For Parents Of Children In Home Daycares

[Unregistered]

Paid Days Off

HI...I ran into this with my current provider. It was not in my contract; she mentioned it after I had been there for a few weeks. I'm sure it was an oversight, but I decided not to fight it at this time. It was the first time I had been charged for a week of vacation and paid holidays, and I was shocked. BUT, I gave some careful consideration to it and listened to all the sides, and still feel it's not completely right. Both groups have cost of business expenses, but in-home day care providers (which is what I have) have the most premium of perks--time with their children. Is it divided attention with other people's children? Of course. But I'd take that over not seeing my son for 50 hours a week. If I could find a different way, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'm a single mom; my son's father is a deadbeat dad, so finances are extremely tight. I struggle to pay the house payment each month and keep food on the table. I went to college to get an education and work at a job that pays benefits; I give up time with my son for that. There is no way I can afford to pay a week's vacation; I'd have to find someone else to pay for that week. I can compromise and pay for the holidays, because I'm off those days as well, but I just can't afford paying for time off. I plan to finish the school year with her and leave at the end for someplace else. I'm hoping her vacation days come after that time--

I am also finding that she is planning "field trips" when there are no-school days which is costing me 5-10 dollars more each week; plus I'm paying for the school field trips. Truthfully can't wait to get out of this daycare.

[tymaboy]

I am a parent (1 son 16 yrs) & am also an in home provider (for 2-3yrs)

As a parent I was not happy with many providers that I chose for many reasons that have been listed here.

When I found a good provider I did not mind paying extra for the care if that ment paid holidays, sick days etc. so be it. The provider saw my child more then I did & I wanted him to be happy where he spent his days.

I was a single parent at that time & yes it was very hard working min. wage job & paying for care but at the same time when you figure the amount that was charged for care during the day compared to paying for care in the evening to go out it was a much cheaper rate (still is) The providers during the day do so much more for the child then a sitter at night does.

As a provider I ask for paid holidays & just changed my policy to 1 week paid vacation, any other time I take off is unpaid. At the same time I offer the parents 1 free week of vacation so it pretty much comes out even. Yes this is my job, which charges the parents much less then min. wage (most of my parents make much more then min. wage) When you figure my $2.25 an hour (about $90-105 a week depending on the amount of hours the child is in care) compared to the $50 parents are willing to pay for a night out my wage is realy nothing & the child learns so much more then what they do with that evening care.

[roswell12]

I have been through the discussion here. Different people with different opinions and views. I think paying for sick days, holidays, vacation for small period is not a big issue. One should respect the people those who are taking care their children for maximum days in a week.

[Unregistered]

response

I am a provider for nearly 4 years.
Here is my take on it.
I operate my business on my own and I have had assistants in the past.
I would LOVE to get a week for some much needed time off, whether to take a much needed refresher break or to be able to some work on my child care areas. Either case, I have never taken the time off even though it is in my hand book to be able to... WITHOUT pay. I can't afford it for 1. Plus more parent's than not would consider leaving a program for another or have hard feelings over this. So I save peace. For me to entrust an assistant to work by herself while I be away... with all the horrer stories out there, honestly, I have been afraid to, even though my help has been good under supervised care, and even for me being away for a few hours here and there.
I take my child care very very seriously, and even for a child to get a scrape from playing while in my care, probably hurts me even more than it does the child. I long for the day to have a refreshing break for a week, but not sure if I will ever get to that point.

Fair... I think a weeks vacation with the families paying for that time isn't fair to the families. This is only my personal oppinion, and I am looking at it in respect to the parts having to pay double. Legal? yes. To each provider, their own... parent's, ask, read the contracts. If you can't afford to pay double for that week, but like the provider... make arrangements to pay a little extra in order to have that 1 week paid for ahead of time in order to make it easy on yourself. My opinion is that it is fair for a provider to be able to take a week's vacation and close their doors without pay for that week.

In the 4 years, I have only closed my doors due to myself being sick for 1 day. I was very very sick and I didn't have anyone to fill in for me. Other than that, I have had someone fill in due to my sickness 3 times. Most parents will find that a good provider is very reliable and works hard to please the parents as best as possible.

There are also a lot of good parents out there too. But when it comes to the money, it can really cause problems of not seeing eye to eye... we are all working so very hard for that dollar. Good parents already feel cheated at not getting to spend as much time with their child as they want and the provider feels abused and disrespected. When a money issue comes in to play mixing with these already existant feelings, it can create some bad friction.

What about days providers need to take a class... should the parents pay for those days?
Not all classes needed are in the evenings or on line.

As far as that provider not feeding that child... hopefully the provider was reported, if the child had gone "X" amount of time without food or drink, that is against regulations... not to mention that was terrible of that provider to behave this way. I can't help but think that if this really happened, there is more to this story than told.

[Unregistered]

Subsidized Childcare

There is a lot of talk here about signing a contract when you start care. The problem is that daycare IS a business, but it's a sensitive issue, because it involves the most precious thing in the world--OUR CHILDREN. My experience has been such that when I finally do find a provider who has the hours that I need, is in the appropriate vicinity to my home/work/their school and has an adequate facility, i have no choice but to sign whatever contract they put in front of me. This has put me in situations where i was sometimes taking home NOTHING at the end of the week after paying for daycare and gas to get to and from work.

Yes, i do believe that a great provider (and I've had quite a few GREAT providers) deserves time off with pay... major holidays and sick days here and there. However, I do not think it's fair to expect me to pay for a weeks paid vacation in the summer when during that week, I will either have to lose pay for that week or pay double to find a suitable replacement.

When I was living and working in Pennsylvania, I came across a state subsidy program for single working mothers, such as myself. I had a weekly co-pay of $35 (this was based on my income) and the state (THE TAXPAYERS) paid the rest, which included paid vacations/holidays if the provider chose to charge their private paying parents for those days. (I thought I had died and gone to heaven... imagine being able to feed my children something other than top ramen and buy them some NEW clothes every now and again) As a working mother who desperately needed the service, I was grateful to find it. As a taxpayer, I was more than happy to see that our tax dollars were going to such a cause... I'd rather see working mothers (and fathers... there are a few, ladies) benefit from tax dollars than the ever-present system-****ers who sit at home and hit walmart the minute their welfare checks come in every week. Talk about stimulating the economy... and also providing a workable solution for both parents and caregivers.

[seashell]

less then minimum wage

I posted this on another topic, but I thought it might work here too.

If you are not happy with paying for your providers holidays, then find a new provider. I am amazed at the parents out there who don't read the documents presented to them and then complain.

You need to pay the entire cost to rent a hotel room . . . you can't just pay for the hours you are in the room. It's still your room from the time you sign the register until you check out.

I don't charge my parents for my sick days or vacation. I do charge for holidays as most providers do.

But to make it "Fair" to parents and providers alike, lets try it this way. Parents, you don't have to pay for holidays but you do have to pay your provider at least minimum wage. Federal minimum wage is currently $6.65 per hour and will be 7.25 per hour in July. So to make it easy, lets just call it $7 per hour.

So, if you leave your child with your provider for 40 hours a week at $7 per hour your weeky fee would be $280.00.

I wonder how many of you are paying alot less than minimum wage when you break it down by hour?


Considering the great service they provide you. You child is loved, happy, educated and well cared for. That isn't even worth minimum wage to you?

Most providers care for kids because they enjoy it. They arn't out to screw parents. If they were, you'd be paying more than minimum wage per hour. So whats the compromise for affordable weekly care? Be considerate and appreciative and pay for holidays!

[Unregistered]

In most situations I don't think that "single moms" should be treated differently than married couples. You are an adult and made your choices. The tax payer shouldn't have to pay your childs way. If you are going to play and have children and be a single parent.....you should have to support it 100% just like the married couples do.

[Unregistered]

Single moms

In most situations I don't think that "single moms" should be treated differently than married couples. You are an adult and made your choices. The tax payer shouldn't have to pay your childs way. If you are going to play and have children and be a single parent.....you should have to support it 100% just like the married couples do.

I seriously doubt that most of the single moms (or dads) out there made the "choice" to be single parents. There are plenty of married couples out there who look for help too. Your statement is uneducated, judgemental and ignorant.

[mac60]

I wouldn't sign my name either to this statement "unregistered".
Personally, I am sick and tired of the "single parent syndrome" please feel sorry for me.

I know way too many "single parents" who have made nothing but bad choices. While maybe being a single parent wasn't a choice, it was a choice to become pregnant, or if you had a child while married but in a bad relationship, all products of "bad choices". Uneducated and ignorant choices.

If we were all treated the same when it came to things, people wouldn't feel this way, but it is the poor me syndrome once again. Seriously, your statement is uneducated, judgemental, and ignorant.....

[Unregistered]

You are stereo typing here. For every parent who plays the single parent card, there are many who don't and care for their children without asking or needing help. Again, there are many 2 parent families who cry poor and look for help. I have families in my center who are on state assistance. More 2 parent families than single parents.

It isn't nice to pick on an entire group based on the actions of the minority of the group.

[GretasLittleFriends]

I can see both sides of the fence.

I was a single mom. I made a bad choice in high school. My parents were great and let me stay at home rent free as long as I stayed in school. This included college. I'll admit, while I finished high school I did qualify for county child care assistance. But their rules were very strict, and they did call my school everyday and check my attendance. I did not apply or qualify for any other program then.

I graduated on time (at 17yrs old). I enlisted into the National Guard and managed to put myself through college without ever taking out a loan. I had bigger goals in life than to be a "poor pitiful me" single mom. I didn't want to be labeled with that young single mom stereotype.

Later in life I married a man which turned out to be a horrible monster and is still in prison for his crime against a child. He ended up going to prison the same time I found out #2 was on the way. I divorced him due to the crime it wasn't something I could put my family at risk for to try to save the marriage. I guess I would call the marriage a bad choice but at the time of the wedding I didn't know he had a monster hiding inside of him. Well, here I am again a single mom. Had a house, living pay check to pay check, but scraping by. My children were provided for, ie they had food, clothes, shelter. Sure my kids didn't have all the greatest new video games, but eh, thats ok. I had insurance through work so their medical and dental needs were met too. There were times that I tried to get a little assisntce to help cover daycare costs, nothing else. I just wanted a little help. Even if I would have had to pay a 50 - 75% copay. I didn't want food stamps, WIC, medical or anything. But because I made $50 over the cut-off I didn't qualify for assistance. The one lady actually laughed at me on the phone. Mind you at this time I was still in the National Guard, and being a great citizen.

What frustrated me more than anything was that I had worked my whole life trying to better myself, and couldn't get a small hand to get a step up. Yet people who lived two doors down from me abused the system like crazy. And they had two new vehicles too. Neither parent worked, they had 4 kids, and going into their house seeing all the new furniture, toys, games, etc made it look like I was the one on welfare.

[mac60]

You are to be commended for serving for our country. Thank you.

You sound like a wonderful parent, and honestly, parents like you are the ones that deserve that extra help. I have no problem with our society helping anyone, it is the lazy ones that think they are entitled to it and sit back and wait for it to be handed to them. I hope by now things have turned upward for you and that you are back on your feet. I am sorry to hear about your marriage, but I do understand that when we marry someone, we may not really know them. I hope your life is making a upward turnaround.

[GretasLittleFriends]

Life couldn't be better now. I'm no longer in the military, I did 10 yrs and said that was enough. I've gotten remarried to a long time friend. (Our parents live 1 mile apart and we've known eachother basically forever.) I'm now self-employed (daycare provider) and so is my husband, so very little if any of our money goes to selfish people who won't help themselves.

[mac60]

That is a sweet story. The cycle of friends....

[Unregistered]

my question here is where r all the kids while you guys are on here bickering?? i look at the times each person has responded and that would really worry me as a parent!