New To Daycare Business

[Anne]

Hello,
I am a new provider only 1 month into it. Have 2 families both fulltime with the one wanting to go p/t end of summer. Here is where my problem is. I have a child who is school age but has issues with anxiety since opening the daycare end of nov his anxiety has gotten worse, he has lost weight and Dr and school both think daycare is the problem. I have been a stay at home mom for 17 yrs and then decided to do open daycare. Since the one family wants to go p/t anyway end of summer I have decided to only offer mon-thur care beginning July 1, 2013. I am also changing my hours from 6:30 am-5:30 pm to new hours effective now 7:30 am-4:30 pm in hopes the reduction in hours along with dropping a day of care this summer will help this issue.
My problem is I feel terrible doing this even though I plan on telling the families this week. Should I follow up with a new contract and formal letter stating changes? The one family starts this week and they know I am changing my hours but not that I am only doing p/t care beginning July 1. Is this enough notice of changing my days open? 6 months notice. Thanks I thought I posted this before so if it shows up 2 times I apologize

[Blackcat31]

Welcome to the forum!

Your status has been upgraded so you can post without moderation

[Anne]

Thank you, I am hoping to get some well needed advice

[Blackcat31]

Thank you, I am hoping to get some well needed advice

It's a littler slower around here on the weekends and even slower over the holidays but hang around....you'll get lots of help and advice.

The gals here (and guys) are super helpful and very friendly!

[Michael]

I'm here, Welcome!

[rbmom]

Welcome! You will love this forum! I do not post very often but love reading all the suggestions!

[LaLa1923]

I think it will depend on the demand. But considering you just opened, you may have trouble filling spots. It may be enough notice for the family, but they may also go elsewhere...... (Hugs) I'm sorry you're going through that!

[Former Teacher]

Welcome! You will love this forum! I do not post very often but love reading all the suggestions!

I agree! I usually don't sign in other than to delete all the spam or to ask silly questions ::

Trust me though...I am here ALL the time!

You will love it! happyface

Welcome Abroad!

[CozyHome]

Are you sure the child doesn't have a medical issue? I'm not clear if it's your son or a daycare child, but it kind of sounds like it's your son. Could it be a food allergy? Since he's school aged, are there problems at school with a bully or something else you should investigate? Celiac Disease causes weight loss and health problems but there could be many other issues too so get this little guy to the doctor for a proper diagnosis. It sounds like you think it's psychologic though.

[Unregistered]

Thanks for the responses and the welcome to the forum. I should have clarified. It is our son and he has an already diganosed anxiety disorder along with "profound" ADHD. I have as well as his school suspected Aspbergers but that is another pot of coffee, we live in a small town and really even had a hard time getting him 2.5 hours away for adhd diagnosis and anxiety. Then husbands insurance changed and we can no longer go to that facility unless we pay out of pocket, needless to say it has been a work in progress getting him evaluated properly. So this child thrives on schedule and routine. I really thought we had come far enough that maybe I could make this work without effecting him. I started the daycare process because I had a friend who needed care and around here you cant even watch just one child without being licensed/reg so I thought well I will take on just 1 or 2 more. Started the process in sept just to get licensed [which was expensive]. He began to have "issues" as early as end of oct. the closer it came to him knowing we were abt ready to open the more his anxiety increased. I even had the schbool call and tell me he was having problems and even crying. We would talk to him abt it, thinking once the baby started he would be ok. He wasnt now we go to a Dr appt and he has lost weight and the Dr notices how anxious he seems this visit and asks me, "what is different in your home or school" The only thing that is different is I have started this daycare. My husband wants me to give it up tell them come July 1 we will close rather then try to cut back to p/t care and then not have that work. Anyone ever been in this situation? After sleeping on it I am leaning towards what my husband thinks is right and we are not desperate for the money. It just started out doing a friend a favor and trying to follow the law while doing it but I have to do what is best for my family and this doesnt seem to be a good fit for us at this stage. I feel like a heal doing this so early in the game but I didnt think our son would have such a hard time adjusting. I want to be fair to these families too. In your opinion is this enough of a timeframe for them to make other arrangements? I really dont think there is a huge demand for childcare here as it is a very depressed area ecomony wise. Thanks for letting me rant

[Anne]

sorry the above was me, forgot to login

[CozyHome]

If you decide to quit the daycare business it would be fair to the families to give them at least a month notice so that they can find another great caregiver. My contract states a minimum of 2 weeks notice for termination or if a family is leaving my daycare so a month or more would be generous of you.

[providerandmomof4]

I would give a two week notice. Truthfully if you give a six month notice, your families will start looking around, and if they find a dc they like, you will probably lose them a lot sooner than that, and then with your limited hours....you may have a hard time finding dck's. If I were you, I would do what I felt was right for my family...if that meant 1 week notice, then that's what I'd do. People will find other care, you're not locked into a long term contract....this is your business and if it's not working for you, then you have a right to close. I understand that you feel bad because you just opened but believe me....people will understand and you shouldn't beat yourself up for it. Only you know your son and if he will eventually transition to you having a daycare.

One thing I'm not really clear on: Is your son there during dc hours, or at school? How is the dc affecting his anxiety if he is at school? Maybe school is the source of his anxiety? Maybe something has changed there?

[Anne]

Hi Thank you for your responses
I plan on giving plenty of notice more then just 2 weeks. As a matter of fact I was able to let the one family know yesterday. I know that may bite me in the butt but at least they know way ahead of time.
Yes, he is at school during day. The daycare family arrives abt 2 hours before he leaves for school and is here abt 1 hour after. From what I am hearing from school is he worries abt diff things associated with daycare even while he is at school...like how he will get to bus stop things like that and is very distracted by it. I have the bus stop worked out but he still worries abt it. Just one example of how he sits and worries and has anxiety. Me being home is all he has ever known. He has always been like this and not done well with change at all. I have had some sort of intervention [infants and toddlers etc] since he was 2 because has always had many different problems. I think what I am going to do is let the other family know this week and if they stay on fine if they dont that is ok too and I understand

[kimsdaycare]

I agree with the others that you don't have to give that much notice, but it is very kind of you to do so. Since your options are close or make changes and you are leaning toward closing entirely without income concerns you have nothing to lose by making whatever changes you feel you need to in the chance that it may work. There are lots of providers that have shorter weeks/ days and they somehow manage to thrive with those kinds of schedules. Some wish they had done it sooner! Your son may just need additional time to adjust and may relax a bit once he has learned to trust that this won't affect him as much as he believes it will. Children with anxiety do not do well with change, but change inevitably happens, no matter how much we try to shelter them from it. Just keep pushing the positives and let him know his needs are your priority and that you would like to give both of you an opportunity for something new and different without any pressure. You can stop any time and in the meantime he has a chance to be a helper and make some new little friends. The additional money gained could give him a chance at some extra allowance and fun stuff that maybe the budget didn't allow for before.

I wish you the best, you are a good mom to be considering his needs so early in this after all you've gone through to start your new daycare.