Changing Hours for Summer??

[Crazy8]

Does anyone do it?

Last summer I contemplated letting my 5pm family go when they came back from maternity leave - all my others were only till 4:30 and I LOVED it. That extra half hour made such a difference in my day and was so much better for my own kids.
But I was getting no calls to replace them and took them back and it was a darn good thing I did because 2 kids I expected to stay another year up and left with little notice and again I was not getting any calls.

So, fast forward to this summer. I really would like to do the 4:30 thing just for the summer. I know dad is home early enough to pick up but he does "other things" and mom picks up on her way home from work, and even 5pm is cutting it close for her. They are definitely the type to keep kids in daycare as long as they can/days they are off, etc. but otherwise are a great family.

I can't lose them over it but I really want to say I am closing at 4:30 for the summer. Should I just send home a letter? How should I word it/go about it?? They are my only 5pm family and they know it. I also don't want to discount their rate because they aren't paying me for the extra half hour in the first place - they pay the same rate as a 4:30 family would.

Or should I just **** it up and work the extra half hour all summer???

[llpa]

Could you ask them if they could pick up early one day a week? That way they aren't inconvenienced every day and you have something to look forward to also. BTW I wouldn't ask I would just say "from (date) to (date) the dc will close at 4:30 pm on (day of week). We will resume regular hours on(date)."

[Annalee]

Does anyone do it?

Last summer I contemplated letting my 5pm family go when they came back from maternity leave - all my others were only till 4:30 and I LOVED it. That extra half hour made such a difference in my day and was so much better for my own kids.
But I was getting no calls to replace them and took them back and it was a darn good thing I did because 2 kids I expected to stay another year up and left with little notice and again I was not getting any calls.

So, fast forward to this summer. I really would like to do the 4:30 thing just for the summer. I know dad is home early enough to pick up but he does "other things" and mom picks up on her way home from work, and even 5pm is cutting it close for her. They are definitely the type to keep kids in daycare as long as they can/days they are off, etc. but otherwise are a great family.

I can't lose them over it but I really want to say I am closing at 4:30 for the summer. Should I just send home a letter? How should I word it/go about it?? They are my only 5pm family and they know it. I also don't want to discount their rate because they aren't paying me for the extra half hour in the first place - they pay the same rate as a 4:30 family would.

Or should I just **** it up and work the extra half hour all summer???

I close at 4:30 EVERYDAY! Just a decision I made after my own children were born! You are right, an extra 30 minutes makes a huge difference.

[melilley]

I would close earlier, especially if you know dad can pick up by then!

I was going to do the same thing (but close at 5:30), but of course as soon as I decided that I wanted to do that, 2 families said they needed care until 6 and I know that they do for sure. Boo

[Crazy8]

Could you ask them if they could pick up early one day a week? That way they aren't inconvenienced every day and you have something to look forward to also. BTW I wouldn't ask I would just say "from (date) to (date) the dc will close at 4:30 pm on (day of week). We will resume regular hours on(date)."

yes, I want to tell, not ask but I feel like I need to address it with them specifically since they know they are the only ones here till 5pm. If there were others I would just send out a notice and put it on my fb page, etc. but I sort of feel like I need to ask since they are the only ones.

[SignMeUp]

I think you still need to tell, not ask. Just personalize it slightly since they know that they are the only ones there later.
"Hi Daycare Family One,
My summer hours will be x:00 to x:00 only.
I plan to resume the former hours of x:00 to x:30 on Xxxxx 3, 2014.
At that time, the fee for x:00 to x:00 will be $X.oo, and I'll prepare a new contract that reflects the new hours.
Signed,
Your Favorite Child Care Provider: Me"

If you really felt the need, add a line that says, "This will accommodate my own family's needs for this summer."

[Crazy8]

ugh, still haven't done this. Do you think its too late? Maybe send out a letter that says effective July 7th so that I am still close to the 30 day mark??

I am a little afraid they will leave over this, but their 5pm is often 5:05-5:10 and on Friday I was steaming mad over it and I don't want to end up resenting them. They are my only 5pm family, everyone else is 4:30 but I may lose another little girl soon and I REALLY can't afford to lose them too (2 kids - almost half my income!).

Has anyone successfully changed their hours?? Did you lose families? How much notice did you give?

[Rachel]

I may get tomatoes thrown at me, but I think if they are paying you until 5 you need to stay open until 5. If you want to change your hours until 4:30 and then add the until 5:00 for an extra charge, I would give them a month's notice. Are your other families staying until 4:30 because they happen to pick up early, or because they are contracted for those hours? Trust me, I get it. I hate when I am stuck here for 1 kid especially if a parent is home, but they are paying me for that time and any time that other people pick up their kids early is bonus. It's part of the job.

[Blackcat31]

ugh, still haven't done this. Do you think its too late? Maybe send out a letter that says effective July 7th so that I am still close to the 30 day mark??

I am a little afraid they will leave over this, but their 5pm is often 5:05-5:10 and on Friday I was steaming mad over it and I don't want to end up resenting them. They are my only 5pm family, everyone else is 4:30 but I may lose another little girl soon and I REALLY can't afford to lose them too (2 kids - almost half my income!).

Has anyone successfully changed their hours?? Did you lose families? How much notice did you give?

I decided a while back to change my close time to 5:00 instead of 5:30.

I had 3 families that stayed until 5:30.

What I did was offer care to them until 5:30 but at an additional cost.

Once they aged out, I made sure ALL new enrollments could pick up 5:00.

Two of the families opted to pick up earlier and it wasn't an issue and the other family (even though they could have picked up earlier) would still stay until after 5:00 but I billed that time at $2.00 for every 15 minute increment (total of an additional $4 per day)

I made an extra $20 a week but I also used that time to clean up and ready the daycare for the next day since that child was the only one here between 5:00-5:30.

Would charging for extended care be an option for you until the family aged out? Or until you can afford to chance them leaving?

[Crazy8]

I may get tomatoes thrown at me, but I think if they are paying you until 5 you need to stay open until 5. If you want to change your hours until 4:30 and then add the until 5:00 for an extra charge, I would give them a month's notice. Are your other families staying until 4:30 because they happen to pick up early, or because they are contracted for those hours? Trust me, I get it. I hate when I am stuck here for 1 kid especially if a parent is home, but they are paying me for that time and any time that other people pick up their kids early is bonus. It's part of the job.

They are actually paying my rate for 7:30-4:30, I charge an extra amount for the extra half hour (5pm) but waived it for this family last year when they came back from maternity leave (mistake #1). So technically if I lowered their rate for the 4:30 pick up they'd be paying LESS than my 4:30 families. All my others are contracted till 4:30, when people call me now I generally don't even interview if they want beyond 4:30, have just kept this family since I used to have all 5pm pick ups 2 years ago.

[Crazy8]

I decided a while back to change my close time to 5:00 instead of 5:30.

I had 3 families that stayed until 5:30.

What I did was offer care to them until 5:30 but at an additional cost.

Once they aged out, I made sure ALL new enrollments could pick up 5:00.

Two of the families opted to pick up earlier and it wasn't an issue and the other family (even though they could have picked up earlier) would still stay until after 5:00 but I billed that time at $2.00 for every 15 minute increment (total of an additional $4 per day)

I made an extra $20 a week but I also used that time to clean up and ready the daycare for the next day since that child was the only one here between 5:00-5:30.

Would charging for extended care be an option for you until the family aged out? Or until you can afford to chance them leaving?

This is pretty much what I do now with new families, my rates sheet has an extra $$ for beyond 4:30 but this family was with me before that and when I raised rates last year I raised them the base rate of $10/week but waived the extra for the 5pm at the time because that really would have put them pretty high (more than most daycares in my area). Now when I get calls I just don't even bother with families who want later than 4:30pm. I would do it if I needed to but have that extra $$ right on my rate sheet for them to decide if they want to add the extra amount or find a way to pick up at 4:30.

I could lower them a few dollars a week for the 4:30 close, I really don't care about the few dollars, but also feel like since they are already only paying my 4:30 closing rate that I shouldn't have to lower my rate.

[Blackcat31]

This is pretty much what I do now with new families, my rates sheet has an extra $$ for beyond 4:30 but this family was with me before that and when I raised rates last year I raised them the base rate of $10/week but waived the extra for the 5pm at the time because that really would have put them pretty high (more than most daycares in my area). Now when I get calls I just don't even bother with families who want later than 4:30pm. I would do it if I needed to but have that extra $$ right on my rate sheet for them to decide if they want to add the extra amount or find a way to pick up at 4:30.

I could lower them a few dollars a week for the 4:30 close, I really don't care about the few dollars, but also feel like since they are already only paying my 4:30 closing rate that I shouldn't have to lower my rate.

[Crazy8]

but of course they won't see it like that - they don't see their rate as "discounted".

Today was another 5:05 day…. I am getting tired of it. I don't want their $5 late fee, I want them out the door by 5pm (and makes me want to do 4:30 for summer even more). But I can't afford to lose them either. Ugh!