. Everyone stayed on board and it all happened pretty smoothly.

[nannyde]

I went thru this last year. We sold our house and moved a mile up the road. I let the family know right away when the house was on the market because we had this huge FOR SALE sign in front of our house. I felt it was better to tell them before they pulled up and saw it and totally freaked out.

I would send them an email every couple weeks with an update but I knew we were moving just a mile away. They seemed to appreciate the communication of what to expect. Everyone stayed on board and it all happened pretty smoothly.

If you are moving within your neighborhood then it shouldn't be a problem. The problem is when there is a potential you are going to MOVE move. If there is any possibility the OP is going to move within her area then she needs to tell the parents that that is the plan. If the plan changes then I would give notice of the move about two-three weeks before the move.

[Lianne]

I'm moving in two weeks. I wasn't really looking for a new house but an opportunity came along that was too good to pass up. My situation is a bit different because I rent my house and will be renting the new house. After I viewed the new house and while making the decision to move, I spoke to each of my clients and explained the possibility of moving, described the house and the benefits of moving. I asked each family how they thought the move would impact them within my daycare and no one had any concerns. They were excited for me and the new space for the kids. I'm only moving about 5-6 blocks away and the move really only affects one family who (currently) lives across the street. Their only concern was that on bad weather days, dad might not be able to pick their child up and walk her home so she'd have to wait in my care til mom was off work an hour later. The child gets picked up at 4pm now and if mom picks her up it'd be by 5pm. That is not an issue for me at all.

My biggest concern with moving and my clients was downsizing toys and supplies as I packed. I'm almost done packing already and have left the kids with two medium totes of toys to play with. The toddlers don't mind but my 3.5yr old is getting bored so I've allowed him to start bringing toys from home until we move. This is an exciting treat for him, . We've also done no activities or crafts since Valentine's Day because everything is packed. My clients have been quite patient and once I'm settled in the new house I plan to offer a free parents night out as a thank you for their patience.

[momofboys]

Well since we are going to be posting a for sale sign outside I feel like I should tell them before it goes up :/

Makes sense - I never thought of that:: I would just be brief & let them know you will keep them posted.

[Sprouts]

I wish we could move within a mile, but I don't think we can afford houses around here. I will just tell them where we plan on moving it might be more convenient for some and less for others :/ well we will see , thanks for all of your input I truly appreciate it! I will let you know what they say, I am dreading telling the though I feel like I might get emotional because some of the newer kids are just warming up and getting more attached to us

[wdmmom]

Until the home/building sells or you get an offer, I wouldn't tell them anything just yet.

Make sure you have another location and send out a letter saying you are excited about moving to your new location and you hope they will continue to join you at (address) and if not, they need to provide you with whatever notice your contract says.

[Christian Mother]

Sprouts I am there with ya!!

Hubby found out he did not get the job position he was up for today. He was over qualified.

So we plan to move to Tucson first week of June. I told the parents when he lost his job back in Oct. what was going on and have kept them in the loop all the way. I have 5 families all very patient and loving praying for us.

I stressed so much on how to talk to my families and lost sleep over it but the more I thought of it and the saw how it was effecting my family and my self the more I realized that we would be ok even if I lost my families. For me I only have 5 families 2 of which are drop in or part time. One of those families are going through the exact same thing as us and they are moving too. In fact one of the fathers leaves for CO Thrus. to start interviewing for jobs out there so he can move his family out there. The other family is also moving but not til Aug. It really is about great communication and that is something I have with all my families. I think they really appreciate that and I know I do as well. We have been saving and saving and really sacrificing in case I do happen to lose kids before my close date. You can never not anticipate losing kids bc it can happen. Best to be prepared but for me the right thing is making sure my families have plenty of time to start hunting around for a good daycare. I am extremely close to these children and their parents and I wish I could still care from them but my first priority is to my own family. But I do want to at least prepare them and 2 wks for me just doesn't feel like enough time for the parents to look. One of my families is a teacher and she uses so much daycare from me and at a low cost that I feel she is really going to need that time I give her. If you have a large daycare It might be wise to hand out a 30 day notice so they have a month to transfer and your letter sounds very nice. But if you have a small daycare and have great communication they I would talk to each family individual like I did and explain to them what is going on. You might be surprised on what is going on with them as well. One family told me they went through the exact same thing and knew exactly what we are going through and wished us well. They would hate to loss us but understand completely they will stay til the last end date but I would not hold them to that. The other families like I said are either going through it or are very sympathetic.

It's heart breaking though and I understand that. You feel like these children and families are your responsibility and you want to stay with them forever but sometimes things happen. Right now the economy is just horrible. Soon a lot of people are going to be effected by it. Gas here is reaching $4 soon to be $5 and I know that some states are already effected by that but we all need to prepare for some financial changes.