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Parents and Guardians Forum>Daycare is Charging Me for Hours He's in Preschool?
nikkimcc 09:53 PM 08-26-2007
Our daycare lady has us update our records every year, sign a new policy etc. Well there are a few updates to the policy and one of them is a preschool "status".

Let me explain...there is Full time status, where you guarantee her 27 hours/week, and have to pay her for certain holidays and a few personal days a year. If you only get 20 hours in in a week, you still pay her for 27. Then tehre is Part time/drop in status, where you don't guarantee any certain # of hours, but you pay a little more per hour and don't have to pay for any holidays/personal days.

WELL...now there is a new "preschool status"...It says children in preschool will be charged for the ENTIRE DAY. CAN she legally do that? My son will start preschool in September...it's almost like she put that in there JUST because I mentioned preschool. Mon-THurs he'll be in preschool from 8-11:30 am, and at daycare from 11:30 until 4:30pm. On friday theres no preschool so he'll be at daycare all day.

Its a total of 14 or so hours a week that I'll have to pay her for when he is in preschool. So should I be mad...or should I be nice about it. I haven't signed the new contract yet, not till I talk to her.

Shouldn't I have the choice of what status i want him to be? What if I only worked M-T afternoons and all day friday so he was home with ME M-Th mornings...I'd be able to have him Full time then. Does that make sense? Why should it matter WHERE he is mon-thurs morning, as long as he still gets in FT hours?

My husband has been picking our son up early and staying home with him somedays recently, (but he's still been getting his FT hours in) so maybe she figured that between preschool and my husband being able to be with our son some days, that I'd drop him to PT status and she'd lose out on a bunch of hours? My husband farms so the fact that he is able to pick him up early and such is only temporary, as harvest is just around the corner. She knows this because her husband also farms.

Maybe I should find a different daycare...
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Unregistered 11:01 PM 08-26-2007
Maybe someone else here has a better answer but I would think that if she has a private business then she can set her own terms within reason. If you sign the document then she charges as she states. You did not say what state you were in. I think that if she needs to be licensed then you should call your state's licensing agency and inquire. Here is a map that has agency phone numbers.

https://www.daycare.com/states.html

Perhaps she is limited by what she can charge. I read a lot on the internet about upset parents that get charged by the daycare no matter what the circumstance or hardship. I think there should be a national "daycare bill of rights" for parents. Many are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
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Unregistered 08:44 AM 09-19-2007
We are limited on how many children we can have in care. My rates are not based on hours. You are reserving that spot for your child. I have to have that spot avaliable when your child gets out of school, on non school days, snow days, fog delays, and other days schools close. When children are in school all day everday, I do offer a before/after school rate. BUT, your child does not have a guarenteed spot for the days listed above. You are only guarenteed the time you are paying for.
I know this may seem unfair, but would you go to work everyday and not know if you are getting paid for 2 hours or 8?
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Kathy 02:31 PM 09-19-2007
Good point "Unregistered"
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Unregistered 11:13 AM 10-04-2007
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Perhaps she is limited by what she can charge. I read a lot on the internet about upset parents that get charged by the daycare no matter what the circumstance or hardship. I think there should be a national "daycare bill of rights" for parents. Many are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I reserve that to my own judgement.
Why is it a parent is so quick to pay such high interest rates on a credit card, but can't stand the thought of paying for their child's care? No matter what rock and hard spot, they still use their electricity at home, and pay their full bill. Why? Because they don't want to sit in the dark with nothing to do, that's why. Why would that be more important that the care of their child? A provider running a business to care for children has a very important role. If you had no child care, you would not be able to keep your job, right? If you don't have electricity, it still doesn't effect whether or not you can work (battery alarm clocks, I have one!)
I work hard to see to it that the children in my care are taken the best care of. I go to school to learn more so that I can better care for your children. I spend unpaid hours planning and setting up activities, so your child gets the best care. I kiss their boo-boos for you, I wipe their snotty noses (when they should be at home drinking chicken noodle soup), I love the children in my care and take the best care of them I can possibly do. It is the most thankless job. Parents and guardians are always trying to look for reasons not to pay a flat rate reguardless the policy they have signed (which, BTW is a legal document that will hold up in court). Some parents just don't get it. You are paying for the availability of child care with knowledge of holidays closed, etc. You know, there are special things I do for children in my care (and others do this as well) that doesn't even get mentioned. Personally, I open my doors for an extended 3 hours on the 2 Fridays after Th.giving free, so parents can have that time to secretly shop. I also give 1 free week per year for 1 child on their enrollment anniversary. No. I don't have to do this, and I don't even mention it in my policies. It is a gift I give. I have never received a thank you, in fact, when 1 child received all that, plus 1 week free as a Christmas gift, it wasn't a month later, that they took a vacation for 1 week, came back, and refused to pay for the week their child was out because they chose to take a vacation. Do you know, I did not take a vacation that year because I wanted to be considered reliable and I didn't have a back up provider. I bet you are a parent that would do the same thing as this parent, aren't you. Completely ungrateful. You don't even realize what all is involved in being a child care provider. Most people will say, "It takes someone special to care for children. I couldn't do it." We are completely underpaid, and most parents are ungrateful for the services. Always looking to complain, and never thankful!
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NLB 05:05 AM 10-05-2007
I am a provider.

I would charge you a half day, because I assume that you are not dropping him off in the mornings before school.

I assume you are dropping him off at Daycare after pre-school at 11:30-11:45-ish.

As long as I didn't have to serve your child a lunch, I would consider that a half day. Especially if I could fill his AM spot with another child.

NOW, if she is responsible to pick him up at Pre-school and then feed him lunch, that IS a full day. In fact it's more work than if he just came over in the mornings and was there the whole day.

If she is taking him TO and FROM school, you should give her a raise.
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Unregistered 03:05 PM 10-05-2007
Being that a provider only has so many spots, each spot is worth so many dollars. I have been a provider for over 8 years, I charge whether the child is here or not, vacations, holidays, sick days included. I do have a maternity/sick leave policy and I will hold the families spot for a fee. I agree, you would not go to work not knowing if you will be working 4 or 8 hours each day. If you work ft, you are guaranteed 40 hours. We are doing nothing but asking the same.

DC Providers get no benefits. We pay our own taxes, have weekly expenses. I sure wish the $80 I get on Friday for caring for a child ft was free and clear money, but it isn't. I pay insurance, food, utilities, misc supplies, preschool supplies, taxes and the list goes on of what comes out of that $80 when I get it.

I currently have a 3 yr old that goes to a "real" preschool and is gone 2.25 hours 2 mornings a week. They still have to pay for that time. It is not realistic for the family to think I should deduct that time. There is no way I could fill that spot for that time perior. Plus, I am getting your child ready to go to preschool, wait for him to return, etc. When you put your child in daycare you are paying for the spot...not the hours they are there.

As a provider, there is no way I can fund a daycare and make a income offering pt spots.
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Unregistered 06:59 AM 02-20-2008
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
We are limited on how many children we can have in care. My rates are not based on hours. You are reserving that spot for your child. I have to have that spot avaliable when your child gets out of school, on non school days, snow days, fog delays, and other days schools close. When children are in school all day everday, I do offer a before/after school rate. BUT, your child does not have a guarenteed spot for the days listed above. You are only guarenteed the time you are paying for.
I know this may seem unfair, but would you go to work everyday and not know if you are getting paid for 2 hours or 8?



thumbs up!!!
another point - if you don't use your phone today, should you get a reduction in the rate?
if you don't watch tv today, should the cable company give you a credit?

if the provider is there, open, ready to go on a scheduled day - they SHOULD get paid.

hey parents, if you'll check around, you'll find that the providers that DON'T follow this policy are usually overcrowded, have inferior staffing, and don't offer much in the way of structure or enrichment for your child.
just like everything else in life - you get what you pay for.
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AC23 12:14 PM 04-09-2008
I am going to have to agree with the people that stated you are paying for a slot and not just the time. Like brought up before about delays or days off froms school? Where is your child going to go on those days? Most likely to this provider. What about spring break or Christmas break? Those are things to consider. I know my kids seem to have a lot days off during the year and when school goes to a 1/2 day sure start and preschool is usually canceled completely for those days.

It does seem a bit unfair but you should try looking at it from your provider;s side. Or even inquire why payment is billed that way. I am sure your provider would rather you talk to him or her about this vs. you stewing over this. If you really don't think this is acceptable maybe trying checking out other providers or centers and see how they would work with you.
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crazycat97306 06:36 AM 05-23-2008
As a provider I personally charge full time rates for preschool and kindergarden. They are usually only about 2 1/2 hours long and have a lot more days off of school than after they start 1st grade. (at least in Oregon they have more days off)
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pingaa3 10:14 PM 05-26-2008
I took my daughter to preschool for one month and paid as much for 4 hours as I now charge for an entire day. The ratio was 30+ children to 3 staff and my child was asleep most of the time.

You are paying for the slot. Unless your provider can get another child to come in the other half of the day, your child takes up that slot for the entire day. Why would your provider take less money for that slot if they can get a full time child in there?

pingaa3
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Unregistered 07:30 PM 07-22-2008
Yes, it's her business she can do what she wants-on the other hand, you are the parents and you can do what you want. My contract goes by hours if a child attends a different preschool-weekly-24 hrs IS full-time-and I'm a preschool, so I don't have this-you have to be happy with her-or else-yes find a new one-she isn't doing anything wrong -- you are taking up a full time spot so you have to pay-find someone who will go PT for you- :-)
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Unregistered 12:03 PM 12-05-2008
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
I reserve that to my own judgement.
Why is it a parent is so quick to pay such high interest rates on a credit card, but can't stand the thought of paying for their child's care? No matter what rock and hard spot, they still use their electricity at home, and pay their full bill. Why? Because they don't want to sit in the dark with nothing to do, that's why. Why would that be more important that the care of their child? A provider running a business to care for children has a very important role. If you had no child care, you would not be able to keep your job, right? If you don't have electricity, it still doesn't effect whether or not you can work (battery alarm clocks, I have one!)
I work hard to see to it that the children in my care are taken the best care of. I go to school to learn more so that I can better care for your children. I spend unpaid hours planning and setting up activities, so your child gets the best care. I kiss their boo-boos for you, I wipe their snotty noses (when they should be at home drinking chicken noodle soup), I love the children in my care and take the best care of them I can possibly do. It is the most thankless job. Parents and guardians are always trying to look for reasons not to pay a flat rate reguardless the policy they have signed (which, BTW is a legal document that will hold up in court). Some parents just don't get it. You are paying for the availability of child care with knowledge of holidays closed, etc. You know, there are special things I do for children in my care (and others do this as well) that doesn't even get mentioned. Personally, I open my doors for an extended 3 hours on the 2 Fridays after Th.giving free, so parents can have that time to secretly shop. I also give 1 free week per year for 1 child on their enrollment anniversary. No. I don't have to do this, and I don't even mention it in my policies. It is a gift I give. I have never received a thank you, in fact, when 1 child received all that, plus 1 week free as a Christmas gift, it wasn't a month later, that they took a vacation for 1 week, came back, and refused to pay for the week their child was out because they chose to take a vacation. Do you know, I did not take a vacation that year because I wanted to be considered reliable and I didn't have a back up provider. I bet you are a parent that would do the same thing as this parent, aren't you. Completely ungrateful. You don't even realize what all is involved in being a child care provider. Most people will say, "It takes someone special to care for children. I couldn't do it." We are completely underpaid, and most parents are ungrateful for the services. Always looking to complain, and never thankful!
I am a parent and agree that if there are time periods that the child is not in DC you should still pay for the "slot" and the cost for those hours is your responsibility. Also, if you signed an agreement, you knew your child would go to preschool, you need to pay. What I don’t agree with is when the DC just up and decides to take "random" days off like the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years. These are NOT holidays, most people have to work, We are paying the DC to be closed and paying again for alternate care. This I believe is going overboard. If the owner/director wants to give their employees the day off, or an individual care provider wants off, then that is the cost of doing business.

I dont think parents have a problem paying for child care as long as they are getting what they expect and what was sold to them. Extra incentives given are not charity they are the cost of doing business and are tools to give you a competitive advantage over other providers. I dont get tips, I dont get thank yous, and I dont get to just decide when I will or wont provide service to my customers. Frankly I think DC centers need to lower THIER expectations a little and realize what it means to run a business. If it is your day care business and you feel underpaid then give yourself a raise. If you work for a center and feel underpaid then maybe that is not the right job for you. Quit blaming the parents.
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momof3 05:58 AM 12-11-2008
i disagree with you about the holidays. I am a provider and it is clearly spelled out in my contract the holidays I get paid for. And yes, most parents do get paid holidays from their jobs, why shouldn't I. I have been on both sides of this. I am 41 and have been doing daycare for 6 years. I worked a very professional full time job before this. And I have to say, doing daycare is harder than any "career" position I have ever had. There is alot of crap to deal with. Although I get paid for my holidays, I do feel bad sometimes getting paid for them, but I wouldn't be able to pay my bills if I didn't, and I do feel that I should get some time off with just my kids. Raising prices is not an option. Providers need to charge the going rate or they won't have any business. I highly suggest looking around at other daycares, you may find that they all have basically the same policies, and alot don't even take part time kids at all. You said you need her all day on Friday. It would be very difficult for her to find another child who only need care m-th in the a.m. You may want to go to a center, but you will probably pay more for the part time hours there, then you are paying full-time with her.
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Unregistered 01:31 AM 12-16-2008
Here, everyone kind of sets their hours and rates according to state hours and rates: a f/t day is over 5 hrs. A p/t day is under 5 hrs. Overtime is over 10 hrs. as long as the parent is working/shool (whatever is authorized). If the child comes in the morning (before school), it would be a f/t day (f/t flat monthly rate).

I don't do hourly rates. I think I would charge for a f/t month, 4 days for 5 or more hours and 1 f/t day. Parents need to realize, we have to keep that spot reserved every day for f/t for that one child.
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Unregistered 01:33 AM 12-16-2008
One of my daycare children came M-T at 6 a.m. and left at 12 p.m. That was a full time day
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Unregistered 07:22 PM 12-24-2008
Originally Posted by nikkimcc:
Our daycare lady has us update our records every year, sign a new policy etc. Well there are a few updates to the policy and one of them is a preschool "status".

Let me explain...there is Full time status, where you guarantee her 27 hours/week, and have to pay her for certain holidays and a few personal days a year. If you only get 20 hours in in a week, you still pay her for 27. Then tehre is Part time/drop in status, where you don't guarantee any certain # of hours, but you pay a little more per hour and don't have to pay for any holidays/personal days.

WELL...now there is a new "preschool status"...It says children in preschool will be charged for the ENTIRE DAY. CAN she legally do that? My son will start preschool in September...it's almost like she put that in there JUST because I mentioned preschool. Mon-THurs he'll be in preschool from 8-11:30 am, and at daycare from 11:30 until 4:30pm. On friday theres no preschool so he'll be at daycare all day.

Its a total of 14 or so hours a week that I'll have to pay her for when he is in preschool. So should I be mad...or should I be nice about it. I haven't signed the new contract yet, not till I talk to her.

Shouldn't I have the choice of what status i want him to be? What if I only worked M-T afternoons and all day friday so he was home with ME M-Th mornings...I'd be able to have him Full time then. Does that make sense? Why should it matter WHERE he is mon-thurs morning, as long as he still gets in FT hours?

My husband has been picking our son up early and staying home with him somedays recently, (but he's still been getting his FT hours in) so maybe she figured that between preschool and my husband being able to be with our son some days, that I'd drop him to PT status and she'd lose out on a bunch of hours? My husband farms so the fact that he is able to pick him up early and such is only temporary, as harvest is just around the corner. She knows this because her husband also farms.

Maybe I should find a different daycare...

Different people consider a f/t day a different amount of hours. In our state a p/t day is under 5 hours for daycare assistance (meaning they will only pay for a p/t day if under 5 hours), that doesn't mean a provider has to charge for a p/t day. Many charge for a f/t day for even 3 or 4 hours, because your child is taking up an entire f/t spot and it is rare for a provider to be able to fit a child in the few extra set hours to make up the money they are losing. In almost all cases, a child is taking up an entire spot (or the time they are there is preventing the provider from filling it with another child to get paid her full rate).
In my state, most providers do not accept school children, just for that very reason (parents of school children have difficulty finding daycare). Even if a provider can find a child to fill some of the time to make up for the money she is losing, it doesn't work well, because she has to have that spot open on inservice days. So, we are supposed to keep a f/t spot open for a p/t rate. Parents are usually charged a f/t rate. I used to charge a p/t rate, but was losing to much money, so I raised my p/t rate (yes daycare is about the kids, but we do have bills to pay). Parents need to realize, we are "juggling" our schedules (Dr. appts for our families, activities, etc...), we have to remember and juggle each families schedules, many times with little notice (early/late drop off/pick up and absences) and then to try and fit in other kids to fill pockets of time doesn't work.
I hope this explains it better. Merry Christmas
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Former Teacher 07:33 AM 04-02-2009
Hello. I understand from where you are coming from. I worked at a daycare for nearly 20 years. At that center, a parent is charged whether or not the child was there. It's called saving a spot. I noticed that the times your child would be at the center would be from 1130-430. At the center where I used to work at, anything over 5 hours was considered full time. There was once a boy that went to preschool. The mother said she would be picking up her son at 315 everyday, could she be charged a half day rate? Well 315, became 330, and then became 400 and then became 500 and so on to where this child was nearly the last one every night at 630. So basically she was getting care for free for 3 hours. Well I (my director always wanted me to do her dirty work, told her that either she stuck with 315 or she would have to find other care. Being that her child was always the last one would put us over ratio etc..Well she got all upset with me and said she needed to leave him longer than 315 but she still wanted the half day because on other days it would be before 315. Long story short, she got mad because she felt in her eyes we were just "babysitting" (dont you hate that word) and she would find other care.

So again while I do see your point, if your child will be there regularly over 5 hours then she should charge a full rate JMO
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Unregistered 03:03 PM 04-04-2009
I charge a daily rate which is the same amount regardless the number of hours the children are in my care. some days they are here from 6:15-4:45 and some days from 1:00-4:45. No matter what, it's the same daily rate. I used to charge a half day rate, but then the parents would arrive a little later or earlier than scheduled to make the half day rate. I do not charge for holidays. Right now I only charge for the days they are in my care, but I only have 1 family (I have my limit with this one family) and they are not here everyday. Sometimes the youngest one will stay home when her mom has off. She works in retail and her schedule varies from week to week. sometimes I don't even have notice on this. She will just drop off the older 2 and say she's keeping the other one at home. I'm seriously thinking of having a flat rate for the week, whether they are here or not. Some weeks it doesn't pay to be open.
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Unregistered 04:53 PM 04-05-2009
I would like to know what the regulations are for a school district program that is licensed as childcare but we are pre-k and are taking in preschool age children getting ready to attend kindergarten. We have an assistant and at times a volunteer. Is that legal?
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Unregistered 07:35 AM 03-31-2021
Think of it this way. A home provider is only allowed a certain number of kids. She can not put anyone else in your child’s slot. I currently do not charge a full day to hold a slot but I’ve considered it cause I can’t put anyone else in the slot. I guess you need to evaluate is your provider good with your child? If your child is happy and well cared for? If not, find another provider.



Originally Posted by nikkimcc:
Our daycare lady has us update our records every year, sign a new policy etc. Well there are a few updates to the policy and one of them is a preschool "status".

Let me explain...there is Full time status, where you guarantee her 27 hours/week, and have to pay her for certain holidays and a few personal days a year. If you only get 20 hours in in a week, you still pay her for 27. Then tehre is Part time/drop in status, where you don't guarantee any certain # of hours, but you pay a little more per hour and don't have to pay for any holidays/personal days.

WELL...now there is a new "preschool status"...It says children in preschool will be charged for the ENTIRE DAY. CAN she legally do that? My son will start preschool in September...it's almost like she put that in there JUST because I mentioned preschool. Mon-THurs he'll be in preschool from 8-11:30 am, and at daycare from 11:30 until 4:30pm. On friday theres no preschool so he'll be at daycare all day.

Its a total of 14 or so hours a week that I'll have to pay her for when he is in preschool. So should I be mad...or should I be nice about it. I haven't signed the new contract yet, not till I talk to her.

Shouldn't I have the choice of what status i want him to be? What if I only worked M-T afternoons and all day friday so he was home with ME M-Th mornings...I'd be able to have him Full time then. Does that make sense? Why should it matter WHERE he is mon-thurs morning, as long as he still gets in FT hours?

My husband has been picking our son up early and staying home with him somedays recently, (but he's still been getting his FT hours in) so maybe she figured that between preschool and my husband being able to be with our son some days, that I'd drop him to PT status and she'd lose out on a bunch of hours? My husband farms so the fact that he is able to pick him up early and such is only temporary, as harvest is just around the corner. She knows this because her husband also farms.

Maybe I should find a different daycare...

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Blackcat31 07:46 AM 03-31-2021
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Think of it this way. A home provider is only allowed a certain number of kids. She can not put anyone else in your child’s slot. I currently do not charge a full day to hold a slot but I’ve considered it cause I can’t put anyone else in the slot. I guess you need to evaluate is your provider good with your child? If your child is happy and well cared for? If not, find another provider.
This thread is from 2007

An oldie but a goodie but almost 14 yrs old.
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Michael 10:11 AM 03-31-2021
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
This thread is from 2007

An oldie but a goodie but almost 14 yrs old.
One of our first threads and is still very relevant.
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Blackcat31 11:42 AM 03-31-2021
Originally Posted by Michael:
One of our first threads and is still very relevant.
I love the oldies! lol!
I log on in the mornings and sometimes see a really old thread at the top of new posts and smile... hoping it’s a legit poster and not a spammer
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Tags:charging full day, charging hourly, parental life choices, rates - fair and reasonable, rates - flat fee, slots, tuition, unreasonable parental expectations
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