I have a Mom who wants to bring her child for a half day and wants to pay half rate. I say no because it's a slot. What do you think? Plus she said she's had a lot of trouble with daycares. And her child is 18 months old!!! Trouble?

My full day rate is $35.00 and my half day rate up to 4 hours is $20.00. That is normal in my area.

Did you ask her what kind of problems she was having? I would be very very careful with her. Maybe she is one of those parents who doesn't like rules or policies. I would has for a current sitters reference but that is just me.

I do not do 1/2 day rates. If you come for an hour or 9 you pay the same. Now, I would allow her to come PT (2 days a week) and she could only pay for those two days.

I almost think by her telling you she's had trouble with other dc's she's trying to get you to feel sorry for her. See if you will take her bait and take her on her terms. Next...

I don't mess with half days because it takes up an entire space, like you said and you can't very well fill the space around her easily.

I used to charge by the hour, then by the day and now I charge by the week.

Much easier, less stress, regular pay.

I don't do half day rates either. It's $30 a day and considered part time no matter how many hours they are here, with a minimum of 2 days a week. I only have 2 children who do this because I made up my mind to only have 2 families at the max do part time. They do take up a slot if you do a half a day and it's hard to find someone to fill in for the other half of the day.

That wouldn't be for the morning would it?

I would allow half days if the half was nap time half. A kid coming from early morning till noon would have the same direct care (care while kid was up) as a kid that left after nap time.

I would only do it if there was a four hour cap and 2.5 hours of it was nap where the child SLEPT.

In the past I had one girl come to daycare 9am-1230pm and another boy come 1230pm to 5pm. It worked well and essentially they shared the spot.

If you can find someone to come opposite, I would offer part time days.

I would also make it VERY CLEAR that there is NO allowance for change in hours, extended hours, etc. The time they are scheduled for it the ONLY availability there is.

I charge a minimum of $100 per week for part time. (Max of 24 hours per week.)

For me it would depend on how many days a week the child is going to come. If the child comes 4 or 5 days a week then for me that is full time and they will pay the FT rate.

If they come 3 days or less then it would be PT and the fee is based on the time that they leave. If they leave at 3pm or early it's $28/day and every half hour that they leave after that increases the rate by $2 per half hour. If they leave before 3pm it's still $28/day. It's also a set schedule of days each week and the same amount is paid each week. So if they want M, W, F from 8am - 12pm it's $84 per week ($28/day x 3 days, same days, same hours, no changing days, no dropping off later and picking up later etc.

If she says she had trouble with other daycares I'd ask what kind of trouble. Trouble with provider not being able to be flexible (ie. won't bend her rules for parent) or problems like child left in her diaper too long KWIM?

Your gut told you right: 1/2 day STILL uses a full day slot. Now if you want to do a small discount that is up to you, maybe let her pay 80% of the usual rate if you just need the income. Also, the red flags she is raising might cause me to dismiss the idea of taking her on as a client at all. Have you already interviewed? Have you contacted previous providers? "Trouble" in the past makes me wonder what kind: payment, scheduling, policy, requests for *special*, etc.

Could be trouble or it might not be. I'd talk to her about it before making any decisions. I've had families who left a day care or two before finding me. I had no trouble with them and, in fact, counted them among some of the best clients I've had.

As far as the part time hours are concerned, I'm often willing to take on kids who are only here half the day. I have one now who stays until lunch and then leaves. Until recently, I had another child who came in just as he was leaving to take over the afternoon shift. Obviously, I'd rather a full time family so I do tell parents of part time kids during the interview process that should a family come along needing full time care, I may need their spot. I've never had to do that, though. (To be honest, I love this little guy so much, I couldn't let him go even if I had a full-timer wanting his spot!) Taking part timers has worked for me but you have to do what works best for you. Good luck with your decision.

Thank you for your input. Flag 1, she's a stay at home mom with a child in kindergarten. Says this one is a boy and she had no idea the difference between a boy and a girls activity level.
Flag 2, he's 18 months old and takes only a MORNING nap. Yellow? Like I would take a rambunctious 18 month during afternoon nap!
My husband said Cybalta can help.
Not going to except... again thanks!