Tweet
I have a dcg, age 2 & 1/2. Not a bad kid, but one of those that the other kids think is annoying, she cries a lot for attention, a little sneaky and dishonest. I've been intending to term her for awhile when I had a replacement for minor reasons. I agreed to a rotating schedule, and she arrives at 5 am. She was my first dck, so I agreed to anything! But its been 9 months, and I'm not crazy about continuing that anymore. There have a been few times Mom dropped her off at 5, only to tell me she was going back home to sleep because she didn't good. So they have definitely taken advantage of my accommodating their early hours.
I had given this family a discounted rate until July of $20/day, trying to get my daycare going. In July, they knew they would pay my regular daily rate of $25. At the end of July, I rewrote my handbook and re-did my contracts. I decided my part-time rate would be $28/day, and I was going to require pre-pay (after reading all the excellent advice here!). For this family, my contract stated I would give until the beginning of October, so 2 months, until their part-time rate and pre-pay would take effect, knowing they don't have a lot of money. I've had some issues getting payment from them, sometimes a few days late, and I've been super nice about working with them.
Mom tells me Dad wants a meeting about new contract, so we meet that evening. I expected and was prepared for complaints about money, but dad starts in by going through the list of licensing requirements he got offline and trying to find ways I'm violating them. "Shouldn't your smoke detectors be hard-wired into the electrical system?" No, my home is older with no significant remodeling to structure or wiring, I'm 100% compliant. Then, what about lead paint? Why do I need a copy of birth certificate? Of course, he's perfectly right to question the safety, but this family has NEVER asked anything about these concerns before. Did not ask about our activities, or how dcg was doing at daycare. Then brought up the rate and pre-pay.
Clearly, dad isn't concerned about the issues he raised. He was looking for a way to bully me into not increasing their rate. He thought he could find something I was doing wrong and use it as a way to show my daycare isn't worth it. I listened, answered all his questions politely, the meeting ended friendly enough. Then I really thought about it, and I got mad.
My instinct is to term effective immediately. Although I know its all about the money, he stated he didn't trust anyone "no offense against you, I don't trust anyone" as why he didn't want to provide copy of birth certificate, and why I couldn't be sure my home wasn't full of lead paint and mold (people could lie to you). Dcg is scheduled to come tomorrow. Last night I wanted to notify family I was done, and not charge them for Monday and Tuesday of this week. My husband thinks I should give 2 weeks notice, even though because I haven't required pre-pay yet, I doubt I get paid. Plus, I don't really want this family having access to my home anymore. I don't want to be a jerk and put someone in a terrible spot, and I'd never term someone because they wanted to question something like that, but I know the reason behind it, and I won't be pushed and bullied into thinking my home and my daycare aren't what they should be.
I still have a lot to learn about running a daycare, and I appreciate any advice for your experiences. What would you do?
I had given this family a discounted rate until July of $20/day, trying to get my daycare going. In July, they knew they would pay my regular daily rate of $25. At the end of July, I rewrote my handbook and re-did my contracts. I decided my part-time rate would be $28/day, and I was going to require pre-pay (after reading all the excellent advice here!). For this family, my contract stated I would give until the beginning of October, so 2 months, until their part-time rate and pre-pay would take effect, knowing they don't have a lot of money. I've had some issues getting payment from them, sometimes a few days late, and I've been super nice about working with them.
Mom tells me Dad wants a meeting about new contract, so we meet that evening. I expected and was prepared for complaints about money, but dad starts in by going through the list of licensing requirements he got offline and trying to find ways I'm violating them. "Shouldn't your smoke detectors be hard-wired into the electrical system?" No, my home is older with no significant remodeling to structure or wiring, I'm 100% compliant. Then, what about lead paint? Why do I need a copy of birth certificate? Of course, he's perfectly right to question the safety, but this family has NEVER asked anything about these concerns before. Did not ask about our activities, or how dcg was doing at daycare. Then brought up the rate and pre-pay.
Clearly, dad isn't concerned about the issues he raised. He was looking for a way to bully me into not increasing their rate. He thought he could find something I was doing wrong and use it as a way to show my daycare isn't worth it. I listened, answered all his questions politely, the meeting ended friendly enough. Then I really thought about it, and I got mad.
My instinct is to term effective immediately. Although I know its all about the money, he stated he didn't trust anyone "no offense against you, I don't trust anyone" as why he didn't want to provide copy of birth certificate, and why I couldn't be sure my home wasn't full of lead paint and mold (people could lie to you). Dcg is scheduled to come tomorrow. Last night I wanted to notify family I was done, and not charge them for Monday and Tuesday of this week. My husband thinks I should give 2 weeks notice, even though because I haven't required pre-pay yet, I doubt I get paid. Plus, I don't really want this family having access to my home anymore. I don't want to be a jerk and put someone in a terrible spot, and I'd never term someone because they wanted to question something like that, but I know the reason behind it, and I won't be pushed and bullied into thinking my home and my daycare aren't what they should be.
I still have a lot to learn about running a daycare, and I appreciate any advice for your experiences. What would you do?
Comment