Parent's Night Out

[mamac]

I'm curious if anyone hosts a monthly Parent's Night Out on the weekend? I don't have any clients yet as I am newly licensed but it's something that I am considering offering. I was thinking 4 hours/night every month. How much do you charge? Do you make a certain number of clients sign up before going through with it? Any downsides?

Sorry if this has been covered before. I couldn't find anything in the search.

[Oneluckymom]

I've been doing it about 1-2 times a month.

I charge 30$, and have a sign up sheet that I put out on the Wednesday prior to Friday parents night out.

My PNO is from 6;30-10;30pm. I close at 5:30.

I offer a pizza dinner and offer to change kids into their jammies and brush their teeth if they bring these items.

We also do a fun Disney movie.

[Michael]

More threads on Parent's Night Out: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.p...ents+night+out

[daycare]

I do one when I can, but I do mine for free...... Why becuase I can...

I also feel that where there are happy parents, there are happy kids.


I do it for about 3 hours

[Starburst]

Here are some things I expierienced/heard and some tips:

A few years ago I had a roommate whose mom had a home daycare and she didn't want to do parents nights anymore because she had been in the business for over 30 years and liked having the house to herself at night. Her daughter and I both worked there so all the parents knew us so we did it at our house a few times. I think we charged like $25 per kid and I think like $30 or $35 for siblings (We always had about 10 kids because her mom had a lot of after schoolers and alot of them were siblings). It was only for kids who were 4 years and older, we did it as a sleepover.

We cleared the garage had a strobe light and (age appropriate/Disney channel) music in there; in the living room we had Disney/Nick shows or movies, in her room some of the boys played Nintendo 64 (old school ) and for dinner we got like 5 Little Ceaser's hot and readys (some pepperoni some cheese) and juice. When it got dark we played the "scary monster game" (when we played it without the kids we called it "bloody murder") which is just hide 'n seek in the house only its in the dark and only one or 2 people (as a group if someone didn't want to hide alone) hid in the house while everyone else looks for them- even the kids who were afraid of the dark loved this game. the only rool was they couldn't go into the bedrooms and they could use the lights until they find a hiding spot. and then around 10 everyone goes to bed. In the moring we had leftovers and pancakes and they were picked up by 9 or 10 am.

One of my ECE teachers used to do family child care too and she did it like you want to do it where she did it monthy on a friday or saturday (from 6-10pm) for about $15 and she would make them dinner (usually pizza), maybe play a game or to, and then let them watch a movie until their parents picked them up. I dont think she offered overnight.

TIPS:
I would make sure that parents pay a day or two in advanced, so that way you can make sure you have the money you need for food, movie rental, crafts, etc.

Maybe also let some of your neighbors and friends with kids know about this too, especually if you don't have many kids.

Let the parents know what hours and what ages you will accept (if you do overnight do you let babies stay all night too?)

Since you are starting out try start off with a low price like $10-$15 for those for that whole time. But after a while try to raise it every 6 months/a year or so.

Charge a little more if you do consider doing a slumber party (like $15-20 for the whole night)

Decide if you will be doing a sibling discount like $5 for each additional sibling (at least $10 starting with the first kid) for the 4 hours and $10 for each additional sibling for all night (starting at $15).

Make a schedule of what you plan to do and at what time (dinner at 6:00, PJs at 7 games at 7:15; movie at 8)

If, later down the line, you have a large family child care and do not have another adult living in the house with you but have a daycare assistant and you will be over your ratio for the party consider letting them help you for those hours either up to the minute or until you are back down to ratio (about $40) or ask a friend who would like to help

A list of anything they may need to bring (pjs, tooth brush, blanket, etc.)

Do not just start right after you close and make sure parents understand they still need to pick up their kids at their regluar times so you do not have schedual conflictions and so you have enough time to prepare or rest without having to worry about keeping the kids entertained and also to make sure they do not forget anything they will need. Also some states have a rule about having children for 24 hours straight.

Let them know weather or not you offer a refund or credit towards their daycare payment if they for some reason cannot attend (sick/parent's plans cancled) or if you for some reason need to cancle (sudden illness or family emergency).

Its a lot more fun with more kids so I would try to suggest having it when about 3 or 5 kids (depending on your group size and ages) signs up.

Let them know when you will be locking the doors and going to bed (if the party ends at 10:30 and you go to bed at 11). And if you do not offer overnight care tell them that either they or someone on their emergancy contact list (18+ with an ID) will need to pick up the child at 10:30. Also decide if you will charge a late fee.

If you do decide to do overnight care and they only pay for the 4 hours let them know that their children will not be allowed to spend the night but that you will be closing the door and going to bed at 11 and they will need to pick their child up by a certain time in the morning (like "doors will reopen at 6/7/8 am") and that they will need to pay the difference on their next bill and that if they do not pick up their child by a certain time (like 8 or 9 am) that they will be charged an overtime fee of $5 for every 15 minutes. YOUR time is just as important as theirs!

decide if you will let over payments (like if a family pays an extra $5 every week) or referrals will be allowed as a credit towards family nights.

Also beaware that all money you make is still subject to taxes so keep track and put it in their payment file/history so that you don't have any issues during tax time. And don't forget time/space as well.

When you have a more families make sure that you only offer it to families that are up-to-date on their regular payments and that didn't have any major policy issues

Make sure kids understand that the same rules of daycare (like no running, politeness, inside voices) still apply.

[mom2many]

I'm doing my first one January 25th. I normally close at 6 pm, but I'm offering evening care that night till 10 pm and will be charging $10/hr. I had one family need care that night and asked if I could do it, so I figured why not make it worth my while and open it up to anyone else wanting a "Date Night".

I have 2 families that both have two year old little girls that will be with me that night. We are going to make pizza and since my own kids are all grown, it won't interfere with my own family at all. I don't think I could do this all of the time, but once in awhile I think it'll be a nice thing to offer.

[Daycarelady1979]

I did it once & it was a giant FAIL

[earlystart]

I offer "Date Night" once a month, on a Friday. I close at 5:30pm usually, but on date night they can stay until 9:30pm. I used to do $30 per kid, but only one kid was signing up, so I changed it to $15 per hour if only one kid signs up, and a flat $30 per kid if two or more sign up. I include dinner, dessert and a movie and encourage kids to bring their pajamas. I put out a sign-up sheet at the start of the month, like an interest list, and then choose a date based on what works best for the parents interested.

[mamac]

Thanks for all the great information! I read through all the other threads on this and I have one more question that wasn't really addressed...

If you cannot offer overnight care, do you insist that the parents not drink any alcohol when they go out? I'm sure the rule might be a bummer to some parents and ruin their idea of a night out, but I would hate to have them show up under the influence of alcohol and try to take their little ones home.

I was thinking that $25 and $10-15 for a sibling seems pretty fair. I wanted to get some input before I started handing out brochures. I've finally put the finishing touches on all my paperwork, business cards, flyers and brochures. I am SO ready to get some little kiddies in here! Now to send all my info to every referral agency I can find!

[daycare]

Thanks for all the great information! I read through all the other threads on this and I have one more question that wasn't really addressed...

If you cannot offer overnight care, do you insist that the parents not drink any alcohol when they go out? I'm sure the rule might be a bummer to some parents and ruin their idea of a night out, but I would hate to have them show up under the influence of alcohol and try to take their little ones home.

I was thinking that $25 and $10-15 for a sibling seems pretty fair. I wanted to get some input before I started handing out brochures. I've finally put the finishing touches on all my paperwork, business cards, flyers and brochures. I am SO ready to get some little kiddies in here! Now to send all my info to every referral agency I can find!

a few years ago I followed home some DCP that showed up to pick up their kids because I felt that they should not be driving. they did not argue with me and then the next day called and apologized to me a million times, they were supper embarrassed.

they showed up on monday with...........................a fine bottle of wine for me..... it was pretty funny..