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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>It Was Inevitable!
E Daycare 11:44 AM 07-12-2011
Ok so my first client when I opened last year was my husband's coworkers son. They moved out of the country in November of last year and then had to come back to due visa issues. They are here temporarily so the mom didnt get a job as they are looking to move back once the citizenship goes through correctly. Anyways shes been bringing over the son once a week or so for a playdate for 2hrs. Thats been fine. Ill never go over ratio and I dont care really. Lo and behold she emails me this weekend wanting me to watch her kid. We havent been on a professional level in almost a year so I was caught off guard but in a way I was kinda waiting for the ball to drop.

Who else has friends that figure since you watch kids youre automatically open to watching their kids too? I know the whole "dont mix business with pleasure" crap 'cause I booted another friend thinking I would provide FREE daycare and she became demanding. E dont play that. These people are willing to pay my drop in rate which is nice but its like come on cant I just be the friend that has a daycare and not the one who seems to not have anything better to do? I almost dont want to tell new moms I meet that I run a daycare because Im afraid itll turn into the "hey can you watch suzie" and crap. Yeah its my choice to say no but WHY does everyone assume its ok to ask if I can babysit? Im gonna start every answer to the "what do you do?" question with "I run a daycare BUT DONT DO FAVORS FOR ANYONE".

Maybe I can make that into a shirt.

My husband has this issue too so I shouldnt complain I guess. He was a cop in the military and then did DOD computer security his last 4yrs so everyone asks every question about being in the military, how to shoot a gun and "my computer does this...". He currently works for a major bank as a senior threat management analyst for the banks computers and has a few clearances. EVERY family member or friend asks this poor guy to fix or look at or buy them a computer. His answer is (as should be mine): "If you can pay me what my company does per hour then SURE ill look at it!"

That should be a shirt too!

Im just tired of being that friend that babysits.
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AfterSchoolMom 12:49 PM 07-12-2011
Amen! I totally agree. My biggest problem isn't friends asking me to babysit during my regular hours, it's them asking me to babysit outside of my regular hours. I wish sometimes that they'd look at it from my perspective.

BTW, my dh has a computer related job too, and is constantly getting computer questions from my family.
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PeanutsGalore 12:55 PM 07-12-2011
At least you're not a general practitioner! Can you imagine what sort of nastiness you'd be asked to diagnosis if that were the case!


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daycare 01:08 PM 07-12-2011
When people ask what I do I tell them I teach a private preschool program from
My house I'm running a great promotion right now on rates do you know of anyone who's interested?
Usually they say no!!! Lol
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Christian Mother 02:33 PM 07-12-2011
I get it all the time and also from family. But, I know when to step in and say that this is my biz. Not something I do on the side or just for fun or for free for that matter. Although no one has to know that staying home with my kids and taking care of others is ABSOLUTELY fun!! heheh LOL!! I love it...but

I make it a point to point out my services are not free. There are special times that I will allow my child to have a friend over but that is only on special cases.
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Crazy8 05:32 PM 07-12-2011
oh, if only I had a dime for every time a friend/neighbor says "since you are home anyway...."

I put a stop to it with 2 friends and I was a little upset to find that the phone calls stopped once they knew I wasn't their free babysitter. I guess being a friend just wasn't enough.
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PolarCare 05:45 PM 07-12-2011
I just tell them all that I'll be glad to, and that for tax reasons and food program reasons they have to be under contract. They get a packet and I highlite my drop in/evening rates. That's usually the end of that.

This just in, just because "I'm home anyway" doesn't mean I don't have anything to do. I'm actually usually pretty busy.
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DBug 10:42 AM 07-13-2011
Originally Posted by E Daycare:


My husband has this issue too so I shouldnt complain I guess. He was a cop in the military and then did DOD computer security his last 4yrs so everyone asks every question about being in the military, how to shoot a gun and "my computer does this...". He currently works for a major bank as a senior threat management analyst for the banks computers and has a few clearances. EVERY family member or friend asks this poor guy to fix or look at or buy them a computer. His answer is (as should be mine): "If you can pay me what my company does per hour then SURE ill look at it!"

That should be a shirt too!
Thinkgeek.com (I think that's the right site) has a t-shirt that says "No, I won't fix your computer." My hubby's a computer guy too, and he gets the questions ALL the time. "So ... you work with computers for the government? I should have you look at my laptop sometime." Like he's looking for the opportunity to fix someone's computer for free

With the daycare, it's the same thing. People just assume that because we're friends (more like acquaintances in most instances), I'll automatically have a spot for them, won't need them to sign a contract, can open earlier/close later for them, and most of all, I'll really enjoy watching THEIR child just because he/she is THEIR child.

I secretly enjoy saying, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm full right now, and besides that, my hours wouldn't work for you. Why not give Miss X down the street? She might have space."
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JaydensMommy 11:11 AM 07-13-2011
My sis-in-law does this to me. She'll have my mom watch her girls for a few days, but since my mom works for about 4 hrs a day she assumes since i run a daycare that my mom can drop her off at my house while she goes to work.. I love my nieces but I don't like them to assume that I can watch them because I have " a daycare".
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Tags:parent - unrealistic expectations, provider - friends
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