Soiled Underwear in Day Care Centers

[Childminder]

Well said Daycare mommy! This post is going nowhere and I'm not sure why I clicked on it again. I guess to see why it has continued for so long.

[QualiTcare]

"$175 is unheard of here (4 year degree or not)."

175 is unheard of here too BECAUSE there are no daycare directors or workers who have a degree at all, much less a degree in the field.

the requirements are typically a GED and pass a background check.

so, if you DO have a degree in the field - there will be parents who value education and a small teacher/child ratio who will pay it.

the first parent who signed up with me said she was paying $186 at a "chain" daycare (the same one i used to work for) and they had too many kids, too much turnover, etc.

so, if someone will pay $175 (or more) to a daycare that keeps as many kids as they possibly, legally can - then why wouldn't you think they would pay you as much? i don't know how many kids you keep, but i guess the fact i only keep 4 may be part of the enticement since i actually have time to pay attention to their kids.

[Daycare Mommy]

you don't have to clean the clothes, but why would you hand a parent a bag with a turd in it?

if you're handling poopy underwear to the point where you're bagging them and tying them up to send home - there's not much extra work involved in shaking the turd out over the toilet!

and since you insist on repeating your yearly salary - did u miss the part where i said i made SEVEN dollars and then eight at the daycare where i worked?

so, obviously, it's less to do with money, and more to do with class. maybe you think you're too classy to deal with poopie (which is where i say get another job), but i say i'm too classy to hand a parent a bag of poop!

Okay. I don't even feel the need to respond to parts of this. Reread the above responses by me. I DO shake the poop into the toilet. I DO clean poo from child and floor, cot, etc. I DO NOT rinse or scrub stuck on poop from underwear. You have my reasoning in the above posts.

"$175 is unheard of here (4 year degree or not)."

175 is unheard of here too BECAUSE there are no daycare directors or workers who have a degree at all, much less a degree in the field.

the requirements are typically a GED and pass a background check.

so, if you DO have a degree in the field - there will be parents who value education and a small teacher/child ratio who will pay it.

the first parent who signed up with me said she was paying $186 at a "chain" daycare (the same one i used to work for) and they had too many kids, too much turnover, etc.

so, if someone will pay $175 (or more) to a daycare that keeps as many kids as they possibly, legally can - then why wouldn't you think they would pay you as much? i don't know how many kids you keep, but i guess the fact i only keep 4 may be part of the enticement since i actually have time to pay attention to their kids.

It seems you have a corner on the market in your area. We aren't all so fortunate. Degreed providers are more common here. We have at least 5 degreed home providers and I'm sure that there are more that I haven't heard about since not everyone brings their education up every chance they get. They charge at the top of the going rates I mentioned, $135. I'm not sure why they don't charge more. Perhaps it's too much competition or perhaps it's that they aren't in this for the money.

[Vesta]

"
175 is unheard of here too BECAUSE there are no daycare directors or workers who have a degree at all, much less a degree in the field.

the requirements are typically a GED and pass a background check.

so, if you DO have a degree in the field - there will be parents who value education and a small teacher/child ratio who will pay it.


but i guess the fact i only keep 4 may be part of the enticement since i actually have time to pay attention to their kids.

OR
$175 is unheard of because the local economy won't support it.
Where I live $175 a week would get you laughed out of town, because we have an extremely depressed local economy where a majority of the kids go to state funded pre-k and head start programs.
If you want to clean out poopy underwear, go for it. Just don't assume that those of who don't are undereducated fops who don't have time to properly "pay attention to their kids" because we are all keeping 30 placated in front of the television.

[QualiTcare]

Okay. I don't even feel the need to respond to parts of this. Reread the above responses by me. I DO shake the poop into the toilet. I DO clean poo from child and floor, cot, etc. I DO NOT rinse or scrub stuck on poop from underwear. You have my reasoning in the above posts.




It seems you have a corner on the market in your area. We aren't all so fortunate. Degreed providers are more common here. We have at least 5 degreed home providers and I'm sure that there are more that I haven't heard about since not everyone brings their education up every chance they get. They charge at the top of the going rates I mentioned, $135. I'm not sure why they don't charge more. Perhaps it's too much competition or perhaps it's that they aren't in this for the money.

charging more doesn't mean you are "in it for the money." it's all about the market you're targeting. why keep 7 kids at $100 each when you can keep 4 kids for $175? sure, the economy is bad, but there are always people out there that have money to burn no matter how bad it gets for everyone else. if i could advertise for $175 and get customers - why wouldn't i charge that much?!

face it - everyone who keeps children does it for the money to some extent - otherwise, childcare would be FREE!

[QualiTcare]

OR
$175 is unheard of because the local economy won't support it.
Where I live $175 a week would get you laughed out of town, because we have an extremely depressed local economy where a majority of the kids go to state funded pre-k and head start programs.
If you want to clean out poopy underwear, go for it. Just don't assume that those of who don't are undereducated fops who don't have time to properly "pay attention to their kids" because we are all keeping 30 placated in front of the television.

if you're going to quote me, why not quote the entire thing? you took what i said out of context.

i was SPECIFICALLY comparing pricing and ability to pay attention to the kids with chain daycares, but i think you know that.

[jen]

Ewwww...so, speaking of solied undies...

My dcg, 3, clearly had a case of explosive poo! OMG! Yuck! All the way down her legs. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of said mess, I thought she simply wet (seriously, no smell AT ALL and just looked a little wet in the front) I sent her in to the bathroom to take off her jeans while I got her some clean clothes. In the 10 seconds she wasn't in there, POOP! Everywhere! Yikes! I sanitized the bathroom, gave her a shower, and bagged her nasty clothes and left them outside for Mom and Dad, who will no doubt throw the whole thing in my (outside) garbage can on the way out.

[Daycare Mommy]

face it - everyone who keeps children does it for the money to some extent - otherwise, childcare would be FREE!

No, we aren't all in this for the money. Some of us are doing this to be home for our own kids. Some of us are in this because they love children and/or teaching and this is a wonderful way to make a positive impact on the world. And, yes (provided we are not independently wealthy) we HAVE to make a living at the same time or we would lose our homes and starve to death. Childcare can't be free anyway. It costs money to do this job. Someone, (parent, provider, or state) is paying for the food, activities, house, equipment, power, etc.

[Daycare Mommy]

Ewwww...so, speaking of solied undies...

My dcg, 3, clearly had a case of explosive poo! OMG! Yuck! All the way down her legs. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of said mess, I thought she simply wet (seriously, no smell AT ALL and just looked a little wet in the front) I sent her in to the bathroom to take off her jeans while I got her some clean clothes. In the 10 seconds she wasn't in there, POOP! Everywhere! Yikes! I sanitized the bathroom, gave her a shower, and bagged her nasty clothes and left them outside for Mom and Dad, who will no doubt throw the whole thing in my (outside) garbage can on the way out.

Yikes! What a way to kick off the week! Hope tomorrow is better for you.

[jen]

Thanks!

I was right...Daddy said, Ewwww, I'm throwing this AWAY! Jeans and all...

[jen]

No, we aren't all in this for the money. Some of us are doing this to be home for our own kids. Some of us are in this because they love children and/or teaching and this is a wonderful way to make a positive impact on the world. And, yes (provided we are not independently wealthy) we HAVE to make a living at the same time or we would lose our homes and starve to death. Childcare can't be free anyway. It costs money to do this job. Someone, (parent, provider, or state) is paying for the food, activities, house, equipment, power, etc.

Uhmmm...she did say, "to some extent." How is that any different than what you just wrote???

[Vesta]

"$175 is unheard of here (4 year degree or not)."

175 is unheard of here too BECAUSE there are no daycare directors or workers who have a degree at all, much less a degree in the field.

the requirements are typically a GED and pass a background check.

so, if you DO have a degree in the field - there will be parents who value education and a small teacher/child ratio who will pay it.

the first parent who signed up with me said she was paying $186 at a "chain" daycare (the same one i used to work for) and they had too many kids, too much turnover, etc.

so, if someone will pay $175 (or more) to a daycare that keeps as many kids as they possibly, legally can - then why wouldn't you think they would pay you as much? i don't know how many kids you keep, but i guess the fact i only keep 4 may be part of the enticement since i actually have time to pay attention to their kids.

Okay so I'll quote the whole thing this time, incase someone missed it the other times it was quoted.

NO ONE in my area, center, home provider (okay, maybe some nannies do, but that's different) charges more than $30 a day.
The most popular (number wise) centers in my area are mostly propped up by state aid children.
There are no chain daycares in the area, they are all privately owned and operated. At least two that I know of have directors/owners with their Masters in ECE and both of them are active on a state level. Both of their facilities cater to lower income families and state reimbursement for this area is $22 a day.
Also to be a lead teacher at the centers a person must have 60 hours of college six of which being ECE (which is crap when they turn around and pay them all of $8 an hour). But it is what it is.
The most expensive center here has a nice name attached to it that parents look to as a status symbol. That's why they continue to take their children there, pay $150 a week, and have their children herded together in clumps of 30.

So.
I'm happy that you can charge parents the unheard of rate of $175, even though it's cheaper than the chain you worked for charging $186.
For the $2.50 an hour I make before expenses, a parent, paying me that $2.50 an hour (tons of money), will get their child's dirty underwear in a double sealed plastic bag. No formed feces, but I'm not rinsing the underwear. I will clean the child up and change them into fresh clothes, but I'm not doing their laundry.
I do like Nannyde's idea of $5 a swirl (but of course the parent's wouldn't pony up that type of money).

[QualiTcare]

Okay so I'll quote the whole thing this time, incase someone missed it the other times it was quoted.

NO ONE in my area, center, home provider (okay, maybe some nannies do, but that's different) charges more than $30 a day.
The most popular (number wise) centers in my area are mostly propped up by state aid children.
There are no chain daycares in the area, they are all privately owned and operated. At least two that I know of have directors/owners with their Masters in ECE and both of them are active on a state level. Both of their facilities cater to lower income families and state reimbursement for this area is $22 a day.
Also to be a lead teacher at the centers a person must have 60 hours of college six of which being ECE (which is crap when they turn around and pay them all of $8 an hour). But it is what it is.
The most expensive center here has a nice name attached to it that parents look to as a status symbol. That's why they continue to take their children there, pay $150 a week, and have their children herded together in clumps of 30.

So.
I'm happy that you can charge parents the unheard of rate of $175, even though it's cheaper than the chain you worked for charging $186.
For the $2.50 an hour I make before expenses, a parent, paying me that $2.50 an hour (tons of money), will get their child's dirty underwear in a double sealed plastic bag. No formed feces, but I'm not rinsing the underwear. I will clean the child up and change them into fresh clothes, but I'm not doing their laundry.
I do like Nannyde's idea of $5 a swirl (but of course the parent's wouldn't pony up that type of money).

we'll have to agree to disagree, but in my opinion, you simply supported my point.

the educated providers who don't charge more than $30 a day are supported by state funds and large numbers of children - from what you said.

so, i don't find anything outlandish about an educated person with an "unheard of rate" along with an "unheard of ratio" charging $35 per day.

if it were up to me, considering that the first five years of a child's life are the most important - EVERYONE caring for children from birth - age 5 would have to be educated. afterall, you have to be educated to teach children in kindergarten and beyond (age 5 and UP) so why the standards are so low for the most important part of a child's life makes no sense to me, but that's just MY opinion. if kindergarten or 10th grade teachers simply needed a HS diploma - people would be up in arms, but for childcare, it's different - regardless of the FACTS that the first years of a child's life are the most important.

i think of it this way - i would pay $5 extra (probably a LOT more) for a licensed dentist or doctor who is educated in the field to perform work on me vs. someone who graduated high school, but claims to love dentistry or medicine.

why would it be any different for the person caring for/educating your child? i would pay $5 more for a licensed professional to care for my child vs. a high school graduate who can give me their word, but i guess that's a crazy way of thinking. consider me (and at least four other people in town) officially nuts.

[Daycare Mommy]

Uhmmm...she did say, "to some extent." How is that any different than what you just wrote???

Maybe poorly explained.. I wrote a long response and deleted it accidentally and then tried unsuccessfully to sum it up. First off I think she took it that I'm accusing her of being in it just for the money or maybe that I was generalizing about all providers. I don't know, but for whatever reason that tiny part of my multipart response was all she acknowledged. I was just speculating why the providers here who have the higher education where I live don't try to raise their rates. Some providers aren't concerned with getting the very most they possibly can simply because they don't need that much money. (in some cases the husband's income may cover most or all expenses) So after that why try to make a huge profit? Some people will max out what they charge and some people choose not to. It's just the way it is. No judgement there. Just a fact.

I guess we're looking at a little differently. Maybe you're technically right, but I meant that I don't run a daycare because it's the most I can make. I made better money before entering daycare and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. I'm "in this" for the difference I'm making. I'm "in this" to make sure 5 other moms and dads can go work and have peace of mind that their child is well cared for. I'm "in this" because I love working with kids. That's more important than money to me. If I was just out to make as much as I could, I never would've left the office job. Money was much better there and the hours much shorter. That would be where I'd go if I was "in it for the money."

[Daycare Mommy]

if it were up to me, considering that the first five years of a child's life are the most important - EVERYONE caring for children from birth - age 5 would have to be educated. afterall, you have to be educated to teach children in kindergarten and beyond (age 5 and UP) so why the standards are so low for the most important part of a child's life makes no sense to me, but that's just MY opinion. if kindergarten or 10th grade teachers simply needed a HS diploma - people would be up in arms, but for childcare, it's different - regardless of the FACTS that the first years of a child's life are the most important.

Well, thank God it ISN'T up to you. Just because the first 5 years are important does not mean that a degree is needed to bring a child through with flying colors. Parents, other family members, and daycare providers without degrees do this every day up to age 5 and beyond.