Originally Posted by Shell:
Guess I'm the odd man out here, but I have given other reasons to avoid conflict. I think about what hours and days a parent needs, and then I give a reason why I can't accommodate it- changing business hours that I know they can't make work (and then actually changing it). I've also been known to over emphasize a side job or continuing education classes, and I just make sure there is no way they can make it work. My latest term I blamed on no longer taking full timers- which is true. I am only taking part timers from now on, but I knew it was a deal breaker since dcm needed full time. I agree, parents don't like being broken up with. But, I don't like conflict, so I just leave it with an excuse that can't be argued, negotiated, etc. That's my advice: think about what would be a deal breaker for them (closing early, only a few days a week, whatever it is) and come up with a good and logical reason why you can't provide it anymore. IMO, sometimes being truthful leads to a parent trying to negotiate, get you to feel bad for them, apologize- I try to avoid all that.
I have also changed business hours to get rid of problematic families. The shorter schedule was nice, as well, and eventually I went back to my old schedule/created a new schedule to accommodate a new family.