I am a daycare provider and so is friend...she does a weekly rate..you pay that rate that no matter what..on holidays that her parents have off like today they still bring their kids for a full day..would it be wrong to have something in the contract saying
She only provides care for the parents when they are working?? What are your thoughts?? She feels bad taking some of the less popular holidays off but today 4 out 5 parents had it off and they still all brought their kids ..she wants to be a available for the parents that work these holidays but gets a little frustrated when parents bring their kids when they are getting a paid holiday ..thoughts?? Thankyou !!

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You are your own boss and can offer whatever service, including days and hours, that you choose. If you want them and can get clients who accept that as their contract, then you should do it, There are 10 federal holidays. Most day cares here are closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, Labor Day and Memorial Day, leaving 5 days a year for parents to go to the dentist (2 times per year), doctor, mammogram, etc. and other appointments where a parent cannot supervise a young child). But, if it bothers you, put what you want in your contract. You are the one in control.

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I agree that it is up to what you want in your contract. I don't care what parents do when I am open and they are paying. I do like it when they spend time with their kids, but we can't force that. If I am closed, then I am closed. Around here though, days like Columbus day everyone works and school is in session. If I closed for all the days that say the post office closes, I wouldn't have any kids.

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The frustration felt when kids are sent to us so that parents can have "me time" just goes with the biz. Trust me, we've all felt annoyed and thought that the parents are just lazy. But if your friend's daycare is open, why worry about what the parents are doing? She's making money in exchange for watching kids...the entire purpose of her business.

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while it is frustrating the only solution to this is to not have them pay for days that you are closed or write into your contract paid days off each year that you will be closed. otherwise expect children to be there if you are open.


you cant control what people do. As long as I am being paid on time, I don't care what my parents are doing outside of my program. Of course, I care if they are also following my rules as well, other than that, it's their loss that they didn't get to spend a day with their awesome kid.

then again, some parents may truly need a break, I don't know or even want to know what goes on in their personal lives, but I am sure everyone could use a break from time to time, I know I could.

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My thought is each provider should do what is best for them and follow their contract. If they are only available for working hours then they should refuse to care for children when the parents are off.

I base my business on what I want.

So, today I was closed. I did not care which parents whined they did not know if they could get the day off. I heard sob stories and my reaction remained, “It’s a holiday for me. You’ll do what parents do best and figure it out.”

I don’t allow parents to burden with their sh!t.

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If I'm open, I'm open. I don't care what the parents are doing. I have my mil babysit so I can have me time once a week. I don't judge. As long as they pay me and follow my rules, I don't worry about anything else

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The one thing I've learned is that you have to take care of you, no one else will.

If you want time off, take it. Parents are not being mean or evil or "selfish" (usually) by sending their kids to day care when they are off work. They are likely thinking that it would be nice to get things done with out littles under foot, or that their kids might enjoy playing with friends better than hanging with mom and dad (my own child used to hate days off of dc) etc.
Most parents are probably thinking that, as a business owner, if you wanted the day off, you would be off.

I was off yesterday, with pay.

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I think she should tell all of her parents that she is closed for the holiday if she wants it off. She can then tell the ONE parent that may need her that if they are unable to find alternate care, that she can watch that ONE child. Let that one parent know that if she shares with the other parents, this deal will go out the window.

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She can make whatever schedule she wants, but she cannot control what parents do when they leave their kid and go. I only work for working parents, so if they work 8-4, those are the hours I provide care. If they bring dck and skip work to go do appointments or whatever, I can't really control that, because chances are they are not going to tell me (even though it is easy to figure out when they show up in jammies or sweatapnts )

If she know now that most of her dcp have the day off, she could amend her contract for the following year. Take note of the days they all seem to have off and add them into next years contract. If parents give grief, just say that you noticed most parents had the day off, so you don't feel it is necessary to stay open when most parents are not working. (You could also say to the ones that need care that you will help them out, but at time and a half or twice the usual daily rate) Most likely, they will not want to pay it, so they will find grandma or someone else to watch for that one day.

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Open hours are open hours. The parents are paying for a service. If she is charging all the parents the same, either she is opened or closed. Yes, it's frustrating, but the parents paid for a service she agreed to provide. If she wants to change her rules ot only work time or taking off certain holidays, she should write a new contract and do it, but don't be surprised if parents don't agree with it or send their kids elsewhere.

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One of the things that really bothers me with this "should we have to work when parents are off?" mentality is that it stems from the idea that the parent is the boss and tells you when to work and gives you time off.

They don't.

Once you get rid of that mindset, you will be much happier.

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Some providers have paid vacation, sick days, etc. Others don't. Check out with other area providers to compare. There was a time 3 FCC providers in my area had 1wk paid vacation, 1 wk paid sick, took all 10 federal holidays. The other end some have "no stay, no pay" policy.

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I close when I want or need to close.

The schedules of my clients plays no role in that decision.

As for providing care for certain families on certain days and not being available for other parents the same day.... Meh, I've done it before.

Some parents I KNOW have no one else while others I know are simply trying to spend as little amount of time with their kids as possible.

Right now I have a family with 3 kids that wants to use Fridays.
They don't "need" Friday care but since I am open they "want" care.

I said no. (I have my reasons as to why I said no) but I said no and have NO qualms about still being open for others.

The way I see it, I don't care why parents use my services 99.9% of the time. I don't care if they go home and sleep every day while I have their kids. It's part of the business in general buuuuuut

with that being said, part of the business is also being able to choose when I do and don't want to work. and for whom.

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