Off Early but Wants Care Until 6

[spedmommy4]

Upfront, I told this mom that my program was not a good fit but I'm curious how common this is now.

A mom called yesterday and said she was looking for care for her three-year-old child. I asked what hours she needed care. She responded that she needed care from 7 AM to 6 PM. I close at 5:30 and won't extend my hours for anyone. I said, sorry I close at 5:30.

She said, " Well, I get off at 4 but I am a teacher so I regularly need care until 6." I'm not sure where she works but I loved my school district job because I was almost always home by 4, even in my first year of teaching.

I just can't imagine regularly leaving my child at childcare 2 hours past the time I was off work . . .

[nanglgrl]

In my area I would say it's very common. I charge a rate that gets higher every 1/2 hour after 3:30. About 90% of my calls are people asking for care until 5:30-6. When I explain my rates they suddenly can pick up much earlier making it so my closing time has been before 4:15 for two years and I'm full or as full as I want to be.

[AmyKidsCo]

My husband is a teacher and goes in to school at 6:30 every morning (school starts at 8) and stays until 5:30 every night (school ends at 3). He also does school work nights and weekends.

I'm not saying you should keep a child past your open hours, just that many teachers really do work long hours. It may not be that she wants to work that late, but with all of the new requirements she may have to work that late.

[midaycare]

My husband is a teacher and goes in to school at 6:30 every morning (school starts at 8) and stays until 5:30 every night (school ends at 3). He also does school work nights and weekends.

I'm not saying you should keep a child past your open hours, just that many teachers really do work long hours. It may not be that she wants to work that late, but with all of the new requirements she may have to work that late.

Teachers can work long hours. Although I do have one teacher who pickups by 4:30 pm daily.

[midaycare]

In general (not just teachers), I have very few parents who want to ditch their kids for an extra hour or two. But ... When dcd or dcm has a day off, dck still comes. At least for most of my families.

[Indoorvoice]

Upfront, I told this mom that my program was not a good fit but I'm curious how common this is now.

A mom called yesterday and said she was looking for care for her three-year-old child. I asked what hours she needed care. She responded that she needed care from 7 AM to 6 PM. I close at 5:30 and won't extend my hours for anyone. I said, sorry I close at 5:30.

She said, " Well, I get off at 4 but I am a teacher so I regularly need care until 6." I'm not sure where she works but I loved my school district job because I was almost always home by 4, even in my first year of teaching.

I just can't imagine regularly leaving my child at childcare 2 hours past the time I was off work . . .

I quit teaching partly because of this reason. My students left the classroom at 3:45 and I often had work to do until 6 and then I would come home and have dinner and do more work until bed.

[momofboys]

I have had several teachers and they always had children picked up prior to 4:30.

[Play Care]

DH is a teacher and often stays late to grade papers, plan curriculum and update his teaching binder (to prove to the state he's actually working ) Rather than lug all of that home and have to find time to do it once the kids go to bed...
Add any extra help/tutoring, coaching, parent-teacher meetings, etc and teaching is a lot longer of a day than most realize.

That said, the nice thing about it is that they have the option of leaving at 4:00 (so long as they bring it all home with them) and many of them do.

[mommyneedsadayoff]

Upfront, I told this mom that my program was not a good fit but I'm curious how common this is now.

A mom called yesterday and said she was looking for care for her three-year-old child. I asked what hours she needed care. She responded that she needed care from 7 AM to 6 PM. I close at 5:30 and won't extend my hours for anyone. I said, sorry I close at 5:30.

She said, " Well, I get off at 4 but I am a teacher so I regularly need care until 6." I'm not sure where she works but I loved my school district job because I was almost always home by 4, even in my first year of teaching.

I just can't imagine regularly leaving my child at childcare 2 hours past the time I was off work . . .

That would be a little confusing to me, but maybe she means she gets off at 4, but with the extra work getting ready for the next day, she technically works till 6? If not, then I would guess she gets off at 4 and then wants the two hours to run errands, get stuff done at home, have dinner ready, ect. My FIL is a teacher and he gets to work at 6:45, but is home by 3:45 almost everyday. He has a laptop and does most of his grading and planning in the morning before school starts.

[spedmommy4]

That would be a little confusing to me, but maybe she means she gets off at 4, but with the extra work getting ready for the next day, she technically works till 6? If not, then I would guess she gets off at 4 and then wants the two hours to run errands, get stuff done at home, have dinner ready, ect. My FIL is a teacher and he gets to work at 6:45, but is home by 3:45 almost everyday. He has a laptop and does most of his grading and planning in the morning before school starts.

Could be . . . When I had extra prep work to do, it was easier to take it home. Teachers are pretty sociable and I found it took me forever to get things done at the office because I kept stopping to chat. :-)

[Blackcat31]

Upfront, I told this mom that my program was not a good fit but I'm curious how common this is now.

A mom called yesterday and said she was looking for care for her three-year-old child. I asked what hours she needed care. She responded that she needed care from 7 AM to 6 PM. I close at 5:30 and won't extend my hours for anyone. I said, sorry I close at 5:30.

She said, " Well, I get off at 4 but I am a teacher so I regularly need care until 6." I'm not sure where she works but I loved my school district job because I was almost always home by 4, even in my first year of teaching.

I just can't imagine regularly leaving my child at childcare 2 hours past the time I was off work . . .

...might just be the nosey part of me but my first and immediate response would have been "Why? What are you doing between 4 and 6?"

I may have looked like this but I still would have said it.

I've had several teachers over the years and some (depending on their position at the school) are done by 3:30-4 and others stayed later or coached some sort of sport and devoted their time after 3:00 to that.

I don't care what parents do with the time they purchase from me as long as I can reach them but I still ask....curiosity or need to know, I don't know but I definitely would have asked.

I would not change my close time for anyone and I have rates set up so that the later a child is picked up, the more $ I make.

[spedmommy4]

...might just be the nosey part of me but my first and immediate response would have been "Why? What are you doing between 4 and 6?"

I may have looked like this but I still would have said it.

I've had several teachers over the years and some (depending on their position at the school) are done by 3:30-4 and others stayed later or coached some sort of sport and devoted their time after 3:00 to that.

I don't care what parents do with the time they purchase from me as long as I can reach them but I still ask....curiosity or need to know, I don't know but I definitely would have asked.

I would not change my close time for anyone and I have rates set up so that the later a child is picked up, the more $ I make.

I tier my rates as well. Something I learned from you BC. generally, I don't care what parents are doing either but my program is a preschool first, with an extended care option for working parents.

In my experience, the most challenging kids are the ones who are in childcare sun up to sundown. I tried to structure my program so that parents would limit their own hours. Tiered rates and interviewing clients about their childcare needs prior to enrollment have significantly improved my business.

[Blackcat31]

I tier my rates as well. Something I learned from you BC. generally, I don't care what parents are doing either but my program is a preschool first, with an extended care option for working parents.

In my experience, the most challenging kids are the ones who are in childcare sun up to sundown. I tried to structure my program so that parents would limit their own hours. Tiered rates and interviewing clients about their childcare needs prior to enrollment have significantly improved my business.

about the rate scale....BEST change I ever made!
(It was NannyDe that led in that direction originally)

My experience has been the opposite with those kids that are here from open to close.... I seem to have a closer relationship with them and they seem to be my best behaved kids compared to the others.

Not sure why, but that has always been my experience.

It breaks my heart for those kids (not getting as much quality face time with their parent as they should) but I don't try and make up for it, explain it or understand it....I just make sure that when that child is here, he/she knows they are loved and enjoyed.

[Annalee]

Not saying all teachers do this, but I have had teachers that simply do NOT want to come home to their own kids. Several years ago when I implemented the 9 1/2 hour rule, I had teachers that were here open to close...but when I limited their hours they were 7-4....I asked what happened and how were they able to meet my hourly demand and they said they were having breakfast with their fellow teachers and going out in the evenings to relieve stress I stand by the "if a client wants your services, they will make it work" and "if you allow clients to dictate how your business will run, they will run it to their benefit".

[AmyKidsCo]

That would be a little confusing to me, but maybe she means she gets off at 4, but with the extra work getting ready for the next day, she technically works till 6? If not, then I would guess she gets off at 4 and then wants the two hours to run errands, get stuff done at home, have dinner ready, ect. My FIL is a teacher and he gets to work at 6:45, but is home by 3:45 almost everyday. He has a laptop and does most of his grading and planning in the morning before school starts.

Honestly, to me it wouldn't make a difference when she got off compared to when she picks up, as long as it's before closing time. My thought is that the parents pay me for care from 7-5 M-F, so they're entitled to leave their children with me 7-5 M-F. Do I get frustrated when parents are home but their kids are with me? Definitely. But it's a decision I made so I don't complain about it (much).

In this case I'd tell mom that I close at 5:30 so she'd need to pick up by 5:30. What she does from 4-5:30 is her business. As long as I get paid it doesn't matter to me. (Except when parents pick up at 5:00 on Fridays and I know they went home first. That's frustrating!!)