So My Daycare Is Closing. :(

[Unregistered]

My little one is in a wonderful daycare that is run by my employer. I get an amazing 40% discount, all food is provided, because they know my schedule is odd, drop off and pick up is flexible, and it's the first place she hasn't lost her mind when I leave her. I'm in management in another division of the company and knew things weren't going well financially for the childcare center, but they have plans to expand, so wasn't too worried. At pick up yesterday, I was informed that the infant room and my daughter's room is closing effective July 1st. (Luckily, they found other jobs for the teachers.) She said that they're transitioning the kids into the next room a little early and they're not sure how much longer they're going to stay open. The expansion is for the Head Start and Pre-K programs (gov't funded, I guess they get more money than the private pay childcare.) I'm so worried. I don't know if I should start looking for something else or just cross my fingers and pray that when they do close they give me notice. I work for the same company- I can't believe they've been so secretive about everything. I'll never find another center or daycare that is so flexible and inexpensive.

[itlw8]

well yes the money is surely a big part. 40% discount that is what did it. It is a benefit not enjoyed by all employees and a HUGE one at that. It is a rare company that places early childhood education high on the priority list and when it effects the bottom line even rarer. Maybe the employees need to get together and see what the going rate in the area is and then go to management to see what they can do to keep the center in operation. getting rid of or reducing the 40% discount is a good place to start if you want to keep the center.

[Unregistered]

that is actually a really great idea! However, we're union and the discount is considered a benefit, so it would probably take a million steps and forever to change it, but managers are non union so if all of us with kids in agreed to the increase....

I'm curious how much more the Head Start and Pre-K classes bring in. I know they're closed in the summer and for long breaks, and the teachers from childcare that got moved into those rooms mentioned a pay cut. I current gossip is that their going to let our kids age out. That would be awesome!

[cheerfuldom]

Definitely start looking at other options. Sounds like you were getting a great deal there but that is the problem, it costs too much to offer that great deal and the program can no longer sustain itself. Daycare does have a lot of overhead, especially infant rooms where the ratios must be low, so it is a learning experience for you. You will have to find a way to come up with more money to afford daycare.

But don't be too hard on the program.

Kids ARE expensive no matter what way you slice. You pay for them by sending them to daycare or you pay for them by staying home and losing income if you quit your job. Either way, you have to pay. Every parent has to make that choice. I know it is a hard one to make but nothing that most other parents are not experiencing right along with you.

Good luck in your daycare search! Better start now since other families will be looking for the same spots, same area, same time frames. If you find something good, I would just take it and not wait to see what is happening with your company.

[nannyde]

I would start looking now and take a slot as soon as you find something.

You have a very common story. Most home providers that offer low cost and "flexibility" go bust. Usually the parents seek out another low cost flexible slot. The child ends up switching child cares a lot but by the time the kid is five the parent has saved thousands of dollars and gotten the flexibility they wanted.

When the kid goes off to Kindergarten all is forgotten and the parent who does cheap and flexible has way more money than the ones who pay a great wage and stick to a solid schedule so the center can afford the staffing.

Flexible and cheap will close a child care business down quicker than most any other attribute. When you walk out the door the last day don't look at what you are losing. Look at what you have gotten and be grateful you had the experience where you were the recipient of cheap and flexible.

If it makes you feel any better, the average provider has the same experience in reverse. Whenever we score a high paying firm schedule kid it usually only lasts a short while before the parents switch schedules. The switch always involves longer hours for the same money. Often the hours are longer and they are not fixed.

I've been lucky enough to score kids who had parents who worked hours that allowed the arrival to be later in the morning and a soon after nap pick up for the full nine hour slot pay. The rate starts out paying about six bucks an hour. Soon as the parent realizes they can get three more hours a day for the same fee they start asking for earlier drop offs. Before you know it the kid is in care the full nine hours and often that includes a varying schedule to accommodate the parents patchwork of me time and extra work hours.

When I first meet them they swear their kid won't be in daycare a minute more than absolutely necessary. A few months in they realize they don't like having them all morning or they don't like the long afternoons before the other parent gets off of work so they start wanting their full monies worth.

I can predict the escalation of hours before they even start. Once they get a taste of being alone with the baby while the other parent is at work and they have something other than maternity leave newborn care the whole "I don't want to be away from my baby" goes away quickly.

This change of heart and hours always means more hours in care and less hourly rate income. I know on my end to just enjoy the easy money when I get it and feel blessed that I got it for a month or two. You have to do the same. Just be grateful you got cheap and "flexible" for as long as you did. It can't last because what you benefit from they loose. That's only going to go on until they realize they can switch their deal and make more money for less hours that are set (head start). Soon as they can score a deal like you have gotten, they stop offering it.

[Unregistered]

I would start looking now and take a slot as soon as you find something.

You have a very common story. Most home providers that offer low cost and "flexibility" go bust. Usually the parents seek out another low cost flexible slot. The child ends up switching child cares a lot but by the time the kid is five the parent has saved thousands of dollars and gotten the flexibility they wanted.

When the kid goes off to Kindergarten all is forgotten and the parent who does cheap and flexible has way more money than the ones who pay a great wage and stick to a solid schedule so the center can afford the staffing.

Flexible and cheap will close a child care business down quicker than most any other attribute. When you walk out the door the last day don't look at what you are losing. Look at what you have gotten and be grateful you had the experience where you were the recipient of cheap and flexible.

If it makes you feel any better, the average provider has the same experience in reverse. Whenever we score a high paying firm schedule kid it usually only lasts a short while before the parents switch schedules. The switch always involves longer hours for the same money. Often the hours are longer and they are not fixed.

I've been lucky enough to score kids who had parents who worked hours that allowed the arrival to be later in the morning and a soon after nap pick up for the full nine hour slot pay. The rate starts out paying about six bucks an hour. Soon as the parent realizes they can get three more hours a day for the same fee they start asking for earlier drop offs. Before you know it the kid is in care the full nine hours and often that includes a varying schedule to accommodate the parents patchwork of me time and extra work hours.

When I first meet them they swear their kid won't be in daycare a minute more than absolutely necessary. A few months in they realize they don't like having them all morning or they don't like the long afternoons before the other parent gets off of work so they start wanting their full monies worth.

I can predict the escalation of hours before they even start. Once they get a taste of being alone with the baby while the other parent is at work and they have something other than maternity leave newborn care the whole "I don't want to be away from my baby" goes away quickly.

This change of heart and hours always means more hours in care and less hourly rate income. I know on my end to just enjoy the easy money when I get it and feel blessed that I got it for a month or two. You have to do the same. Just be grateful you got cheap and "flexible" for as long as you did. It can't last because what you benefit from they loose. That's only going to go on until they realize they can switch their deal and make more money for less hours that are set (head start). Soon as they can score a deal like you have gotten, they stop offering it.

Oh, I appreciate every minute she spent. Like I said, it was the first place she went where she was happy and didn't cry when I dropped her off. The teachers were awesome and I feel horrible that they had to be displaced to other jobs.

I will add that I never got a discount for my change in hours. She was also with grandma one day a week and I paid the same rate as everyone else in the program- it was automatically taken from my check each pay period. I'll miss that too- never having to worry about forgetting or being late with a payment. It really was the best situation. Oh well, off to search. At least I only have 2 years left of daycare before I have to think about the search for kindy!