I am a daycare provider, and I just happened to come to the parent forum and although I didn't read all the responses, I read the posters comment and I have a couple things I'd like to say to parents.

When I began daycare in 1997 (the first time), I started out charging by the hour and quickly learned that parents were taking advantage of ME...dck going to grandma's for the day, etc. There was no way I could budget my business like that so I went to a flat contractual fee, which is due whether the child is in care or not.

What that entails, and here is an example. My hourly fee is 2.50 per hour. I charge $90.00 per week full (30-45 hours per week). If you work 40 hours per week, plus 30 minutes each way to transport, maximum time would come to 45 hours, meaning you're only paying 2.00 per hour instead of the 2.50...so it's actually cheaper if you go by contract and helps to cover those days your child is going to be missing due to illness.

I also allow each child to 'earn' one free day for each month of care they receive so as to allow them to build credit for times they may be out ill.

BUT...the situation with the poster is that they 'assumed' they were terminated after 10 days of no care. THEN WHY DID THEY GO BACK TO THE DAYCARE AFTER 5 WEEKS THINKING THEY SHOULD HAVE A SPOT AVAILABLE TO THEM!!!!!! And then blame the provider because she didn't tell them they had been terminated!!!!

Sounds to me as though they just showed up, expecting to continue care as if they had not been gone for 10 days and without having to pay for it. I'm sure if the provider had decided to terminate them and was not expecting them back that she would only have charged for the 10 days. But since the family showed up after 5 weeks, expecting to continue care...then yes, they still owe for that time as far as I'm concerned.

Now the part that upsets me is where the poster said their child got sick at the daycare home. Am I to assume this child lived in a bubble and never went any place else other than the daycare, therefor the ONLY possible way he could have picked up the illness was from daycare!!!! There is absolutely no way to tell WHERE this child became ill, where he picked up the germs...grocery store, library, cousin's house, bank, park, McDonald's...any place!!!

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