Parent Not At Work..

[thatdivalady]

Some providers care and others don't, I'm one that cares.

You'll come to realize that some parents often take advantage of the fact that you are there and when they come in picking up right at close announcing what an amazing day at the spa and lunch with a friend was you might be fine with it UNTIL you become ill or need a day off to do something with your own child or for yourself and they pull a fit...then you'll know why some of us care. Not all parents are like this, but some are and it is very wearing when it becomes a regular thing. I also have parents (same ones who take the days off), who finish work early enough to pick-up around 4 pm, but go home, take a nap or start dinner and then come here. This is especially bothersome when their child isn't feeling the best because of a cold or I could have used the extra time to prepare our own dinner etc.

This. Exactly this. Now I come from a different place with this considering the fact that I offer 24/7 care at both of my locations. BUT when I have parents on the weekends who are specifically given a "daycare" rate instead of an hourly babysitting rate due to going to work or school, yes I am very angry when I find out that they are lying.

I had one DCM show up to pick her child up after clearly having gone out with her significant other -- dressed up, make up on, hair done and ALL! During the weekdays, I don't care. On the weekends, yes I care plenty.

I had another DCM consistently lie to me about her school schedule (Sat and Sun from 6am to 6pm? seriously?) and when confronted about needing a school schedule she hemmed and hawed.

Daycare rates are usually scripted for a caregiver going to work or school. I don't know about your state regulations but here, that is the specific definition of daycare. If they are not going to work or school, it is considered babysitting and providers can feel free to charge a comparable hourly rate for those services. Just my two cents

[melilley]

I had a child attend today on their birthday and the Mom did not work. When the child picked up their birthday gift from me in their cubby to take home, the Mom said, "What is that for???" to which I replied, "DCC's birthday..." and she raised her eyebrows really wide and said, "OH! YES! HER BIRTHDAY!!! Yay!!!" :confused:

You CAN typically tell which children are in daycare more hours than not each week. Their behavior is far different from those who have parents trying to spend as much time as they can with them.

Now that's crazy! I would feel terrible if I sent my child to daycare on their birthday if I had the day off. And it sounds like she forgot it was her birthday at that!

[Mister Sir Husband]

I'd suggest a compromise if you're determined to do this:

Give a PARTIAL reduction for the 5th day, not a whole reduction. So, if you're weekly rate is $125, and they keep kiddo home one day, they only pay $110 or something.

Also, limit it to a certain amount of days per year. 5 maybe.

Are you going to contract for paid time off of your own? Sick days, personal days, holidays, vacation time? How are you going to handle their vacations, etc?

I am planning on contracting that I'm paid for holidays, and of course will be closed. (labor day, memorial day, 4th of July, etc..) My vacation time will be unpaid, as I just don't feel right making parents pay me to sit on a beach while they also pay someone else that week to watch their kid. I also don't plan on having parents pay me when they go on vacation ... of course though with conditions like their account is paid up, (and am thinking perhaps has never been late) they give me enough notice, etc.. They also only get so many weeks per year out of me before I charge them at least a partial amount to hold the spot for them. I want to make this more of like a reward for those parents that don't make my life difficult with late pickups (which is a fee) and those who pay me on time (another fee if they don't). I'm still working out the finer details on this one...

[countrymom]

in my area (remember this is where I live) I could never charge for the week. So I charge by the day, and if they don't come they don't pay for the day. It has worked out great for me (except for the one mom) but by doing this I never get sick kids, parents keep their kids home, so for me it works out great. Yes its hard to figure out money wise, but I have a dh that works too, but it would be the same as if I worked part time. Every week would be different.

[RosieMommy]

This is something that as a parent I don't really get in terms of the judgement of other parents. I understand that many providers think parents should spend as much time as possible with their kids but I do not understand that judgement. Not every parent wants to be spend every free moment they have with their kids. I don't think it makes them BAD or lousy parents. I will also say that a lot of parents probably do this not because they are lazy but because they are paying for it. Childcare is a HUGE expense for many families (especially if you have multiple kids who need childcare) and even if you are off and wouldn't mind spending the extra time, it can be hard to do when you're not getting a reduction in the rate etc. I just don't care for the judgement of other parents and making it seem like these other parents don't love their kids as much etc and the mommy olympics. I just don't think that's true. But everyone is entitled to their opinion etc and you run your business how you want. Not every provider and family are a good fit for each other.

[youretooloud]

Off topic. But, I just now realized that your name is MISTER sir husband....

For two days, I thought it was MASTER sir husband. I must say, I feel let down now.

[Leigh]

If parents are paying for that time, it's their time to do with as they please. I, too, would love it if parents kept their kids at home when possible and still paid me for NOT caring for them. The fact is, I understand that there are things that are just easier to do when you don't have your kids around (cleaning the garage, painting the house, attending a doctor's appointment, even getting some shopping done or taking a much needed nap).

As a provider, I certainly understand the others who say that they want those kids picked up as soon as the parents are off work (I would like that, too!), but I can't demand it from them when I contracted for those hours. If I were to insist that the kids were kept home when parents were home, I would feel morally obligated to NOT charge the parents for that time. My salary is for 45 hours per week (I charge by the hour after that). I feel obligated to provide 45 hours whenever possible, since that is what I promised in my contract. I am inflexible with my contract, and hold parents to every sentence printed in there-I can't give them less than what I expect. I also can't let my own feelings come into play about what kind of parents they are-sometimes people are better parents for the time they have away from their kids.

[RosieMommy]

If parents are paying for that time, it's their time to do with as they please. I, too, would love it if parents kept their kids at home when possible and still paid me for NOT caring for them. The fact is, I understand that there are things that are just easier to do when you don't have your kids around (cleaning the garage, painting the house, attending a doctor's appointment, even getting some shopping done or taking a much needed nap).

As a provider, I certainly understand the others who say that they want those kids picked up as soon as the parents are off work (I would like that, too!), but I can't demand it from them when I contracted for those hours. If I were to insist that the kids were kept home when parents were home, I would feel morally obligated to NOT charge the parents for that time. My salary is for 45 hours per week (I charge by the hour after that). I feel obligated to provide 45 hours whenever possible, since that is what I promised in my contract. I am inflexible with my contract, and hold parents to every sentence printed in there, I can't give them less than what I expect. I also can't let me own feelings come into play about what kind of parents they are-sometimes people are better parents for the time they have away from their kids.

This.

[Evansmom]

I skimmed through this post and don't see this mentioned so I thought I'd add my experience.

I'm of the mind that as long as I'm paid on time and in full I don't care where the parents are, home, work, out, whatever. I learned a long time ago that many don't parent the hands on way I do. I find it sad but I can't do much about it.

The problem I have with parents bringing kids to daycare and take a lot of time off is that I've found that when I have to close a day for vacation or illness (which I'm lucky we don't do but 2-3 days per year for illness) the parents that give me a hard time about closing are the exact ones who take all that time off and are still bringing their kids to my daycare. I get the "oh no! You're closing?! What am I going to do?!! I can't take any more days off!!!!" response from the parent. Well if they hadn't taken all their personal days already and saved them for when they actually need them then they wouldn't be in that situation!

I had one who's own daughter had pneumonia and was complaining of taking the time off!!! Instead of being concerned for her child. But a few weeks before she went to Vegas for a week! Ugh!

[Play Care]

If parents are paying for that time, it's their time to do with as they please. I, too, would love it if parents kept their kids at home when possible and still paid me for NOT caring for them. The fact is, I understand that there are things that are just easier to do when you don't have your kids around (cleaning the garage, painting the house, attending a doctor's appointment, even getting some shopping done or taking a much needed nap).

As a provider, I certainly understand the others who say that they want those kids picked up as soon as the parents are off work (I would like that, too!), but I can't demand it from them when I contracted for those hours. If I were to insist that the kids were kept home when parents were home, I would feel morally obligated to NOT charge the parents for that time. My salary is for 45 hours per week (I charge by the hour after that). I feel obligated to provide 45 hours whenever possible, since that is what I promised in my contract. I am inflexible with my contract, and hold parents to every sentence printed in there-I can't give them less than what I expect. I also can't let my own feelings come into play about what kind of parents they are-sometimes people are better parents for the time they have away from their kids.

I agree. It often surprises me that some providers feel their clients "owe" them time off. When I worked outside the home my boss never came up and said "you look tired, why don't you take the rest of the day off!" It is my responsiblilty to set my hours/schedule in a way that suits me and that includes taking time off - both preplanned and sick time (you won't ever see me post bragging about years with no call outs for illness, if I need it, I take it)
Now, if a parent was frequently taking time off and thus was not able to pick up a sick child or keep them home, or gave me a hard time for taking timeoff, that's grounds for termination.

[lovemykidstoo]

I don't think my parents "owe" me time off, I think they owe their child time off. Like I mentioned my situation above, one of my families had a baby and the mother is on maternity leave. The 2 year old boy is still with me 3 days a week, 10 hours a day (normal schedule). What irritates me is she is bewildered as to why he's throwing fits and being so bad at home lately. Maybe he's crying out for attention. Why wouldn't they leave him here for 7 or 8 hours instead of 10? That's what bothers me. I dont' care if the parents are going to the gym after work or to the store or whatever, but this situation bothers me ONLY because the child is bothered by it.

[Play Care]

I don't think my parents "owe" me time off, I think they owe their child time off. Like I mentioned my situation above, one of my families had a baby and the mother is on maternity leave. The 2 year old boy is still with me 3 days a week, 10 hours a day (normal schedule). What irritates me is she is bewildered as to why he's throwing fits and being so bad at home lately. Maybe he's crying out for attention. Why wouldn't they leave him here for 7 or 8 hours instead of 10? That's what bothers me. I dont' care if the parents are going to the gym after work or to the store or whatever, but this situation bothers me ONLY because the child is bothered by it.

What I said was not meant personally. I totally understand why your situation is frustrating! I'm talking about the general attitude from some providers that seem to think the parent should be thinking about them (the provider) and their families/lives, etc. Some of the posts on this thread have left me with that feeling of "owing" the provider time off - not yours.

[RosieMommy]

What I said was not meant personally. I totally understand why your situation is frustrating! I'm talking about the general attitude from some providers that seem to think the parent should be thinking about them (the provider) and their families/lives, etc. Some of the posts on this thread have left me with that feeling of "owing" the provider time off - not yours.

Exactly. I'm not a fan of the "you're home so you should pick up your kid because it would be nice for me to get off early too." Providers are not employees and it isn't fair to put the parents in that position if the provider wants to be seen as a business owner and not an employee.

[lovemykidstoo]

What I said was not meant personally. I totally understand why your situation is frustrating! I'm talking about the general attitude from some providers that seem to think the parent should be thinking about them (the provider) and their families/lives, etc. Some of the posts on this thread have left me with that feeling of "owing" the provider time off - not yours.

I understand, thank you. I know what you mean. I have had parents bring early, pick up later (not late, just later) to do various things and I don't care because I'm working 7:30 to 5:30 anyway, so it really doesn't normally make a difference if I have 4 kids or 5 kids. I have felt the same way as you, so our thoughts are really pretty similar. The only time I get upset is when the child is upset. The little boy that I'm referring too is very often the last child here and he gets upset when that happens and when I know that mom is at home with new baby, that bothers me. I actually asked everyone to pick up early today due to my sons sporting event and she will still be the last one to pick up. That is frustrating.

[AmyKidsCo]

I am still in the process of becoming registered as a day care provider and have been reading posts on this site for weeks now. I noticed a few different providers venting that the parents are either not at work, or left early and didn't pick up their kid right away. I'm sorry... maybe its because I'm new to this, but so what? My contract is going to list my hours of operation. If a parent drops off in the morning and picks up by closing time, how is it any of my business if they went to work, home to nap, the store, a casino, etc.. I'm being paid to watch the kid for up to 11 hours per day. As long as the parents pick up and drop off within this time frame, and the check doesn't bounce.. I'm good.

I've always had the same attitude, for the most part. I do get frustrated when a child is with me an entire day while the parents are home - especially if that child was first drop-off right at opening and last pick-up right at closing. Actually, first drop-off doesn't bother me as much as last pick-up does; by the end of the day I'm tired and ready for my time off!