You sound like you are in a fairly similar situation as me, however I am not paying for full week increments while she is out. My daycare has personal days, vacation days and holidays all paid...which is fine and like you I have to leave early on several days to accomidate her schedule, especially in the fall when she is coaching athletics. However the situation I'm currently in is that she is off due to surgery and she hasn't watched my kids for 4 weeks and is out through December but she is still charging me for Thanks Giving and Christmas. I truly believe that daycares need to be paid for these things but not when their daycare isn't running. I had to arrange childcare for 2 months for my child where I have to pay holidays to that daycare while my other daycare is closed for two months and charging me holidays. I just think that is unreasonable. I think you comments and what you posted were very professional and considerate. I understand where you are coming from. Unfornetly I don't have a good answer because I bite my tongue and just pay her in these situations. My daycare has been watching my kids for almost 10 years (3 kids) and I love her...and the reason I bite my tongue is the very few times I've asked her questions she gets upset...which is out of charater for her so i just leave it. But with my current situation in the back of my head I'm thinking in this economy how can I pay her and then pay another daycare...it's not like I'm pulling in loads of money here to double pay. I hope things work out for you.
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Perhaps, because I was asking a specific question, I left out the part where I mention how much I do appreciate having steady, safe care for my daughter. The provider and I have not seen eye to eye on all issues pertaining to my daughter, however I believe this is to be expected in any case.
I respect my provider and feel that I reflect that to her by always, always, always paying her on time and never requesting more from her than I would expect from others I work with. I never take my child to daycare if she is sick, even if it is a cough or runny nose because it puts her and the other children at risk of catching it. In addition, I make myself available to pick up early and drop off late as needed to accommodate her life (again, which is to be expected since we all have appointments).
I also want to mention that my husband is self-employed, so I am certainly aware of how hard it can be when time is taken off for illness, appointments, etc. however we understand that this also means no income for that time. Again, my question is related to additional time off above and beyond holidays, previously taken time off for medical reasons, and days when I keep my daughter at home with me which I am happy to pay for. I guess the posting that states that as parents we can "like it or leave it" bothers me because I like to think that I have a working relationship with my provider and that my child means a little more than just a paycheck, however I know that we all have to pay our bills. Please forgive if I seemed insensitive...