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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Hours In Care & Lingering DCM
ImaginationKids 11:24 AM 01-16-2014
My hours are 7:30-5:30 for my in-home daycare, but these hours are to allow parents flexibility in their drop off & pick up times in their contract. I'm wanting to change my rate to cover 8 hours, not the full 10 that I'm open as parents have begun dropping off sooner & picking up later than the time agreed to in their contract (though it is still within my hours of operation). How many of you offer more than an 8 hour contracted day? I started my daycare so I could be home with my child & the more time kids are here, the less time I have to give him some 1-on-1. I'm also having issues with parents showing up right at my closing time & signing their child out then, but then lingering for as long as a half hour or more to play with their child, chit chat, etc. I feel this should be done during my open hours. Advice please! I have only been doing this 18 months & I want to be sure I'm not being unfair to DC parents or myself.
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daycarediva 11:32 AM 01-16-2014
I do 10 hours contracted. 8 hour work day, plus commute.

You have sooo many options.

I would do contracted care for the hours they need, asap.

You could do bc's rate chart with lower rates for early pick ups.

You are going to have to put your foot down on the staying late. No other way around that. I start closing blinds, picking up last minute things, getting out the vacuum, handing them all of their items and if need be, I have had the kid dressed (shoes on, too) and ready to go at pick up time and have opened the door with a "See you tomorrow!"

I also have my 8yo ds trained to come ask "What's for dinner?" when my last client gets here. Then I can do the "Oh sorry, can't talk. Gotta feed the kids!"
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Lucy 11:34 AM 01-16-2014
Originally Posted by daycarediva:

I also have my 8yo ds trained to come ask "What's for dinner?" when my last client gets here. Then I can do the "Oh sorry, can't talk. Gotta feed the kids!"
That is soooo awesome!!!!
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melilley 11:38 AM 01-16-2014
Originally Posted by daycarediva:
I do 10 hours contracted. 8 hour work day, plus commute.

You have sooo many options.

I would do contracted care for the hours they need, asap.

You could do bc's rate chart with lower rates for early pick ups.

You are going to have to put your foot down on the staying late. No other way around that. I start closing blinds, picking up last minute things, getting out the vacuum, handing them all of their items and if need be, I have had the kid dressed (shoes on, too) and ready to go at pick up time and have opened the door with a "See you tomorrow!"

I also have my 8yo ds trained to come ask "What's for dinner?" when my last client gets here. Then I can do the "Oh sorry, can't talk. Gotta feed the kids!"

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hope 11:39 AM 01-16-2014
I have changed my hours over the years and parents that wanted to stay have made arrangements to pick up earlier. I used to be open from 7am till 6pm. After having a few clients with 4pm pick ups I changed over to 4:30 close time.
I too have trouble Le with the parents that stay to chit chat. One mother likes to sit on my couch and play with her kid instead of going home. If I start to make dinner she will sit at my kitchen table and talk as I cook. I have tried various things but never really out my foot down as needed.
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BrooklynM 11:41 AM 01-16-2014
I'm open from 6:15am- 5:30pm. I only have 1 that stays until 5:30 and he is ready to go and I carry him to the door and hand him off! Of course he doesn't start til 9am. My 6:15 kids stay til 4:30, but the parents work til 7-4 then commute home.
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TwinKristi 11:42 AM 01-16-2014
Its definitely going to be an awkward convo but I would just explain that your rate was based on their contracted hours and that if they need you the full 10hrs than it's $X more per week. I operate on contracted hours, not open/close hours for this reason. It opens the doors to people getting "the most value for the money" when they pay $35 and can get an extra 2hrs for free in their mind. No bueno!
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mia 11:48 AM 01-16-2014
I run the same hours as you 7:30 - 5:30 / 5:45 ( 15 mins ) for traffic/weather ect....

At about 5:30 I have them all ready to go .... Other then that I let the parents know how the day went then say "well have a good night see you tomorrow" then turn and walk away..... If inside I turn to close the inner door so my dog does not go in which helps.... If outside I turn to head inside......
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jenboo 12:26 PM 01-16-2014
I am open 10.5 hours with a 10 hour limit.
I have families who work 8 hours and then a lunch break. Then there is a commute. I also have another family that legitimately needs 10.5 hours a couple times a week. 9+ hours of work and then the commute.

I am open 7-530 and I do not have contracted hours. I do not have any families who abuse this. There is usually only one child who is here the whole day and his parents are legitimately working the whole time. This is working great for me right now.
I'm ready to go by 7. Sometimes a child will show up at 7:01, other times Ill have a whole hour without children. It works well for me.
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Blackcat31 01:02 PM 01-16-2014
My policy handbook starts out with

"I do NOT operate on standard open/close hours. Parents contract with me for the hours they need. I am not willing to work before 7:00 am and not willing to work after 5:00 pm.

Each family's rate is dependent on the number of days and hours they contract for each week."


By wording things this way, it has helped parents understand that I am not simply available for 10+ hours per day. I am available for ONLY the hours they contract for.

My base weekly rate starts at 3:00 pick up time and increases for each half hour the family schedules beyond 3:00.

BEST method for making sure you aren't overworked and underpaid.
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Brooksie 01:13 PM 01-16-2014
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
My policy handbook starts out with

"I do NOT operate on standard open/close hours. Parents contract with me for the hours they need. I am not willing to work before 7:00 am and not willing to work after 5:00 pm.

Each family's rate is dependent on the number of days and hours they contract for each week."


By wording things this way, it has helped parents understand that I am not simply available for 10+ hours per day. I am available for ONLY the hours they contract for.

My base weekly rate starts at 3:00 pick up time and increases for each half hour the family schedules beyond 3:00.

BEST method for making sure you aren't overworked and underpaid.
This is genius. I wish I had done that! lol
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MarinaVanessa 01:35 PM 01-16-2014
BC has a great way of doing things.

Here is another option. I have in my handbook ...

Originally Posted by :
The daycare’s regular business hours are Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. however these hours are not necessarily the hours that a client is allotted to bring their child. Unless a client is a drop-in client, hours for care will be discussed and a schedule will be set which includes a fair amount of commuting time and this will become the child’s “scheduled hours”. Care will be provided for children only during their contracted scheduled hours.
Originally Posted by :
Late Pick-Up Fees
If a child is picked up later than the contracted pick-up time without advance notice the childcare provider may not be present when the client arrives to pick the child up. It will then be the responsibility of the client to either go to the childcare provider’s location to pick the child up or wait until the childcare provider returns.

A $6 fee per child will be added to the client’s account for every fifteen (15) minutes, or portion thereof, that the child is late in being picked-up past the contracted pick-up time. If however the child is picked up late passed regular business hours then a fee of $1 per minute will be added to the client’s account.
This fee is due immediately at the time of pick-up or late payment charges will apply.
Originally Posted by :
Early Drop-Off Fee
There is a $6.00 fee per child for every fifteen (15) minutes, or portion thereof, that a child is dropped off earlier than the contracted drop-off time without prior approval. If however the child is dropped off before regular business hours then a fee of $1 per minute will be added to the client’s account. This fee is due immediately at the time of pick-up or late payment charges will apply. Ask in advance if a child ever needs an earlier drop-off than the contracted scheduled time to make sure that this can be accommodated, otherwise the child may be turned away and required to wait until the scheduled drop-off time.
And last but not least ....

Originally Posted by :
Full-Time Child Care
The rate for full-time childcare is for child care for four or five days per week and covers up to 50 hours per week and is based on enrollment, not an attendance. Full-time clients have a guaranteed spot in the daycare based on their scheduled hours whether the child attends the daycare for all of the 50 hours or not. Any additional time over 50 hours that is needed is charged at the hourly full-time rate.

Part-Time Child Care
Part-time child care is offered for either two or three days per week and is based on enrollment, not on attendance. The rate for part-time for two days a week covers up to 20 hours per week. The rate for part-time child care for three days a week covers up to 30 hours per week.

Part-time clients have a guaranteed spot in the daycare based on their scheduled hours whether the child attends the daycare for the full scheduled days and hours or not. Credit will not be given for child absences or for holidays listed on the Holiday Schedule. Any additional time over the allotted hours is charged at the hourly part-time rate.
So you can just specify what your normal FT and PT rates will be and how many hours the rates cover then specify how much extra they will need to pay if they use more than their allotted time limit. FT for me is up to 50 hours a week for $165 but for you it would be up to 40 hours a week for FT at whatever your weekly rate is etc.
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grandmom 02:35 PM 01-16-2014
The other posters have great ideas. I also do contracted hours. And now that I've done that for a couple years, I love it! Parents come when they are supposed to every day.

I will say, that the longer you wait to make the change, the harder it will be and the more resistance you will have from parents. I made the change to contracted hours through attrition. As new parents came, they had a different contract. Then I had a discussion with the few remaining parents.

For the last family arriving, I often put on my coat and dig out my (very noisy) car keys. Works every time.


Good luck.
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ImaginationKids 06:28 PM 01-16-2014
Thanks so much for everyone's advice. This is so helpful. I think I need to write new contracts for the hours situation. The lingering DCM issue will likely take a conversation rather than hint dropping. I have tried going about it in my typical nonconfrontational way several times and it hasn't appeared to be clear enough. Today I had the child waiting by the door with me, all ready to go including having boots, coat, & hat on...the DCM still lingered for 15 minutes as I cooked dinner.
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Crazy8 06:32 PM 01-16-2014
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
My policy handbook starts out with

"I do NOT operate on standard open/close hours. Parents contract with me for the hours they need. I am not willing to work before 7:00 am and not willing to work after 5:00 pm.

Each family's rate is dependent on the number of days and hours they contract for each week."


By wording things this way, it has helped parents understand that I am not simply available for 10+ hours per day. I am available for ONLY the hours they contract for.

My base weekly rate starts at 3:00 pick up time and increases for each half hour the family schedules beyond 3:00.

BEST method for making sure you aren't overworked and underpaid.
I have always done this, basically I never gave anyone my "open to close" hours - just asked the hours they needed and contracted on that. But just last summer when I revised my contract I totally copied this from Blackcat!
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wabbittrouble 12:30 PM 01-18-2014
I have a flat rate - Open 7am to 5:30pm. I don't care how many or how few hours they are here, it's still the same rate for the week. However, the thing I would have a problem with is the parent wanting to stay and chitchat after a long day of caring for their children. You just need to grow a backbone and tell her flat out "Listen, I would love to have you stay and chat after hours but I'm just too tired from a full day of caring for the children. I have things to do and I really need to get my kids fed. I'll see you tomorrow". Then walk to the door and open it... Here is the backbone I use, I'll lend it to you. I've had a daycare for 20 years and I can tell you it's the only way.

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USE IT.
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nannyde 01:16 PM 01-18-2014
Originally Posted by ImaginationKids:
Than so much for everyone's advice. This is so helpful. I think I need to write new contracts for the hours situation. The lingering DCM issue will likely take a conversation rather than hint dropping. I have tried going about it in my typical nonconfrontational way several times and it hasn't appeared to be clear enough. Today I had the child waiting by the door with me, all ready to go including having boots, coat, & hat on...the DCM still lingered for 15 minutes as I cooked dinner.
She gets it. She is a full grown adult. She knows when someone is being polite begrudgingly. She knows you want her money. She knows the gig is almost up but she is going to ride it out until you say the exact words... I need you guys to leave right when you arrive for pickup. Until you tell her that she is going to hang out every day.

She is staying because she doesn't want her care of her child to start. As long as she is under your roof she isn't alone with her kid.

She is staying because she wants time every day where she is forcing you to be her subordinate and employee.

She is staying because she is forcing you to give her attention. Not friend attention but employer attention and "my child" attention.

You not liking it is a tad uncomfortable but the payoff is worth it. The only way to get it stopped is to tell her no. If she doesn't respect your wishes then you have to start charging her a minute fee. A dollar a minute will do it.
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Tags:buh-bye outside, contracted hours vs open hours
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