Provider Does Not Allow Make Up Days

[HappyHearts]

I charge a flat weekly rate. Parents can use any or all of the hours I'm open. They can use me from 6-6 M-F if they want. But they get no discount if they only use an hour an day on one week. They are paying for a SPOT in they day care.


Same rate. Every week. No matter what. No counting hours/days etc. No haggling. No bargaining. No arguments. Set in stone.

This is exactly what I do.

[mom2many]

I have accommodated changes as long it doesn't affect my ratios for that day. I try to be flexible and if I can do it, I will. Sometimes it isn't possible and the parents know they may be told no, if I don't have a space.

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

If I were the provider in this situation, I would;

Gladly switch days IF: 1) it weren't something you regularly did/asked for or expected, 2) you were a great family with a good history of open communication, timely payments and following my policies and 3) I had the open space to accommodate your child without going over licensing capacities.

I would NOT do it if: 1) you frequently tried to bend, ignore or disregard my regular policies, 2) had a history of late payment and/or 3) simply EXPECTED me to accommodate without necessarily asking me.

I honestly understand that providers have rules and such because of past experiences with being burned but IMHO, each family should have it's own reputation based on their own behaviors and just as I wouldn't want to be viewed as "just like ALL child care providers" based on a family's bad experience with another provider, I don't want to view a family that way based on my past bad experiences with families.

Seems like much too much fuss about something that could have been dealt with easily and quickly with a little open communication between provider and family.

Plus, I don't think this is really a situation that could potentially "burn" the provider if the parents are generally a good daycare family. Sounds like it could have been an ideal way to build good business relations.

The question wasn't weather *we* would accomadate this request. (I also would have switched for most of my parents) The question was weather her provider was being unreasonable and I really think that depends on her contract with her provider. We don't know the provider's motives. If this parent has a good relationship with her provider I would lean toward- she has been burned in the past, had plans, or it was a bad week for her. If the relationship is a poor one then the parent needs to decide how to build that relationship or decide this particular provider is not for her. But I certainly wouldn't decide that on one unpleasant event that is centered on the big hot topic for providers- time and money. But, if she feel her provider is awesome with her child and this one transaction is the only bump in the road and she wants to broach the subject, she needs to one, look at her contract and two, ask what it would have taken to pick up that extra day.
I just don't to tar and feather a provider with half of the story We always tell providers that they need to not be taken advantage of. So, lets give this nameless provider the benifit of the doubt and assume that her motives weren't unkind.

[Blackcat31]

The question wasn't weather *we* would accomadate this request. (I also would have switched for most of my parents) The question was weather her provider was being unreasonable and I really think that depends on her contract with her provider.

I disagree. There was no actual question other than "Do any providers on this forum know if there are policies that dictate why she made the decision she did?" and "Any thoughts? Any suggestions about how I may communicate about this with my provider." .

Nowhere did the OP ask if provider was being unreasonable.

Responding as to what "we" would do, was giving insight to the OP on why providers make the decisions they do.

We don't know the provider's motives. If this parent has a good relationship with her provider I would lean toward- she has been burned in the past, had plans, or it was a bad week for her.

My reply addressed this. Just because I had or hadn't been burned in the past should not dictate how I treat this particular family. I treat each family based on their individual relationship and past with me. Regardless of my past experiences with other families.

If the provider had plans, there would be no reason for her to not offer that up as an explanation. Sure beats alienating the family by being silent, which seems to be the case.

Also if it was a bad week and her actions were dictated by that, why is it ok for a bad week to effect the provider and her actions but we (in general) complain and vent about parents using their bad week as an excuse for their behavior/actions to us?

Those would not be acceptable excuses for me personally as a provider. I have set rules and polcies, but go out of my way to make sure a parent fully understands why and is comfortable and ok with my decisions.

If the relationship is a poor one then the parent needs to decide how to build that relationship or decide this particular provider is not for her.

Which is EXACTLY what the OP asked about. How do they convey to their provider that they want to know the reasoning behind the providers decision? I think for us, as providers to answer gives insight to the OP as to how to approach their provider and to see a little where the provder might be coming from.

Having unhappy clients is not good business practice. You can have the best policies in the world, and even stand 100% firm in them all the time, every time, but I bet you wouldn't be a very busy child care then.

I just don't to tar and feather a provider with half of the story We always tell providers that they need to not be taken advantage of. So, lets give this nameless provider the benifit of the doubt and assume that her motives weren't unkind.

Guess I am not understanding where I "tarred and feathered" anyone by my response. :confused:

I don't tell providers to not get taken advantage of, I tell providers to stand their ground on policies they truly believe in and to stand firm in decisions they have made. If an explaination is required, then one should surely be given as open, honest communication is something I do preach to everyone and something I feel is the foundation of my business.

If this provider did not give reason and refuses to explain to the parent why their request cannot be accommodated, then I will assume that she was being unkind, because she is/was.

Being a child care provider doesn't require "dictator" type behavior. It requires a bit of finesse' and open, clear dialect between client and owner so that EVERYONE is happy and ok with the policies and decisions in the contract.

[julie]

I was flexible with one family in this respect once. I told them this was the only time I would allow switching days. Guess what? Every month afterward they have tried to switch days. This is a great family in all other respects, but I really regret giving special once, because they will always try and it irks me! I am happy to add the extra day for families if I have space and my activities allow them to be here, but the expectation is that it is an extra day that they are paying for.

If you are not normally scheduled for the 5th day, and she says no don't always think that ratios are the only factor. For instance, I like my older kids on Fridays and I like a smaller group. I limit the amount of kids that are young because we go on outings/field trips and there are only so many stroller spots available and certain kids don't have the disposition/attention span to go on those sorts of things! I also budget my menus, so she HAS lost money for you as I wouldn't serve Tuesdays meal again on a Friday so that food I budgeted has gone to waste, and then you would like me to stretch portions for Friday's meal so there is enough to include your child when he wasn't originally scheduled to come. Just something to think about, budget wise.

I can see how the "good will" goes both ways and how easily it is tarnished. Just try to see where your provider is coming from. It is not just one family, it is many they are dealing with. If I had relatively good families but they all asked for special in one way or another, I am sure that I would burn out very quickly. When I think of my good family that ALWAYS asks even though they knew me switching the day was a one-time thing, it tarnishes how I feel about them and it stresses me out to have to go over my policy again and again. Future families won't get the grace of the one-time switch because it's become such a pain in the butt, know what I mean?

[cheerfuldom]

Thanks everyone who replied to the thread. It was important to hear that sometimes providers are inflexible because of experiences they've had with parents who took advantage. That makes sense. She has been doing this a long time and I'm sure that she has had many negative experiences. I guess what I take issue with is some of the things raised by "lovemykidstoo". First, I was not suggesting that I should pay less that week. Second, her inflexibility has tarnished a bit our sense of good will. I do feel like working on a human level works both ways. We agreed to pay for her 2 weeks of vacation. I know people who would prefer to look for someone else before paying this. She had an open slot and could have accommodated my child. In fact, she is under ratio even on the days when all children attend. The crux of the issue is that there is nothing in our contract that dictates make up days either way. Therefore, I thought that she would do it out of courtesy because my child being there would not have changed anything for her. In fact, if she budgeted (in terms of lunch, and snacks, for example) that my child would be there four days and he was only there once, there was a surplus in her budget (if we were to look at this in purely transactional terms).

final word from me is that the provider does not HAVE to take another child just because she has an open slot that day. If you need someone to have flexibility, find another provider. If this situation is not outlined in the contract, then it is up to her discretion on which way to go. She hasnt gone the way you prefer but that doesnt mean she did something wrong...now it is up to you to decide if this is something you can live with or something that you would rather keep looking for another provider. It is important to realize that no provider will be 100% what you want in every respect. It might be time to re evaluate with the big picture in mind....do you really want to remove your child from an experienced provider and transition him/her to a new place over a few days situation? if you are happy with the care in every other respect, is this a big enough deal to uproot and try a new place (which you may hate in many areas and not just one)?

[boysx5]

I charge a flat weekly rate. Parents can use any or all of the hours I'm open. They can use me from 6-6 M-F if they want. But they get no discount if they only use an hour an day on one week. They are paying for a SPOT in they day care.

Most people pay a set fee for their TV cable service. Try calling the company and saying "I didn't watch much TV this past month, so I want a discount on this months bill"

Same rate. Every week. No matter what. No counting hours/days etc. No haggling. No bargaining. No arguments. Set in stone.

I do the same makes life so easy

[BABYLUVER]

I'm curious to know if others have experienced this and how you have resolved it if at all. Our child attends family daycare four times a week. With the holiday this week, it was three days but then he was sick two days and could not attend. We paid our regular weekly tuition even though he attended one day out of four. This is fine. But then I asked the provider if i could bring him the day he usually is not in care, to partly make up for the days I missed work because I had to keep him at home. She said no because it wasn't his regular day. Accepting him for the make up day would not have made her go over her limits and I'm feeling disappointed that she could not be more flexible...especially since I really need that day to catch up on my work. Do any providers on this forum know if there are policies that dictate why she made the decision she did. My feeling is - especially since we have a good relationship - that she should have dealt with us on a more human level rather than a business / policy level. And of course, it stings to have to pay close to $300 for one day of care. Any thoughts? Any suggestions about how I may communicate about this with my provider.

I didn't allow make-up days either. The reason is because my schedule revolved around how many kids were in care on what days and I didn't want anyone to think they could do it each week. I took things on a case-by-case basis, though, and if someone was desperate and I knew it really hurt her to miss that one day, I would make an exception. I did have one woman who was 2d per week and wanted to add days so I just charged the extra days. I didn't really worry too much about going over because most of my kids were booked for full time except her anyway, so it made no difference for her to use 2 more days.

[littlemissmuffet]

Nevermind making up days, I usually don't even allow a parent to tell me a child won't be here on a SCHEDULED day and then change their mind and bring the child. It has nothing to do with ratio, it has everything to do with what my pans for the day are.

How do you know for certain that your DCP would have space? How do you know one of her own child's friends wasn't coming over for a play date? How do you know that a casual drop-in wasn't coming that day?

How do you know your DCP was even going to have any kids that day? Maybe nobody was scheduled to come that day and she planned to enjoy a day off!

How do you know your DCP wasn't planning on being closed that day for an appointment or some other reason? I only inform parents that are scheduled for a particular day that I am closing... not parents that I'm not expecting for the day.

Maybe the day you asked for your child to come is your DCP's "easy" day and she wanted to keep it that way (I for one don't blame her). Maybe your child is often difficult for your DCP and she wanted the break?

Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter - she said no, and you should respect that, no whine about it.

Your child fell ill, that's not your DCP's problem - it's part of being a parent. The holiday, also not your DCP's problem... full-timers can't make up holidays, why should part-timers be allowed to? :confused:

Finally, you make it sound like you DESERVE this favor because you pay for sick days and holiday days and DCP's vacation days (which is the norm where I live)... but you agreed to that in your interview/contract - so you're not getting any awards from me!

[littlemissmuffet]

My son goes to daycare 2 full days per week. He has had many sick days and no, we are not allowed to make up the day. We also pay for 3 weeks vacation and when the provider take days off for state required classes. She also closes on school closing, due to snow. We still pay, even if the weather clears up. We live in Massachusetts and have one of the highest childcare rates in the country. I don't mind paying though. We picked quality over anything else. We did view one daycare down the road who didn't take sick days and rarely closed. She also kept the tv on during the whole interview and left cigarettes out on her back deck. I am really easy going, but I figured if that was going on when I was there.... Who knows what went on when I wasn't. All in all, we probably pay for 6 weeks of unused childcare. It's all part of having a child...

Good for you. Thank you for treating your daycare provider with respect and appreciation!!

[grandmom]

Nevermind making up days, I usually don't even allow a parent to tell me a child won't be here on a SCHEDULED day and then change their mind and bring the child. It has nothing to do with ratio, it has everything to do with what my pans for the day are.

How do you know for certain that your DCP would have space? How do you know one of her own child's friends wasn't coming over for a play date? How do you know that a casual drop-in wasn't coming that day?

How do you know your DCP was even going to have any kids that day? Maybe nobody was scheduled to come that day and she planned to enjoy a day off!

How do you know your DCP wasn't planning on being closed that day for an appointment or some other reason? I only inform parents that are scheduled for a particular day that I am closing... not parents that I'm not expecting for the day.

Maybe the day you asked for your child to come is your DCP's "easy" day and she wanted to keep it that way (I for one don't blame her). Maybe your child is often difficult for your DCP and she wanted the break?

Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter - she said no, and you should respect that, no whine about it.

Your child fell ill, that's not your DCP's problem - it's part of being a parent. The holiday, also not your DCP's problem... full-timers can't make up holidays, why should part-timers be allowed to? :confused:

Finally, you make it sound like you DESERVE this favor because you pay for sick days and holiday days and DCP's vacation days (which is the norm where I live)... but you agreed to that in your interview/contract - so you're not getting any awards from me!

Exactly. I make plans on low number days. If a parent wants to switch it messes up my plans. I don't really feel a need to explain the reason I don't want to switch.

In fact, I won't take a 4-day a week payment. I will never try to fill that day so it's money I loose. Full time price for this. Then the parent can change whenever they want.

[clep]

If I were the provider in this situation, I would;

Gladly switch days IF: 1) it weren't something you regularly did/asked for or expected, 2) you were a great family with a good history of open communication, timely payments and following my policies and 3) I had the open space to accommodate your child without going over licensing capacities.

I would NOT do it if: 1) you frequently tried to bend, ignore or disregard my regular policies, 2) had a history of late payment and/or 3) simply EXPECTED me to accommodate without necessarily asking me.

I honestly understand that providers have rules and such because of past experiences with being burned but IMHO, each family should have it's own reputation based on their own behaviors and just as I wouldn't want to be viewed as "just like ALL child care providers" based on a family's bad experience with another provider, I don't want to view a family that way based on my past bad experiences with families.

Seems like much too much fuss about something that could have been dealt with easily and quickly with a little open communication between provider and family.

Plus, I don't think this is really a situation that could potentially "burn" the provider if the parents are generally a good daycare family. Sounds like it could have been an ideal way to build good business relations.

These are my feelings exactly.

[WDW]

I charge a flat weekly rate. Parents can use any or all of the hours I'm open. They can use me from 6-6 M-F if they want. But they get no discount if they only use an hour an day on one week. They are paying for a SPOT in they day care.

Most people pay a set fee for their TV cable service. Try calling the company and saying "I didn't watch much TV this past month, so I want a discount on this months bill"

Same rate. Every week. No matter what. No counting hours/days etc. No haggling. No bargaining. No arguments. Set in stone.

Interesting... does this work well or do you have 6 kids 12 hours a day all week? Based on my experience, most of my familes would have their kids here ALL the time if I did that...

[Meyou]

Interesting... does this work well or do you have 6 kids 12 hours a day all week? Based on my experience, most of my familes would have their kids here ALL the time if I did that...

I do a set fee as well but my parents are limited to 10 hours of care per day based on starting time.

[mysonsmom1]

Accepting him for the make up day would not have made her go over her limits and I'm feeling disappointed that she could not be more flexible...especially since I really need that day to catch up on my work.

You made a point doing the statement that she said that by accepting him, she would go over her limits. A lot of parents don’t recognize the regulated in home childcare services are governed by rules and regulations that can not allow them to go over their ratios. Have you thought that maybe she just did not have the space for him that day? You may be disappointed that you’re not able to catch up on work because you’re child was sick. Yet, its great to know that she is following the rules. By doing this, it makes your child safer and avoids her from receiving a write up from the state inspectors. Every write up we receive is public information.