Originally Posted by professionalmom:
They may be different, but it's the train of thought that I was referring to. For instance, if the provider is willing to make an exception and stay open another hour so the mom can go to the gym, then there will come a day when the mom needs to run a quick errand and will think, "oh, DCP didn't mind staying open for an extra hour for me, so another 10 minutes won't matter while I go do this one errand." Then the next time it may be an errand that will only take 15 minutes, then 20, and so on until there is another hour tacked on just for errands. The train of thought is, "you didn't mind giving an exception for this, so why would it matter if you made another tiny exception." Then it becomes, "you didn't mind this or that, so what's the problem NOW?"
Plus, by setting the relationship up in the beginning with making this parent your "special" client that you are giving exceptions to, you are saying that the contract is completely negotiable and that the mom can changes things at HER will, not the provider's. And as another provider has pointed out, when you give an exception, the parent does see it as an "exception". The parent sees it as "THE" normal terms. Then they may (in my experience, WILL) try to get you to bend these terms.
i dunno - the mom did mention it during the interview so that tells me she's not oblivious to the provider's schedule. otherwise, she would've just mentioned it later or showed up late. errands can be done once a week or during a lunch break. doctor's appointments are something that comes up every blue moon. working out is something a lot of people do every day and it can't be done during lunch if you don't want to go back to work sweaty. i guess everyone's opinion would depend on whether or not they work out too. some people don't and they wouldn't understand. some people do it every day so they'd be able to understand it. whether or not they take advantage of the situation is up to the provider. if the time is 5 then it's 5. if they want to go shopping then they can skip the workout and pick up by 5.