Anyone Tier Tuition Based On Ability And Not Age?

I was thinking of changing my rates to $$$$-for infants, $$$-for walkers, and $$-for potty trained, and $ for school age. But does this discriminate by ability? The reason I am thinking of the change is due to an almost 2 year old that is delayed and not yet walking...and no where close to potty training. Currently my rates are tiered $$$$-newborn-11mos, $$$-12m-23m, $$-2-4years, and $-for 5 and up. I don't want to term DCK, as the family is great, but with as much extra work that I put into infants, I do with this particular DCK, and really feel they should be paying the infant rate. Thoughts???

[Blackcat31]

I don't think that tiered rates according to ability is right. Kids develop at their own pace and if you do that you are going to create an entirely different kind of issues. You'll start seeing parents pushing their kids to do more so their rate changes You'll have parents of infants wanting to do potty training so their rate goes down and guess who is going to have to do all the extra work since they are in daycare all day?

I would consider whether or not the child is the right fit for your environment. If he is a lot of work then you have two choices....give him the extra time he requires and downsize your group so you are able to meet the needs of all the kids in care equally or let him go (term) if you feel he requires more work than it's worth or if it's at the expense of the other kids.

Charging rates based on age is common practice (not one I participate in) but I don't think it's right to charge according to developmental abilities. The pendulum swings both ways and like I mentioned above, that creates issues on the other end of things.

You can hire staff to help you out if one child requires so much more of your time that you aren't able to provide equal care to all or you can re-evaluate your willingness to continue caring for the child.

I have lots of families I love that are great daycare clients but bottom line is you are a group provider so you have an obligation to the group to do what's best for everyone and not just one.

Plus, how does earning a few more dollars per week, make caring for this child any easier? It's still work and work that needs to be done no matter how much you are being paid.

Also, developmental delays aren't always something that anyone has any control over so being financially "punished" for something you can't control seems very unfair to me.

[Leigh]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I was thinking of changing my rates to $$$$-for infants, $$$-for walkers, and $$-for potty trained, and $ for school age. But does this discriminate by ability? The reason I am thinking of the change is due to an almost 2 year old that is delayed and not yet walking...and no where close to potty training. Currently my rates are tiered $$$$-newborn-11mos, $$$-12m-23m, $$-2-4years, and $-for 5 and up. I don't want to term DCK, as the family is great, but with as much extra work that I put into infants, I do with this particular DCK, and really feel they should be paying the infant rate. Thoughts???

I decided to start charging more for infants, but then just raised EVERYONE's rates to my infant rate. There is no age that is easier or cheaper for me to care for. Infants demand a lot of time, SA's require a lot of supervision and rule enforcement, toddlers need constant redirection, preschoolers require a lot of variety and they change their mind all the time (I clean up after them the most).

If you are looking for advice, mine is to charge your highest rate for ALL kids.

[daycare]

I have rates broken down by age

I don't take infants so mine is
18 months to 36 months is a higher rate. If at 36 months they are still not PT they keep the same rate. I don't do all the work and if the parents are helping then they are only paying me more money. I find nothing more gross than changing a diaper of a child that eats MAN food...lol

36 months, Full PT to 5 years old, not enrolled in school is a slightly lower rate.

I only have one SA kid and that child pays the highest rate, as it is the highest I have in demand, but the child is only here 2.5 hours a day, so I need to make sure that I am still able to cover all over head, food, insurance, assistant, etc.

However, in my area it is VERY common to have the prices broken down by age. The state just released the maximum reimbursement rates for 2015 and they break them down by age. The younger the child the higher the rate. So this is super common for my area.

If you do decided to charge by tiers, I would not by ability, BC is so right you will have a field day with parents so they can always get the cheaper rate.

I would go by age with a defined cut off. example 24 months, not just age 2

[Controlled Chaos]

I see where you are coming from, but I wouldn't do it.

I charge based on attendance. Not whether they show up or not, but whether they are signed up for 5 days or 3 days etc. The more days, the cheaper the "per day" rate is. I used to give a discount once they were potty trained, but it caused the issues Black Cat is talking about. I think infants require lots of attention, toddler go through tons of art supplies, pre schoolers eat a ton etc. I recommend one rate.

[nothingwithoutjoy]

Also, then you'll have parents insisting their kid is potty trained just so they can get a cheaper rate.

I'm in the all-kids-the-same-rate camp. Whatever age/ability, it's one spot filled.

[itlw8]

It would depend on the reason for the delay If they child is not potty trained because they are not ready or the parents do not want to then yes it would be ok. If the child has developmental delays so does not walk or potty train then yes that would be discrimination and illegal

[itlw8]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I was thinking of changing my rates to $$$$-for infants, $$$-for walkers, and $$-for potty trained, and $ for school age. But does this discriminate by ability??

MY ds walked at 8 months so he was more work not less than the one that was just learning to crawl and remember school age eat more and use more supplies

[DaveA]

I understand the idea behind it, but it would end up more trouble than it's worth IMHO. I tier mine based on age, mainly because age had an effect on the # of kids I can have. You'll also likely have some blowback/ issues from parents.

[daycarediva]

I only take 18m-5 and everyone is the same rate. I see what you're saying, and it IS frustrating, but that's family child care.

Are the parents seeking a developmental evaluation? I would absolutely request that the parents ask the pediatrician. I would be willing to lose the kid over it in a heartbeat. Something is wrong. I had one kid not walking at 15m (my own son) and the pediatrician wasn't willing to let it go ONE DAY past 15m, of course, as soon as we made the appointment for the eval, he started walking.

[Shell]

Originally Posted by Blackcat31

I don't think that tiered rates according to ability is right. Kids develop at their own pace and if you do that you are going to create an entirely different kind of issues. You'll start seeing parents pushing their kids to do more so their rate changes You'll have parents of infants wanting to do potty training so their rate goes down and guess who is going to have to do all the extra work since they are in daycare all day?

I would consider whether or not the child is the right fit for your environment. If he is a lot of work then you have two choices....give him the extra time he requires and downsize your group so you are able to meet the needs of all the kids in care equally or let him go (term) if you feel he requires more work than it's worth or if it's at the expense of the other kids.

Charging rates based on age is common practice (not one I participate in) but I don't think it's right to charge according to developmental abilities. The pendulum swings both ways and like I mentioned above, that creates issues on the other end of things.

You can hire staff to help you out if one child requires so much more of your time that you aren't able to provide equal care to all or you can re-evaluate your willingness to continue caring for the child.

I have lots of families I love that are great daycare clients but bottom line is you are a group provider so you have an obligation to the group to do what's best for everyone and not just one.

Plus, how does earning a few more dollars per week, make caring for this child any easier? It's still work and work that needs to be done no matter how much you are being paid.

Also, developmental delays aren't always something that anyone has any control over so being financially "punished" for something you can't control seems very unfair to me.

[Laurel]

Originally Posted by Blackcat31

I don't think that tiered rates according to ability is right. Kids develop at their own pace and if you do that you are going to create an entirely different kind of issues. You'll start seeing parents pushing their kids to do more so their rate changes You'll have parents of infants wanting to do potty training so their rate goes down and guess who is going to have to do all the extra work since they are in daycare all day?

I would consider whether or not the child is the right fit for your environment. If he is a lot of work then you have two choices....give him the extra time he requires and downsize your group so you are able to meet the needs of all the kids in care equally or let him go (term) if you feel he requires more work than it's worth or if it's at the expense of the other kids.

Charging rates based on age is common practice (not one I participate in) but I don't think it's right to charge according to developmental abilities. The pendulum swings both ways and like I mentioned above, that creates issues on the other end of things.

You can hire staff to help you out if one child requires so much more of your time that you aren't able to provide equal care to all or you can re-evaluate your willingness to continue caring for the child.

I have lots of families I love that are great daycare clients but bottom line is you are a group provider so you have an obligation to the group to do what's best for everyone and not just one.

Plus, how does earning a few more dollars per week, make caring for this child any easier? It's still work and work that needs to be done no matter how much you are being paid.

Also, developmental delays aren't always something that anyone has any control over so being financially "punished" for something you can't control seems very unfair to me.

I charge according to age EXCEPT when they get to my lowest rate.
6 weeks-24 months
24 months-48 months
48 months and up AND completely potty trained for at least 1 full month