How To Tell A Parent I Can't Care For Their Children Anymore

[JeepGirl6]

I have a daycare family that brings their 4 yr old son 1 day a week & 2 yr old daughter 4 days a week. The mother is due with her 2nd daughter the middle of April. The 2 yr old is a handfull most days & cries a lot to the point where I want to quit some days. This mother doesnt know what the schedule will be like come fall. She thinks the baby will be 4 days a week & the other 2 will be 1-2 days a week. Well I dont think its going to work out nor will I have the room for the new baby.

I have another family that had a baby. The mom went in maternity leave in December & plans to come back April. When the first family will go on maternity leave this one comes back. She will be bringing her 2 yr old son & 3 month old daughter both full time 5 days a week. This is a school teacher family though so this will only last until school is out at the end of May. She hasnt decided if she is going back the following school year so I am advertising for 2 full time spots 5 days a week to Start June 1st.

I would rather have full timers than part timers. I am struggling financially now as it is.

How do I tell first daycare family that I wont be able to care for their children anymore? Was it wrong if me to wait 4 weeks before her 8 week maternity leave to tell her if I have I lnown I couldnt do it. I was just afraid of losing them & put me in a financial bind.
Letter anyone?

[Unregistered]

If she can't give you a definite 'yes' I would replace. Not fair to keep you in limbo. Along with the children not behaving..

[KIDZRMYBIZ]

I would say whatever amount of notice of terminating care you expect is the same amount they can expect of you (if you require a 2-week notice, then they can expect only a 2-week notice from you as well).

There is nothing wrong with moving to all FT care, and will probably not even come as a surprise to them. I would just make a letter stating that no more part-time rates are being offered:

New rates on such-and-such date will be $xxx weekly. No part-time, daily, half-day, nor hourly rates are offered. Tuition secures a position at my super awesome daycare, and is not based on attendance.

Or however you want to word it. Don't sweat it. I used to, until I adopted this motto, "Every dollar I try to save someone else's family is a dollar I take out of MY family's pocket." and "It isn't personal, it's business." It helps me move forward and do the dirty work.:hug: Good luck!

[Gemma]

You don't need to get into your personal financial situation, I would just be honest with her and tell her I need to fill spots "full Time, therefor I will no longer be able to accommodate her children part time schedule.

[Thriftylady]

It comes down to if you want the kids at all or not. If you are still wanting them, offer her the full time rate only. She will either pay it, or move on. If you don't want the kids at all, do as above and just say you no longer provide part time care.

[Heidi]

I would not say anything at all until they are gone on MT leave. As someone said, if you require two weeks notice, then that is all you really need to do. I was in the same situation last year, and I ended up waiting until they left, then calling them a few weeks later and telling them it wasn't a good fit (not a schedule thing, a parent/provider thing, in this case).

Wait until her leave starts, then a week or two later, give her a call and tell her you're only doing full-time from now on, and you thought you'd let her know NOW so she'd have plenty of time to make other arrangements. She's getting SIX weeks notice...that's more than fair!


OH...and STOP FEELING GUILTY!