Daycare Provider Paid Time Off

[Unregistered]

Many, many companies pay for someone else to do a job that needs to be done when someone is on vacation or off of work sick.

In fact, I can't think of many companies that don't.

Do you have a paid vacation? Do you have paid sick days at work?
Why shouldn't a provider have those same benefits?

Why? because a daycare provider is self employed. All other self employed people have to take time off at their own expense.

[jen]

Why? because a daycare provider is self employed. All other self employed people have to take time off at their own expense.

I see what you are getting at and your are correct to a point.

I am a business owner and my business charges XX amount of dollars per month. When your child goes off to college you will pay tuition which will not be reduced because the professor cancelled class because of weather, illness or holiday. My daughters gymnastics club charges me $177 per month. Her class is offered 2x per week which we pay regardless of actual sessions she attends each month or if the class is cancelled for some reason or happens to fall on a holiday.

But, here is the most important thing I can tell you as a provider. READ your contract. If you don't like the terms of the contract, DO NOT sign it. If you sign the contract abide by the terms of said contract and stop complaining.

I will never understand why people continue to question the terms of a contract that they themselves signed!!!

[mac60]

Why? because a daycare provider is self employed. All other self employed people have to take time off at their own expense.

And most other self employed people make a heck of a lot more per hour/per day, etc than I do. Heck, my plumber charges $75 per service call. I guess I could up my fee from $16 per day to hmm, lets say $25 per day, and not charge for those few measly holidays throughout the year, but then, that wouldn't make the parents very happy. So, as a self employed daycare provider, I charge $16 per day and charge whether the child is here or not. You are paying rent on a spot technically, just like renting a home, paying for cable, etc.

[tymaboy]

Or you could remember that providers make $16-$30 a DAY! Which makes $80 -$150 a week. Out of that money that is made is expenses for proper care. How many people make it on the amount of money that providers make a week/day?

[Unregistered]

For a real fun time, parents should ask their CENTER directors about paid holidays. I know of at least one center in our area that is closed for 2 weeks over Christmas and the parents still have to pay. Okay, but then they basically lay off their employees over the Christmas break. Charge the parents but don't pay the employees, a forced 2 weeks with no pay. Of course that little nugget isn't in the contract. Hmmmm, makes the home providers seem a little less sinister and money grubbing.
Read the contract, if you don't agree with their policy move on to a different provider.

[Chickenhauler]

Or you could remember that providers make $16-$30 a DAY! Which makes $80 -$150 a week. Out of that money that is made is expenses for proper care. How many people make it on the amount of money that providers make a week/day?

That's per child....if you have 5 kids in your care, that's $400-$750 per week.

How many people make that kind of money with no commute, can wear sweats and T's to work, and do their laundry/dusting/dishes/etc on the clock?

Add to that, you don't have to pay DC bills for your own kids, and that ain't cheap.

[tymaboy]

That's per child....if you have 5 kids in your care, that's $400-$750 per week.

How many people make that kind of money with no commute, can wear sweats and T's to work, and do their laundry/dusting/dishes/etc on the clock?

Add to that, you don't have to pay DC bills for your own kids, and that ain't cheap.

I have 4 kids & in a good month I make about 1300 a month. I dont know about anyone else but where I live grocery went up & I spend about $200 - $300 every 2 weeks, half of that is for the daycare. Even before grocerys I make a little over $300 a week, which if you think about it after taxes would be a normal paycheck for others. I just have to pay my taxes in one big lump sum at the end of the yr.

[mac60]

My days are 10.75 hours long. On a good week, I make $116 per day. That comes out to $10.79 per hour, minus groceries, electricity, heat, daycare insurance, homeowners insurance which I have to have before I can get dc insurance, supplies for daycare and preschool, wear and tear on my home, replacing things that are broken, my taxes come out of this too. I do an average of 4 to 6 loads of laundry per week that is daycare laundry (blankets, crib bedding, nap stuff, kitchen towels). On my own time after work hours, I do my grocery and supply shopping, cleaning, preschool curriculum planning, organizing and cleaning of daycare area, daycare books, etc. I feed these dc kids 2 of their 3 meals each day.

My utilities, food and home expenses are much higher than if I worked out of the home, and even though I can deduct 40% of my electric bill, that does not cover my useage, and that goes for my heat too, which I keep my home comfortable for my dc.

And I don't wear sweats and T's to work, I am a business and I dress accordingly. So really, how much do I really make in the end after all these expenses are deducted from my $10.79 per hour??????

[tymaboy]

I would also like to add that I normally do not get housework done during DC hours. If I do it is during nap time & at that time I usually dont get it laundry or dishes done cuz I do not want to make too much noise to wake the kids up. Cranky kids are no fun to be around.

[Unregistered]

Question

Jen, I have a question. My kids are currently attending a local daycare facility. In their policies it states which days of the year the daycare will be closed. There was Thanksgiving, but no mention of the day after Thanksgiving. To my surprise I went to drop off my children the day after Thanksgiving and it was closed. Not only was it not in the policies, but it wasn't posted anywhere. I assumed it was a normal day because many people do have to go back to work. I requested to be refunded for that day because it was not in the stated closure dates for the year. I was wondering if there is laws or regulations that oultine closures? I couldn't find anyhting anywhere. I asked you this question because I noticed that you were an owner.

I see what you are getting at and your are correct to a point.

I am a business owner and my business charges XX amount of dollars per month. When your child goes off to college you will pay tuition which will not be reduced because the professor cancelled class because of weather, illness or holiday. My daughters gymnastics club charges me $177 per month. Her class is offered 2x per week which we pay regardless of actual sessions she attends each month or if the class is cancelled for some reason or happens to fall on a holiday.

But, here is the most important thing I can tell you as a provider. READ your contract. If you don't like the terms of the contract, DO NOT sign it. If you sign the contract abide by the terms of said contract and stop complaining.

I will never understand why people continue to question the terms of a contract that they themselves signed!!!

[Chickenhauler]

My days are 10.75 hours long. On a good week, I make $116 per day. That comes out to $10.79 per hour, minus groceries, electricity, heat, daycare insurance, homeowners insurance which I have to have before I can get dc insurance, supplies for daycare and preschool, wear and tear on my home, replacing things that are broken, my taxes come out of this too. I do an average of 4 to 6 loads of laundry per week that is daycare laundry (blankets, crib bedding, nap stuff, kitchen towels). On my own time after work hours, I do my grocery and supply shopping, cleaning, preschool curriculum planning, organizing and cleaning of daycare area, daycare books, etc. I feed these dc kids 2 of their 3 meals each day.

My utilities, food and home expenses are much higher than if I worked out of the home, and even though I can deduct 40% of my electric bill, that does not cover my useage, and that goes for my heat too, which I keep my home comfortable for my dc.

And I don't wear sweats and T's to work, I am a business and I dress accordingly. So really, how much do I really make in the end after all these expenses are deducted from my $10.79 per hour??????

I'm sure you change diapers in pants suits! My MIL probably spends more annually on her wardrobe for the office than I have invested in every piece of clothing I own (and I bet we could add in the wife's wardrobe and still come up short).

Let's not forget that all your DC expenses are tax deductible. If you quit doing DC and worked outside of the home, do you think your utilities would drop by 40%?

Whether you do DC or work in an office, you still have to have heat, electricity, homeowners insurance, and you'd probably pay ALOT more income taxes. One thing you'd miss out on greatly is mileage deductions.....being no longer self employed would mean that you could no longer deduct mileage, which if you keep an accurate accounting of it, is HUGE write-offs.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again....if you're self employed and using your home as a business location and are paying much of anything in income taxes, you're either rolling some serious dough, or you need to find a new CPA.


We're on the food program, which recoups a large chunk of change every month (about 2/3 of the grocery bill).

If you really feel that you're getting the short end of the financial stick, go find another line of work. I know a few who have quit DC and gone into the workplace, and every last one of them thought it was going to be "oh so great" and now they terribly regret doing it.

Where I'm going with this is, it's not the gross that counts, but the net (the amount that's yours to spend on non-business things).

[mac60]

Yea, I know there are tax write offs, I have been doing this for over 10 years. My point was that my day does not end at 5:15 when the kids leave. I/We pay expenses that I am sure the parents don't even think about. Yea, I may get to write off food at the end of the year, but I still have to buy it throughout the year. So while the deductions at the end of the year are nice, I still have to pay my utility bill, buy groceries, pay the insurance premium, put gas in my car to go buy the groceries.

And my accountant has told me, you never want to have a consistent loss, that raises lots of red flags.

If your wife does dc, I would think you of all people would understand what it cost to run a dc week to week. Just last week alone I made a purchase for dc, a kitchen set that cost me $85. Yea, I will be able to deduct that, but I still had to have the cash to pay for it at the store, and make the house payment, buy groceries, pay the electric biill, etc etc. Bottom line is, we put a lot of our income back into the business and the parents don't realize it, or want to understand it. They must think the grocery fairy stops by once a week and drops off food.

[jen]

I have an in-home daycare, not a facility. However, when my son was in a private preschool, there was a death in the family of the owner and preschool was closed. I was still expected to pay full tuition. Which I did without issue.

The problem I would have in your situation would be lack of communication. Did you ask them to show you where in the literature it stated that they were closed? I would think that, had the information not been out there somewhere, many people would have shown up. Have you spoken to any other parents? Were they aware that daycare was closed?

In the end, the answer is always the same. 1. Read the contract and abide by the terms of said contract. 2. If you have an issue with care, discuss it with the provider/director. 3. If you are unhappy with the terms of the contract or with the care of your children, move on.

Jen, I have a question. My kids are currently attending a local daycare facility. In their policies it states which days of the year the daycare will be closed. There was Thanksgiving, but no mention of the day after Thanksgiving. To my surprise I went to drop off my children the day after Thanksgiving and it was closed. Not only was it not in the policies, but it wasn't posted anywhere. I assumed it was a normal day because many people do have to go back to work. I requested to be refunded for that day because it was not in the stated closure dates for the year. I was wondering if there is laws or regulations that oultine closures? I couldn't find anyhting anywhere. I asked you this question because I noticed that you were an owner.

[Chickenhauler]

Yea, I know there are tax write offs, I have been doing this for over 10 years. My point was that my day does not end at 5:15 when the kids leave. I/We pay expenses that I am sure the parents don't even think about. Yea, I may get to write off food at the end of the year, but I still have to buy it throughout the year. So while the deductions at the end of the year are nice, I still have to pay my utility bill, buy groceries, pay the insurance premium, put gas in my car to go buy the groceries.

And my accountant has told me, you never want to have a consistent loss, that raises lots of red flags.

If your wife does dc, I would think you of all people would understand what it cost to run a dc week to week. Just last week alone I made a purchase for dc, a kitchen set that cost me $85. Yea, I will be able to deduct that, but I still had to have the cash to pay for it at the store, and make the house payment, buy groceries, pay the electric biill, etc etc. Bottom line is, we put a lot of our income back into the business and the parents don't realize it, or want to understand it. They must think the grocery fairy stops by once a week and drops off food.

Yup, welcome to operating a small business. You have to think of it as a business, not a job.

DC costs vs expenses, they are quite profitable (the margin) compared to many other small business's. My trucking eats over 50% of it's revenue in fuel alone, and that's before equipment purchase and upkeep, wages, insurance, licensing, etc. Let's not even start on farming..........

And my accountant has told me, you never want to have a consistent loss, that raises lots of red flags.

Our accountant says to write it down to the point where you owe a pittance in taxes, but not show a loss.

Even if you show a loss and throw all kinds of red flags, if all your deductions are legit and all your "T's" are crossed, let them bring the audit. I went through two audits back to back about 8 years ago, and in the end, the IRS employees only gained a paycheck, the IRS gained nothing.

[jen]

Yea, I know there are tax write offs, I have been doing this for over 10 years. My point was that my day does not end at 5:15 when the kids leave. I/We pay expenses that I am sure the parents don't even think about. Yea, I may get to write off food at the end of the year, but I still have to buy it throughout the year. So while the deductions at the end of the year are nice, I still have to pay my utility bill, buy groceries, pay the insurance premium, put gas in my car to go buy the groceries.

And my accountant has told me, you never want to have a consistent loss, that raises lots of red flags.

Here is one way of looking at it...

Most people go to work, earn a paycheck, pay taxes, and use whats left to pay bills.

We go to work, earn our pay, pay our bills, and then get taxed on whats left! How great is that?! Keeps the taxes down and my child support up..and drives my ex-husband batty! Ya gotta love it!