Raise Their Rate?

[Unregistered]

I have siblings who come to daycare before & after school 5 days a week. They will be here this summer all day every day. Their summer time rate is $30 cheaper than the daycare full time rate. This summer they will be here 11 hours a day, every day. I am losing some children (just for the summer), so that is a lot less income. Financially I don't see how I can let these two siblings come for that cheap of a price. Would it be wrong to ask their mom to pay more than they did last summer? They really are getting a much cheaper rate than any of the daycare full time families. I mean, what was I thinking?! Charging them $30 per child ($60 for both) EACH week LESS than any of the daycare families? I saw another thread for school agers and everyone is saying to charge the same... How should I phrase that to the mom, that I need to raise their summer time rates this summer? She's not the easiest person to talk to. I'm afraid she'll get mad and threaten pull them out (although I'm pretty sure she wouldn't find a cheaper rate ANY where else). I wouldn't want to lose them, anyway, because they've been with me since they were in preschool.
Help please?

[momofboys]

I have siblings who come to daycare before & after school 5 days a week. They will be here this summer all day every day. Their summer time rate is $30 cheaper than the daycare full time rate. This summer they will be here 11 hours a day, every day. I am losing some children (just for the summer), so that is a lot less income. Financially I don't see how I can let these two siblings come for that cheap of a price. Would it be wrong to ask their mom to pay more than they did last summer? They really are getting a much cheaper rate than any of the daycare full time families. I mean, what was I thinking?! Charging them $30 per child ($60 for both) EACH week LESS than any of the daycare families? I saw another thread for school agers and everyone is saying to charge the same... How should I phrase that to the mom, that I need to raise their summer time rates this summer? She's not the easiest person to talk to. I'm afraid she'll get mad and threaten pull them out (although I'm pretty sure she wouldn't find a cheaper rate ANY where else). I wouldn't want to lose them, anyway, because they've been with me since they were in preschool.
Help please?

I don't see a aproblem with raising the rate a bit, especially if you are on the cheap side. The mom may not agree. $30 less than the normal daycare child seems a lot less. I'm curious: why is it so much lower?

[Unregistered]

I don't see a aproblem with raising the rate a bit, especially if you are on the cheap side. The mom may not agree. $30 less than the normal daycare child seems a lot less. I'm curious: why is it so much lower?

That's where I don't know what I was thinking! The mom asked me about summer rates before I had a chance to think about it (I hadn't had school agers before these two graduated preschool), so I told her a cheaper price since they'd be older, plus an additional discount for siblings. Now I really regret it! I hope next time I will have already thought out the details before a parent asks about anything
How could I word it to her that I need to raise the rates for her children? I'm not raising them for anyone else because they all pay the usual rate.

[gbcc]

Does she speak with the other parents? If not I would just write a parent memo and address it Dear Parents that way she wont think she is the only one. Just state that due to the situation of the economy and in order for you to run a beneficial child care program you have decided to raise your rates effective June 1st or July 1st. State on the bottom of the form that specific families rate increase. Then when you hand it to her just explain that you have decided to make some changes and you are increasing the weekly rate. That way she wont feel singled out.

[mismatchedsocks]

Keep in mind that 11 hours a day is 55 hours a week. That is way above fulltime here. I would charge your fulltime rate plus some overtime. Good luck!

[momma2girls]

My summer rates are $5.00 less a week than my other children's rate. I only take older children though, so we can do field trips, etc.

[momma2girls]

I personally think anything above 45 hrs. is OT- 40 hrs. to work, then 5 more hrs. for commute time. I am open these hrs. but I am open pretty much whenever they need me. Which I have n't charged extra yet, but do plan on it, come this Fall when my teacher's children return!

[Daycare Mommy]

I charge full time rate for school-agers in the summer. If I offer a sibling discount it would be for the second child only and very small.. $5-10 off maybe, but the fact that they are there an extra hour a day over what my rates are set for would eat that discount right up and maybe then some. And it's far enough in advance that you shouldn't feel bad telling her that the rates will be higher this summer.

[misol]

I like gbcc's idea of a "Dear Parents" letter.

[QualiTcare]

i agree with what gbcc said about sending home a letter that says "dear parents" so it seems like everyone's rates are changing. that's exactly what i was thinking.

if she DOES talk to other parents, so what. if she happens to find out that their rates didn't change or something - that's when she'll find out that she's paying a lot less and she probably won't say anything.

[missnikki]

How about a 'Dear Parents' letter, that is not a note explaining why you are raising rates- rather it will be a notice of the new fee schedule for care. It can just be a list of new rates for all that you offer, explaining that you are adjusting your fees and discounts to reflect current expenses and will be effective on _____ date. If you have any questions or concerns....
That way, anyone with a ? (like that particular mom) will ask you about it. There is nothing wrong with you charging what is fair and it sounds like you could let her know that she's been getting a great deal, and you cannot afford to continue to provide for her at that rate.
When you talk money to parents, you HAVE TO leave the personal emotional stuff out, because the parents will bring it on thick, almost every time. You don't do that to a cash register clerk, or hair salon, or repair shop but they will do it to the folks that watch their kids.
Good luck with it! Tell us how it goes, whatever you decide to do.

[Unregistered]

raising rates

I like the parent note idea also,
and I also have posted that no child is to be left in daycare for more then 10 hrs per day anything above 10 hrs is OT.

[laundryduchess@yahoo.com]

this is why NONE of my parents know about the others rates. I dont have a blanket rate. They are on individual basis. Parents who have been with me longer pay less because I never raise rates. Newer families pay more because my rates have gone up since 1990.

[MarinaVanessa]

I agree with the "Dear Parents" idea but I would also leave it open for discussion. Raising it $30 in one jump may seem a little extreme to the parents and if you really don't want to lose them you may want to think about raising it a portion of that and then again next year and so on until it is caught up with the rest of the rates. Keep in mind that they are older children and that their rate may not need to be as high as let's say a toddler or an infant.