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Blackcat31 07:46 AM 02-13-2014
Now that we've moved on to paid training days/in-service days....I'd like to add that in order for me to do my job and continue caring for your (general you) child I must attend xx amount of training hours per year.

I have to pay for these trainings out of pocket. Travel, meals and whatever else it entails. I also pay for these trainings with loss of personal time with MY family...so that I can continue to offer quality and legal care to client families.

I work 50-55 hours per week ON SITE and another 10 or so after hours and on weekends. Running errands, cleaning and keeping my environment up to code.

I can deduct some of those expenses and claim a little bit of my time (although, how do you place a price tag on loss of time with your own DH or child) but for all intents and purposes the IRS allows me a break in some of those costs/expenses.

I charge my families for days I am not open for business. It's not always about that particular day and who it is or isn't fair to. It's about the bigger picture.

I work MUCH longer days/weeks than my clients and when it's all said and done.... I make a small profit.

Not a ton, and certainly not the kind of money people who work in other fields that require the same training, degree, and/or knowledge.

I don't bring home the big bucks...I don't own a home on some tropical island where the sun shines all the time. I don't drive a giant SUV that has a gas tank bigger than my kitchen. I don't wear designer clothing and my purses do NOT say Coach or Dooney & Burke.

I live pay check to pay check and my only real plans for retirement is death or the lottery...which ever happens first.... Not because I don't want a retirement plan but because I can NOT afford one.

I have too many parents complaining about having to pay a few dollars more when it snows so that they can feel like it is fair to them.

Like I said in my previous post.....I know you want fair. I know you are looking for justification but honestly, it isn't about fair and it isn't about what you or me or anyone else thinks is morally and/or ethically right or wrong.

It's about the big picture. It's about being happy OVERALL with the care you receive....even if that care is temporarily unavailable when it snows....

If you are genuinely happy with the services you receive, let it go. Pay for the few extra days that winter is hard on folks. Pay for the snow days and let it roll off your back because technically there are worse things going on in the world of early childhood and child care that ARE worthy of this kind of attention and discussion.

Be happy that you have a place you can trust 100% with the care of your child. If paying for a snow day here and there helps your provider stay in business and continue running in the black....great!

If collecting fees for snow days is a big money maker then your daycare has stumbled upon a gold mine and more power to them because we all know (atleast those of us on the providing end) this profession is NOT a gold mine....

Most of the providers I know here and in real life would qualify for government assistance.

So all in all, thank you for the parent perspective. Thank you for the good debate (I too love a good one ) but I am signing off this thread by offering you this.

Life is a give and take. Sometimes we have to be the givers. If it paints a better, prettier picture in the grand scheme of it all, it's all good.

Even if it isn't fair at the moment.
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