Quick Fee question-

[wahmof3]

Please tell me if I am wrong

Most of my DCF are teachers and mainly in the same school district with the exception of 1 DCF.

Christmas break for the my district (most of my DCF are in) is 12/24-1/1/13

The other DCF is: 12/19-1/1/13

I am closed 12/24-1/1/13

My contract states pay for space. I also include in my policy that child care is for work/school only. Children grow so fast and if you have the day off work you should spend that time with your child.

I have an issue with DCP dropping off their children when they are not working. I am trying to come to terms with it and I am doing much better. BUT I honestly believe children should spend time w/ their parents if they are not at work.

Ok so I know the DCP that begins Christmas break on 12/19 will bring DCK. Its sad because she has an older child and she will keep that child with her. This DCM always says she cannot keep DCK under control- so she will bring him here so she doesn't have to deal with him AND because she is paying for his space.

I honestly do not want him here because she is off and he is a lot of work and he has been mildly ill for several weeks now.

In order to get her to keep him home I am thinking about discounting her rate to my part time rate for that week. Am I wrong to do this? Am I setting myself up for trouble down the road?

Second issue: The week of Christmas I close for vacation for 2 reasons one the schools are closed and 2 my DH is one vacation. I have contracted that half payment is due for the week. Should I NOT charge the families the half rate because I am not available and I do not charge for vacation even though they wouldn't be here anyways? My gut is telling me that is the best business practice.

[littlemissmuffet]

Please tell me if I am wrong

Most of my DCF are teachers and mainly in the same school district with the exception of 1 DCF.

Christmas break for the my district (most of my DCF are in) is 12/24-1/1/13

The other DCF is: 12/19-1/1/13

I am closed 12/24-1/1/13

My contract states pay for space. I also include in my policy that child care is for work/school only. Children grow so fast and if you have the day off work you should spend that time with your child.

I have an issue with DCP dropping off their children when they are not working. I am trying to come to terms with it and I am doing much better. BUT I honestly believe children should spend time w/ their parents if they are not at work.

Ok so I know the DCP that begins Christmas break on 12/19 will bring DCK. Its sad because she has an older child and she will keep that child with her. This DCM always says she cannot keep DCK under control- so she will bring him here so she doesn't have to deal with him AND because she is paying for his space.

I honestly do not want him here because she is off and he is a lot of work and he has been mildly ill for several weeks now.

In order to get her to keep him home I am thinking about discounting her rate to my part time rate for that week. Am I wrong to do this? Am I setting myself up for trouble down the road?

Second issue: The week of Christmas I close for vacation for 2 reasons one the schools are closed and 2 my DH is one vacation. I have contracted that half payment is due for the week. Should I NOT charge the families the half rate because I am not available and I do not charge for vacation even though they wouldn't be here anyways? My gut is telling me that is the best business practice.

I am like you and only provide care to parents who are working/in school (I was just discussing this in another thread actually)! I am closed on 12/24 - 12/26 and again on 1/1. Almost none of my families will be working the days in between (but I am open for the few who will be). I knew non-working parents would try to take these days as oppurtunity to bring their kids to me to get things done, relax, etc... so I sent an email reminding parents of the days we were closed/open for the holidays and mentioned that the days we are open, we're open for working parents ONLY and would close/close early depending on need. I charge for space, not time used - so there would be no reimbursement. The parents I know for sure aren't working confirmed their kiddos would NOT be here after receiving the memo. You might want to send a similar memo? I wouldn't offer a discount though - this isn't an issue I ever have to fight/argue when it comes to parents, thankfully - they get that they are paying me to watch their kids while they are at WORK!

Again, I charge by space, not time used - and I get paid whether I am open or not (unless I go over my two weeks paid vacation or 5 paid sick days, which I never do). This has been a hot topic here lately as well - whther or not to charge for holidays/vacations and it really boils down to each individual providers needs. I am a low-ratio daycare and my parent like that - so I can't afford to discount days off and my parents are ok with this. It's also the norm in my area to charge for vacation/holidays and sick time. There are many different factors you have to consider.

I disagree that not charging for your vacation time is "the best business practice" while others WILL agree - but at the end of the day you need to do what works best you and your business.

Good luck!!

[butterfly]

I too watch mostly teachers' children. I personally would just put up with the kid that week since they are paying. I get resentful when parents get a day off and bring their kids to daycare too, but mainly because I'm jealous of their ability to have an occasional "me day".

For the families that I work with, they would become resentful of me if I were charging 1/2 rate and then still not watching their children. The best I could do with a 1/2 rate is watch the kids 1/2 the time. However, my contract does not say that they are to keep their children home when they are not working...

For the second issue: If your contract says they pay 1/2 rate for that week when you are closed, then they should pay. If your contract says you don't charge for vacation then you should not charge for that week. If it's kinda a gray area that's undefined in the contract, I would personally not charge and tell everyone Merry Christmas.

[Unregistered]

I keep teachers kids..My policy has always been if the schools are closed where you do not have to work, I don't keep the kids and pyt is still due for those occasional days. Now I do not charge them for spring break, summer break, or winter break..I have them pay a little extra each week and when those breaks roll around they know their space is held. My kids parents want to spend time with their children.