How Do I Tell Parents That Extra Cost Extra ….

[familyschoolcare]

OP, I think you should reconsider the questions you ask parents during the interviewing process. As a childcare provider who does NOT charge extra for diapering/ippy cups/help feeding/etc, I ask very specific questions like:
Does the child drink from a bottle, sippy cup or regular cup or a combination? Then follow up with what kind of bottle, sippy or cup are they used to (this has no bearing on what brands I use, I simply ask in case there are issues when I switch the kid to my brands, etc)?
When it comes to toilet trained vs. in diapers I ask LOTS of specific questions - the first being "What is your definition of potty trained"? Can the child pull down/up pants and underwear on their own? Get onto a large toilet on their own/with a stool? Wipe themselves? Wash hands by self? Is there ever a time or situation you put the child in a diaper of pull up (naps, shopping, appointments, etc)?
With feeding I ask if the child is capable of feeding themselves - with finger foods, and utensils. What kinds of foods they like/don't like? And so forth.

Also, because you didn't ask these question initially - and are now curious, do you not feel it is your responsibility to ask NOW? What are you waiting for? Why jump to conclusions when you can simply ask dad at pick up about the sippy cup and if he's prone to accidents outside of therapy, etc?

Finally, having an extra sippy cup on hand costs less than $5 and charging a fee because you have to help a child to fill it up sounds very off too me. And I don't care how inexperienced someone is - changing one diaper does not take 5 minutes. I am all for charging extra when providing extra, but I hardly consider a sippy cup and SINGLE diaper change providing extra - even if you do only provider SA care.

I have interviewed several speicail needs parents\/childern and this is the first one that did not say that there child needed a diaper at the interview or that they used a sippu cup ect ect this is the first time out of I do not know how many that the paren did not tell me of certain things untill hours before care was to start. Most people realize that school aged children even the youngest ones do not usually need a sippy cup, can usualy feed themselves and that fully potty trained means no diapers at all.

[canadiancare]

Did the child come to the interview? I am a bit unclear to this. I always assess the children and decide if we are a good fit before I accept them. I charge the same fees for all my parents but I don't have any children with special needs. If I did I would lower my enrollment and charge accordingly. If the needs are non-verbal and toileting only I would have to decide if I was willing to take that on as it suggests to me at a school aged level that more is going on and if the parents aren't open about it there is probably a reason- such as difficulty in finding care.

[DBug]

Unless you already have a pre-itemized list, I'd just tell the parents you'll be charging $xx/week on top of the usual rate for the additional care that the child requires. I think it's totally within your rights to charge more, but I think going through a list is kind of overly thorough. I'd just figure out how much extra time I'm spending on this one child, and use my hourly wage to calculate the extra that I'd be charging.

I agree with what others have said in that the parents might feel a little ganged up on if you give them an itemized list after registering them. If one was provided in the interview before they signed on, I think that would be fair, but if one wasn't, I'd just give them the grand total.

Also, you've got to think about whether you actually want this child in care. It sounds like dck might not be a good fit for your program, and that's okay too.

[canadiancare]

also it is well and good for you to charge more for this child to make extra work for you but how will it affect the other kids? Is it fair to all parents? I'd like to reiterate that a non-verbal, non-toilet trained (if constant reminders are needed they aren't really trained, the caregivers are) school aged child has more going on than is being disclosed.

[daycare]

So is there a reason that I cannot think of for why it would be uncalled for me to send a letter home on Friday September 28, 2012 saying

Dear DCP,

When we interviewed the following things did not come up that DCB would be needing Which is why I did not bring it to your attention at that time that those service cost extra I realize that perhaps you did not think that those would cost extra. Therefore, starting the week of October 15, 2012 (the payment due October 12, 2012) your new fee will be $X. All other aspects of the contract will remain the same. Please sign and return this to me no later than 6:15PM on October 7, 2012.

Parent signature__________________________________________ Date _____________________


Signed me

I will deiced after having the boy today and Wednesday and Thursday what if any extra charge will apply, As discussed here they may not be much other than the charge for putting on a diaper which I am not sure I have room to put a diaper on a child that age. (but that is another story)I have yet to receive the E-mail that Dad said he would send me so maybe he really did cover everything.

I think that the letter sounds just fine... I like that you did not itemize it. I remember I was in the hospital many years ago and i got the bill for one day. I looked at it $2800. UGH what.... So I turn the 14 pages of paper attached and I saw everything itemized line per line. They charged me $14.00 for one pair of rubber gloves each time the doc came in to examine me..... OMG..

GUess that is what you get when you are beach front ocean view hospital for the night...

ANyways, I saw it as digging for dollars. I like your letter and I think that if this is what you want to do, do it..... You know what you need to run your business we don't. If you know that this is what you will need to help you help the child then by all means do it. I see no wrong in what you are doing.....

[clep]

I have had several special needs children in my care. At no time have I charged more if a child needs a sippy cup or for the two minutes it takes to put a diaper on a child.

A sippy cup to buy costs under two bucks. To fill it and wash it takes no more time than a cup.

I also believe that accepting the child without obtaining the required information first, then increasing fees after the fact is unprofessional.

As someone that is experienced with special needs children, I have a form for that purpose with specific information that needs to be orally gone over before I determine if I will provide care or quote fees. I do ask if the drink alone, what they drink out of, if they can feed themselves, do zippers, buttons, if they use a pull up or diaper at any time, if they go to the potty alone, assisted or partially assisted.

Sounds as if the child is not potty taught, if the child has to be reminded. If the child is non verbal it makes sense the child would be lots of work.

It is up to you to do what you feel is best for your business. I would however in the future, ensure the interview process is more extensive providing more information about your expectations and initiating more information about what will be required for care.

[Persephone]

My thoughts

I have to agree that putting a diaper on a child at the end of the day doesn't take all that much time. And at this point you don't know if he can even do it on his own. He might be able too and by the dad saying that YOU needed to, might have been that you need to tell him to do it.

And a sippy cup? There's not extra work in that? You fill it, put the lid on and your done. But like someone else pointed out that it might have just been in his bag. My son is 5 and at home for the most part we use the toss and go cups with a lid and straw, just because there's less chance of spills (At least not as much)

I think if you have questions about this child then you need to ask the father TODAY, not wait until Friday, I think that's being chicken by just sending a note. Talk to him. Call him on the phone tonight if he's already gone. Just tell them that you have concerns.

I want to know how the day went? Was he able to do things for himself? You never did say how old he was or if he went to school all day.

[familyschoolcare]

So far the boy has done everything himself and if the way poty time has gone so far is any indication of how much involvement I will have in putting his pull up on then I will not be charging extra fees for this child.

[familyschoolcare]

I have had several special needs children in my care. At no time have I charged more if a child needs a sippy cup or for the two minutes it takes to put a diaper on a child.

A sippy cup to buy costs under two bucks. To fill it and wash it takes no more time than a cup.

I also believe that accepting the child without obtaining the required information first, then increasing fees after the fact is unprofessional.

As someone that is experienced with special needs children, I have a form for that purpose with specific information that needs to be orally gone over before I determine if I will provide care or quote fees. I do ask if the drink alone, what they drink out of, if they can feed themselves, do zippers, buttons, if they use a pull up or diaper at any time, if they go to the potty alone, assisted or partially assisted.

Sounds as if the child is not potty taught, if the child has to be reminded. If the child is non verbal it makes sense the child would be lots of work.

It is up to you to do what you feel is best for your business. I would however in the future, ensure the interview process is more extensive providing more information about your expectations and initiating more information about what will be required for care.

could you please send me a copy of the form maybe having list will help so far I ask what is special about the child and ask follow up questions based on what the parents say and then follow up by mirroring what I understood the needs to be and asking if there is anything else I need to know enregards to that subjec. So it really surprised me that pullups or diapers where not brought up when I said to the parents "so I need to send him to the bathroom every hour or so, anything else I need to know about the restroom and your child.

[EarthyMom]

Well I hate to ruffle feathers, but everyone can agree to disagree or agree right?

2 cents:

First, if you come to a forum to discuss these issues; expect diverse feedback. Everyone is so different and not everyone is going to agree just for the sake of being polite. Unless you are being personally attacked I don't think there is a reason to get upset over a response that questions or argues a point as long as it is done maturely.

Second, I have to offer some constructive critisism on the interview process. Life is a learning experience and we ALL have a lot to learn so this isn't personal. That being said if you are considering itemizing charges for different types of care, whether anyone agrees with it or not; I might include that detail by detail in a form of some type at the interview with a professional explanation as to the purpose of this.

Third, I am wondering if maybe you need to draw a more evident line in the sand as to what type of children you truly want to care for. If you don't want to charge extra for care that generally younger children, or developmentally challenged children need; why not just pass on those kids and leave it to another provider?

My personal opinion is that it seems a bit like you are nickel and diming. If you wanted to charge me extra for my child using a sippy cup I would look at you like you had 6 heads, personally. Childrens needs can vary so drastically.

What if you had a child that did everything SA without issue who developed neurological issue requiring sippy cups? Would you actually the mother to pay a fee for that? What if a child broke their leg and needed extra care for 4 to 6 weeks? Do you upcharge for helping the child out?

I just don't see where the line is. It seems tedious and not particularly caring. If my autistic son needed to be reminded to use toilet paper would that be a charge? I am sure you are a lovely provider. I am sure many people would agree with you or remain neutral. We are all different and as diplomatically as I can say this, I found the post off putting.

[familyschoolcare]

I am thankful for your input. Just to answer your questions if I had a child in care that suddenly need to be feed or use equipment I usually don't use so they could eat yes I would charge more. If a child in my care needed to be reminded to use tolit paper then I would not charge extra for that. I would charge extra if I was excepted to wipe the bottom myself. I understand what you are saying about clearly defining what type of children I want to take and other than saying that special needs is on a case by case basis and might require extra charges depending on the care needed I do not think I can. I currently have a child with a particular diagnoses and have in the past turned down a child with the same diagnosis. So exactly how do I define what.

[EarthyMom]

I would suggest not aiming it at special needs at all.. I would personally make a form with a checklist much like Dr offices do. To itemize exactly what the things are that are extra charges would make sense along with the fee beside it.

The parent could look it over and check it off. Another poster mentioned this but I think its a really clear and concise way of detailing it. If you present this at the interview and tell them you provide your service said fee(s) according to the individual needs of each child then they might thinking they are getting in cheaper if their child doesn't require anything on the list, and only pays the standard fee. KWIM?

[EarthyMom]

In other words your typical school age child does xyz, and if there are any additional needs please list them on the form which details the itemized cost for those services. I would also include an Other space where the parent could add something they think may be not listed but worth mentioning. In addition it would give you some leeway if you see something very out of the ordinary that you feel warrants an additional charge. You might have the opportunity to address that by noting that the form had a blank space and they would need to ammend that *other* space noting their childs additional need that wasnt listed, giving them a price for it at that time without having to rework your contract. I would also say they should initial and date anything written in the *other* space.

[daycare]

I don't mean to pick on anyone.

The situation was presented on an open forum and questions asked by the OP and it didn't make sense to me is all.

It still doesn't which is why I'm asking questions.


I'll admit I can come across very blunt and strong but I'm not telling OP what to do, I am only giving my opinion. I still disagree that run of the mill tasks associated with age specific childcare should be considered extras. It doesn't make sense to say I don't charge for younger kids but I do charge for many of the things necessary to care for younger kids. I've never heard of such a thing.


I think it's one of those things where personal experiences just must differ. I've cared for many differently-abled kiddos and although I could maybe see where if there was some really out there tasks associated with their daily care charging differently I can't imagine charging extra for the basics.


Chalk it up to me being a Libra. I am near obsessed with ethics and justice for all and all that jazz. This one just rubbed me the wrong way so I was hoping to pick brains about it and gain some understanding as to how one can justify charging more for helping a child put on a coat when they're in the childcare business.

its ok. in the end, we can all agree to disagree.