Do You Offer Weekend Care?

[FirstFriends]

I am in the process of adding children to my family childcare, I currently have 2 toddlers enrolled plus my little one (2.5 year old)

One toddler is full time Mon-Fri (9:00-5:00), the other is part time Thur-Fri (10:00-5:00).

I have not considered weekend care, as I enjoy working Mon-Fri & having the weekend off. However, weekend care could help greatly with our finances. My husband also works as a GM in a restaurant so he currently works on the weekend.

I currently am marketing and getting responses and inquiries regarding enrollment. I do advertise that I cater to unique schedules and part time care.

So what are the pros and cons of providing care on the weekend? And do you charge more for childcare on the weekends?

The inquiry that's making me consider this, has the following schedule for 3.5 year old. Needs care Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, and Sun.

[Michael]

Here are more threads relating to Weekend Care: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=weekend+care

[Sunchimes]

I have done it when I was desperate, but it is so hard. If I read it right, you would have no days off. That really isn't sustainable unless you are super tough. I did it because I had too, but I stopped as soon as I could.

[AmyKidsCo]

Heck no! My weekends are MY time - I don't reply to daycare emails on weekends and sometimes ignore texts too.

[CityGarden]

I do not offer care on the weekend and would not. This is a tiring profession and I need time to recharge to offer a quality program.

[LysesKids]

I do not offer care on the weekend and would not. This is a tiring profession and I need time to recharge to offer a quality program.

I need to offer a quality program, but I also need too meet bills come August; after 3 months of trying to fill a spot and loosing another in a month, I have no other options except to offer Saturdays also which I hate to do (I refuse to work 7 days again after 17 years and I already offer 6a-9p weekdays) - as a widowed empty nester, I have no option because I am still a minimum of 5 years before any SS bennies can be claimed. Things are tight when you specialize, but due to physical limitations (and no med insurance), no way can I take older kids anymore - it's under 2's or I sell everything and live on the road. I was screwed last Winter by loosing 2 babes early & my CC's were hit hard... I have to keep things paid at minimum just to float as it is

[flying_babyb]

I work in a daycare on weekends. Its not to bad, lower number of kids, more relaxed. I know on the weekends our program is way less structured and we tend to go on feild trips to the park often!

[TheMisplacedMidwestMom]

I did weekend care for 1 child for awhile, also advertising that I could accommodate crazy schedules. I NEEDED the income. In my case I had three M-F/9-5 dcks and the one weird schedule. Dcm was a float nurse, second shift, and days of the week varied each week, but usually included 2-3 weekends a month. For me that particular dcg became more of a nanny position and she was just my third child. If we went to the grocery, she went. Church, she went. Out to eat, she went. Trick-or-treating, I dressed her up and she went. You get the idea.
There are three reasons I didn't go completely insane with this schedule: 1) Dcm was laid back and understood that to make it work dcg would have to be part of my family. I didn't have to check with dcm every time we left the house. 2) I had ZERO drama with this family. Paid on time, every time. Picked up and dropped off as planned, every time. Provided supplies I asked for without question. 3) I had some weekend days and occasionally a whole weekend off.

Pros: It paid the bills.
Helped me realize I'm done having kids. Traveling with 3 in tow ALL the time is not for me.
I learned a lot, I found out a lot about myself and what I wanted out my daycare provider experience.
It paid the bills.

Cons: It's stressful, and my own kids took a while to adjust.
If you are signing up for both days EVERY weekend you will literally never get a day off. Oh, you wanted to go camping? visit family out of town? drive two hours away to go shopping at the outlet mall?... yeah none of that is happening.

And yes, I did charge them more than I charged my "normal" schedule folks. They understood this, and were on board. Dcm mom got a shift differential for working second and so did I .

Would I do it again? Only if I had to, and I could find another family that was easy to work with. It was rough, but temporary.

[DaveA]

Honestly I would go back to centers or change fields before offering weekend care. I've know multiple people in my area who have ran weekday + weekend care. The longest made it a bit over a year before leaving childcare completely. She had assistants and a dedicated space and it still was overwhelming to her and put a real strain on her family.

[Cat Herder]

I can see a huge market for weekend care in Florida where the majority are in service industry. If you set a time limit on it for a financial goal, say 24 months, it may be worth it.

Night and weekends were typically 1.5 rate or more, so it adds up pretty quick. Unfortunately, so does the stress so long term won't be worth it to your family.

The biggest risk I see is strain on the marriage since carving out time for that seems to already be difficult. If your husband is on board with a time limit it can be a team goal.

[Ariana]

Sometimes you need to do what you need to do! I think there is definitely a need, maybe not a huge one, but a need nonetheless. We have a couple of 24/7 daycares in my City because there are a lot of people who need that option. In my opinion you are not overworked with the amount of kids you currently have and their hours so I say go for it!

I absolutely would charge a bit more for weekend care. Maybe just an extra $5-$7 per day just so its not a crazy difference.

[hwichlaz]

I did it for many years. My ex husband worked weekends and we homeschooled. So weekends weren't any different than weekdays to us. I ended up having Mondays off most of the time.

[racemom]

Could you get a few weekend care kids and take your days off during the week. Try to have the same days off as dh, and that can be your family time.

[LK5kids]

Years ago I did and it didn't bother me at all. I did what I had to do to make enough $. I had a large separate two-room child care area.

For awhile two families needed Sat. Morning and I had a 4 yr. old girl and 6 yr. old boy I cared for.

Another time I had two, sweet, well-behaved sisters (2yrs & 3 yrs) that needed second shift care.

It helped my child care space was separate from my personal living space and my kids were school age and more self-sufficient.

[amberrose3dg]

I can't. I sometimes feel tired working 60 to 65 hours a week. Lately I have been lucky to find families that want earlier care. Most of my kids are gone by 330 now. When I first opened I would have kids from 6am until 630 pm. That is simply too long of a day for me. I close at 5pm sharp and only have two families that are here that late. My weekends are to get things done or to simply relax.