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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Terming "Summer Replacements"?
AuntTami 04:31 PM 08-05-2015
I have 3 part time kiddos that are currently filling the spots for 2 full time teachers children.

At the beginning of summer, I took these 3 as actual replacements. The teachers boy 2 was a terror and I intended to term the family before summer ended.

Well, they've been coming one day a week all summer and he has improved ten-fold and is the sweetest little guy, so now obviously I'm not wanting to terminate this family but I still have the 3 other part time kiddos that I won't be able to take any longer once school starts and the two start full time again.

None of these families have done anything wrong, and i signed them on thinking that I'd keep them longer than just summer, but the 3 part time kids don't replace the income from two full time slots and the consistent schedule.

What do I say to these other families now? I feel like a big meanie. Lesson learned.
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Blackcat31 05:12 PM 08-05-2015
Originally Posted by AuntTami:
I have 3 part time kiddos that are currently filling the spots for 2 full time teachers children.

At the beginning of summer, I took these 3 as actual replacements. The teachers boy 2 was a terror and I intended to term the family before summer ended.

Well, they've been coming one day a week all summer and he has improved ten-fold and is the sweetest little guy, so now obviously I'm not wanting to terminate this family but I still have the 3 other part time kiddos that I won't be able to take any longer once school starts and the two start full time again.

None of these families have done anything wrong, and i signed them on thinking that I'd keep them longer than just summer, but the 3 part time kids don't replace the income from two full time slots and the consistent schedule.

What do I say to these other families now? I feel like a big meanie. Lesson learned.
If you get licensed could you keep them all?

My part times rates are so much higher than full time rates (when broken down daily) so 3 part timers would net me what 1 full timer did.

If thats not the case you might wanna edit your rates and keep the 3 part timers...... Lol!

Otherwise, I guess its a tough spot to be in..
What were the guidelines for teacher family when they pulled for summer? If you didnt agree would they have stayed/payed all summer to retain their spot? If not I guess summer will an issue every year?
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Leigh 08:03 PM 08-05-2015
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
If you get licensed could you keep them all?

My part times rates are so much higher than full time rates (when broken down daily) so 3 part timers would net me what 1 full timer did.

If thats not the case you might wanna edit your rates and keep the 3 part timers...... Lol!

Otherwise, I guess its a tough spot to be in..
What were the guidelines for teacher family when they pulled for summer? If you didnt agree would they have stayed/payed all summer to retain their spot? If not I guess summer will an issue every year?
3 part timers for me would be double my single full-time rate. I agree about raising rates for part time!
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284878 04:35 AM 08-06-2015
Yes this. If your pt rates are set right, then you can work less hours and make as much as if you had ft.
My goal is to become a pt daycare, so I can have at least one day for me and my dd.
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AuntTami 10:51 AM 08-06-2015
Yes, if I get licensed I could keep them all. However, school starts again in 3 weeks and there's no way I could be licensed before that.

My daily rate in comparison to my weekly rate is SO similar that I only make $15 extra a week for 5 part time spots vs 1 full time spot. I know I need to redo my rates but I just haven't figured out a way to do them and stay competitive in my area and still feel like I'm being compensated appropriately for being open 4:30am-6:00pm. I don't mind the hours, I chose open earlier to be able to accommodate the 5:00am workers in this area. I pretty much have that market monopolized in this area as no one else opens until 5:30-6:00. but I feel like those that need the earlier AND later end of the spectrum, again because most places close at 4:30-5:00 around here, should be paying more than someone who needs 7-4. I know that's similar to the way you run BC but I can't figure out how to do it backwards AND come out ahead with part timers vs full time.

Had I not agreed to keep them one day per week for the summer; yes she would have continued to pay to hold the spots. They also would have came more often. Not daily but more than once a week and I didn't want that.
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childcaremom 10:58 AM 08-06-2015
Originally Posted by AuntTami:
I have 3 part time kiddos that are currently filling the spots for 2 full time teachers children.

At the beginning of summer, I took these 3 as actual replacements. The teachers boy 2 was a terror and I intended to term the family before summer ended.

Well, they've been coming one day a week all summer and he has improved ten-fold and is the sweetest little guy, so now obviously I'm not wanting to terminate this family but I still have the 3 other part time kiddos that I won't be able to take any longer once school starts and the two start full time again.

None of these families have done anything wrong, and i signed them on thinking that I'd keep them longer than just summer, but the 3 part time kids don't replace the income from two full time slots and the consistent schedule.

What do I say to these other families now? I feel like a big meanie. Lesson learned.
Is the 2 yo terror doing better now that he is home with mom and only there for one day? Do you think he may go back to his old ways once he is back to FT?
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AuntTami 11:12 AM 08-06-2015
Originally Posted by childcaremom:
Is the 2 yo terror doing better now that he is home with mom and only there for one day? Do you think he may go back to his old ways once he is back to FT?
I think he's doing better because he's getting older. Nothing has changed in the way they do things, or they way things are done here. But I think he's finally gotten to the age where he understands that things run differently here than at home and that he goes back to sleep when he gets here and after lunch is nap here, so he no longer fights that. All of his problems stemmed from him being over tired but resisting his sleep. I had been working on him since December and FINALLY have it, which is why I'm SO hesitant to term him now that he finally gets it. I've just put so much effort into getting him to nap well and be in a good mood.....

However, you are correct in that I fully expected him to go back to his old ways once he was with mom full time and off of my routine. It was only a week or two before school let out that I finally got him on board and I figured he would go right back to being a terror once he got to be off schedule all summer. However, he's done better all summer than I ever could have imagined, but I already had the replacements signed up to start as soon as school let out......

Apparently I really did a number here.
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daycarediva 11:27 AM 08-06-2015
I would just chose the families you want and give notice to the rest, a generic notice about keeping your numbers low being unlicensed and leave it at that.


Parents will always do what is best for them, and so should providers!
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childcaremom 11:31 AM 08-06-2015
Originally Posted by daycarediva:
I would just chose the families you want and give notice to the rest, a generic notice about keeping your numbers low being unlicensed and leave it at that.


Parents will always do what is best for them, and so should providers!
If he has improved and all other things being equal, then I agree with this.
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AuntTami 06:12 PM 08-06-2015
Originally Posted by childcaremom:
If he has improved and all other things being equal, then I agree with this.
Yeah, this is probably correct. I just need to figure out what to say. I think I might raise my rates and see if the problem resolved itself, if I can figure out a way to do it correctly. Its way past time for a rate increase anyways.....Black cat? Any ideas?
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Febby 07:40 PM 08-06-2015
Originally Posted by AuntTami:
Yeah, this is probably correct. I just need to figure out what to say. I think I might raise my rates and see if the problem resolved itself, if I can figure out a way to do it correctly. Its way past time for a rate increase anyways.....Black cat? Any ideas?
The first 9 1/2 hours per day cost $X per week. Each additional 30 minutes costs an additional $Y.

Maybe?
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Blackcat31 07:02 AM 08-07-2015
Originally Posted by AuntTami:
Yeah, this is probably correct. I just need to figure out what to say. I think I might raise my rates and see if the problem resolved itself, if I can figure out a way to do it correctly. Its way past time for a rate increase anyways.....Black cat? Any ideas?
So are you wanting to raise rates to "force" the part timers to seek alternate care so you wouldn't have to term or raise rates to keep them?

Are you leaning towards keeping one group verses the others?

Which kids do you WANT to keep?

My goal would be the least amount of work but nets me the most money but when I first opened, I probably had different end goals so what is your end goal?
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AuntTami 08:49 AM 08-07-2015
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
So are you wanting to raise rates to "force" the part timers to seek alternate care so you wouldn't have to term or raise rates to keep them?

Are you leaning towards keeping one group verses the others?

Which kids do you WANT to keep?

My goal would be the least amount of work but nets me the most money but when I first opened, I probably had different end goals so what is your end goal?
I guess it wouldn't be so much to FORCE them to find alternate care, as much as just force them to pay me the premium for the early/late hours.

I'm leaning towards the little guy and his sister that I planned to term. I can't beat the 7am-4pm predictable schedule. Mom always pays on time, and never questions anything. She's very respectful of my time and business.

But, the other group includes an infant, and Ive been having a serious case of baby fever for the last couple years and having the infant to love and snuggle on relieves that. But, he doesn't come without the stress of being a very young infant(3mos) and he arrives at 4:30 each morning, so to eliminate that would be great, but then the other part of me feels incredibly guilty about terming anyone at all but I know I need to figure something out.

The least amount of work with the most amount of money would be nice, but at this point, I think Ill just settle for the most amount of money. I don't mind the long hours, but I just feel like I need to figure out a way to get additional compensation for those extra hours.

I sat down a couple weeks ago and tried to refigure the rate plan, to be very similar to yours BC, in that the later kids paid a higher weekly fee, and the earlier kids did too, but I couldn't figure out a way to make it fair since the earlier kids obviously tend to leave earlier in the day. But to me, its not about the amount of hours, its about the fact that I have to get up at 4:15 instead of 6:30, if that makes sense? I guess I feel like someone that needs care starting at 4:30a.m. should pay more than someone who needs care at 7:00a.m., regardless of the amount of hours needed, and vise versa. Someone who needs care later than 4:00p.m. should pay more than someone who needs care until 3:30?....... Does that make ANY sense at all? Am I WAY over complicating this for myself here? I probably am.
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childcaremom 09:19 AM 08-07-2015
I don't think it's overcomplicating it.

I don't have suggestions on how to structure your rates but I do think you deserve to be compensated for working those hours.

I think a tiered payment plan would work in both directions.

What time is an ideal drop off time for you? 7am? Raise rates incrementally until the earliest you would accept a child.

What time is an ideal closing time for you? 4 pm? Raise rates incrementally until the latest you would stay open.

I don't post my rates but what I do is verify what hours they require care, full or part time, and then quote a price based on whether or not the hours require me to go outside my current hours of operation, how long of a daycare day (I charge more for days that are over 10 hrs), whether I would need to wake up earlier, etc etc.

My way is probably a lot more complicated
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AuntTami 09:47 AM 08-07-2015
Originally Posted by childcaremom:
I don't think it's overcomplicating it.

I don't have suggestions on how to structure your rates but I do think you deserve to be compensated for working those hours.

I think a tiered payment plan would work in both directions.

What time is an ideal drop off time for you? 7am? Raise rates incrementally until the earliest you would accept a child.

What time is an ideal closing time for you? 4 pm? Raise rates incrementally until the latest you would stay open.

I don't post my rates but what I do is verify what hours they require care, full or part time, and then quote a price based on whether or not the hours require me to go outside my current hours of operation, how long of a daycare day (I charge more for days that are over 10 hrs), whether I would need to wake up earlier, etc etc.

My way is probably a lot more complicated
Ideal hours would be 7-4; yes but like I said, I've adjusted my hours to accommodate the shift workers in this area who work earlier/later than all the daycares in the area are open, so I've really monopolized that market but I feel like it should be coming at a premium since it's a premium service of sorts?

This was how I had figured it out but like I said, it didn't seem "fair" since the 4:30 kid leaves at 3:00pm which is definitely before the 4pm cut off. But then one of my guys comes at 5:30 and leaves at 2:15. He's not going anywhere but I'd obviously have to restructure across the board to make it fair, so how do I do that? Charge her the premium for before 7am and then remove it because she's actually picking him up 2 hours earlier than "rate increase" time?
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Blackcat31 09:49 AM 08-07-2015
Originally Posted by AuntTami:
This was how I had figured it out but like I said, it didn't seem "fair" since the 4:30 kid leaves at 3:00pm which is definitely before the 4pm cut off. But then one of my guys comes at 5:30 and leaves at 2:15. He's not going anywhere but I'd obviously have to restructure across the board to make it fair, so how do I do that? Charge her the premium for before 7am and then remove it because she's actually picking him up 2 hours earlier than "rate increase" time?
PM me your all rates and the times you want to be open as normal. NOT the times these kids arrive.

l'll see if I can apply my formula to your rates.
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childcaremom 10:29 AM 08-07-2015
Originally Posted by AuntTami:
Ideal hours would be 7-4; yes but like I said, I've adjusted my hours to accommodate the shift workers in this area who work earlier/later than all the daycares in the area are open, so I've really monopolized that market but I feel like it should be coming at a premium since it's a premium service of sorts?

This was how I had figured it out but like I said, it didn't seem "fair" since the 4:30 kid leaves at 3:00pm which is definitely before the 4pm cut off. But then one of my guys comes at 5:30 and leaves at 2:15. He's not going anywhere but I'd obviously have to restructure across the board to make it fair, so how do I do that? Charge her the premium for before 7am and then remove it because she's actually picking him up 2 hours earlier than "rate increase" time?
For example, I would have a base rate of $30.

For each 1/2 hour increment before 7, the price would increase.
For each 1/2 hour increment after 4, the price would increase.

So 4:30-3 would be 30 + 5 1/2 hr increments. Might add extra due to longer day.

5:30- 3 would be 30 + 3 1/2 hr increments.

ETA: I would not offer discounts b/c they pick up earlier than 4. Or I would alter rates that pickups by 3 are the base rate and start increasing from there.
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Tags:summer, summer spots, terminate, terminate - summer replacements
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