What Would You Charge For Missing Bus?

[MarinaVanessa]

I think it's good that you are thinking about the "what if's" so that if it does happen your know what you're going to say. Everyone has pretty much posted all of your options. But here's something that I was thinking about.

You already said that DCM wouldn't be able to drive DCB to school herself but you should still mention that option to her FIRST should she ever be late just so that she makes that connection in her head (me late = me have to drive DCB myself = me REALLY late to work).

So my question to you is this ... what would you rather do? Would you rather drive DCB to school yourself or would you rather keep DCB at daycare for the day if he ever misses the bus? I ask this because you should put a higher price tag on what you DON'T want to do because if you offer to charge DCM $25 a day to drive DCB to school and DCM thinks it's a little steep she will probably ask you how much you will charge her to just keep keep him for the day.

DCM will weigh the options and choose what is right for her. So ... if you don't want to have to drive daycare boy and would rather keep him at DC with you then charge more to drive him to school OR take it off the table completely if you don't want to drive at all. Like others have said, you can use the insurance excuse or just say that you don't have the other DCP's permission to transport their children (If you don't already transport the kids). If keeping him at DC is not an option then charge more to have him stay at DC and considerably less to drive him to school.

Have you discussed the rate on the days that the school is closed? Does your rate include these days or does she have to pay an additional daily fee? If your weekly fee includes these "school closed" days you could potentially be finding yourself caring for this DCB added days if she should ever run late and he miss the bus so you should probably talk to her about these money matters before they actually happen.
Food for thought.

[Zoe]

I have a similar situation with a dcm right now. I want to take my DD to kindy this year and she needs to be there at 8:45. DCG comes at 8:30 and 2 weeks ago I asked dcm if she could make sure that the girl is here by 8:30 at the LATEST so I can do this. She agreed and in addition, said HERSELF that if she's running late she'll text me and then drop dcg off after I take my daughter to school! I love that mom!

To get back to the OP, being honest and having a plan in mind has avoided any conflicts and resentment between us. If you're honest and have something detailed in mind in case she's late, things will work out better for all involved!

[familyschoolcare]

I would consider everything that others have posted before you deiced if you can even offer this service. If it helps my contract has a $10 fee for any unscheduled or additional trips to school.

[DBug]

I've had this happen twice -- the first time, dcg refused to get on the bus. It was very uncharacteristic of her, and the fact that she did it made me think she was probably feeling really tired or coming down with something. In that instance, I had space to keep her all day (since she had no actual symptoms). DCM said that was fine, and she paid me for a full day's care. In the second situation, I wasn't able to get my 5 toddlers ready in time, which made the SA's late for the bus. Because it was my fault, I got my husband to drive the kids to school. If I had had to keep the SA's home, I would not have charged for the day, just the usual b&a rate.

If a parent wasn't able to get their kid here in time for the bus, they'd have to drive them to school, simply because I wouldn't have enough seats in the van, and it would be illegal (I'd be over numbers) for me to keep them here.

I agree with what a PP said -- think about the potential situations now, so that you can tell DCM in advance. That way, she'll know what to expect and how much it will cost, and you'll know too what your course of action will be if it ever does happen.

[daycare]

I have a boy starting Kindergarten who I will be getting on/off the bus along with my son (go to same school). I have a feeling that mom might be late and miss the bus (everyone is late at some point, right?).

If she's late and he misses the bus....and she asks if I'll drive him to school, what should I charge for that? The school is 5 minutes away, but I'd have to pack up two 2 year olds, and after January my own newborn.

Or, I could just refuse and say no transportation regardless.

Just want to be prepared for if/when this happens so I have a response ready. It's something I didn't think to put in her contract.

(if it helps I'm charging him $14/day for before school ...he'll be here for 20 minutes) and after school where he'll be here for 1.5 hours).

well here is the thing. are you willing to load and unload all of those kids 4 times in a matter of 15-20 minutes to take a kid to school. I say no amount of $ is worth it.

Here our kids have to be walked into the classroom or office at the kinder age. So that would mean you would have to unload all of the kids to walk him in and load back in to go home, then unload again at home.

I say if you miss the bus that the parents are responsible for getting them there. It would work that way if they were at a club like ymca or boys and girls club. Unless it was your fault, parent takes them.

[LittleD]

I would just tell her that you don't have the insurance to cover school transporting. If she would like that the policy is an extra $1000 per year.

Good one Nan! I will have to remember that one!

[jojosmommy]

I would agree with the other posters and say do not provide transport for her son. She might like the idea of you bringing him instead of the bus and intentionally be late so you can bring him on a regular basis. I would say that if the bus has gone she can drop him off at school instead of your place.

[MamaJ]

ya know, I think I'll just plan to tell her I can't. I can't use the insurance excuse, because I do have insurance to transport, and we often go to parks, etc.

I think if I do it once, it'll be requested often. and well, if I wanted to be packing everyone up and driving to school I'd do it for my own son too.

I'll have to check the drop off rules too...I *think* we can just drop them off without having to get out and walk to their room, but I will definitely double check!

[Hunni Bee]

I've had this happen twice -- the first time, dcg refused to get on the bus. It was very uncharacteristic of her, and the fact that she did it made me think she was probably feeling really tired or coming down with something. In that instance, I had space to keep her all day (since she had no actual symptoms). DCM said that was fine, and she paid me for a full day's care. In the second situation, I wasn't able to get my 5 toddlers ready in time, which made the SA's late for the bus. Because it was my fault, I got my husband to drive the kids to school. If I had had to keep the SA's home, I would not have charged for the day, just the usual b&a rate.

If a parent wasn't able to get their kid here in time for the bus, they'd have to drive them to school, simply because I wouldn't have enough seats in the van, and it would be illegal (I'd be over numbers) for me to keep them here.

I agree with what a PP said -- think about the potential situations now, so that you can tell DCM in advance. That way, she'll know what to expect and how much it will cost, and you'll know too what your course of action will be if it ever does happen.

Really? We're not allowed to keep children out of school, and even if the parent decides not to send the child to school, they can't send them to daycare instead. That would be considered truancy. I just thought that was interesting.