I have 3 teachers as parents. One will send the child all summer. One will keep their child home and pay for the spot. The other will send the child, but keep him home once or twice a week.

Summer is a busy time for us. We have lots of outdoor stuff going on, we go to the park often, we go on field trips once a week, we also go to local spray parks.

So for the one who wants to send him and only keep him home once or twice a week, I want to know in advance which days he will be here. If I know I will not have an infant on a certain day then that is the day our field trip will be, for example. I don't want mom giving me a schedule, then texting me and saying she will send him anyway and they are on their way. They are paying regardless of how many days he comes, so I can see this happening if I don't stop it in advance.

I also want to know at least a whole week or 2 in advance, not just the Friday before. I need to plan my weeks out accordingly.

Would it be wrong for me to ask for their ENTIRE summer schedule in advance? I'm afraid if I do that then they will just schedule him here for the whole summer and just not come some days, which will not work well for me trying to plan.

Our field trips are usually on Fridays. Would it be wrong for me to "suggest" that they keep the baby home on Fridays? It would be much easier for me not to have a baby on field trips.

I just need to word it right.

Also, when should I give them this request for schedule? I want them to have time to think about it. I also want to know what I am doing and not wait until right before summer, kwim? Many of our field trips take advance planning, I need to know days times and number of children, and whether or not I will need my assistant to come.

So basically I need to say everything I mentioned above, being firm about schedule, but not making it look like I don't want the dcb here

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I call it extended leave.

When they use it, I allow them to pick two days to attend that must be consistent routine days. So let's say Tuesday and Thursday then they get those two days the whole summer.

This way I can plan accordingly. Is that what your looking for ?

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Yes, this is what I would like. Mom has presented it to me as "we will send dcb all summer, but will probably keep him home once or twice per week."

So to me it means she will randomly keep him home. But I will need it to be consistent so I can plan.

I want to word it right so she knows I need consistency, without making it look like I just don't want him here.

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I might offer a discount for the guarantee of not using of a certain day they are holding a spot for but unable to use for the summer. It would feel like a deal for the client and make your life more organized and convenient.

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So they are the ones paying for the FT spot but sending on occasion.

Dcm,
In order to run a successful program it requires advance budgeting and preparation on my behalf. It's also no secret that children thrive off if consistency and only having a set routine in place can we help them to reach their own personal success. For these reasons it is necessary that all families submit to a consistent schedule all year around.

edited to add, if they are paying for a full time spot, I would do as pp suggested and perhaps offer a discount, otherwise they are going to need access to all of those days. However, even with paying full time, I would require them to give you a consistent schedule.

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I would just say something like this when the DCM drops off- Oh, by the way, I was thinking about the summer and I know you said you were going to keep DCB home once and a while. Is there anyway you could let me know in advance when that would be so I can plan a outing with the others? You are totally paying for that spot, so its at your discretion, but if you would be so kind it really helps me plan!

I would be very careful about how I worded it, because to me, if she is paying for a spot and not bringing them everyday that's a great family to do that and its probably the type of parents you want to keep, so I would just do it as a "favor" type of thing to you. I also wouldn't put it down on paper, I would make it be a conversation so that she can hear your tone of voice. You can read so much into something that is on paper, she could go talk to her husband or friends about it and they could read something else into it. Now, if it is a contractual issue, yes, put it in writing, but this is more like a favor in my opinion.

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Yes! This is a great idea!

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I love how different we all are. I don't do anything without putting it into writing. I guess I have just been burned one too many times....

But as long as we all make it work in the end that is all that matters..

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I do think that it depends sometimes on the situation and the people you are dealing with . I've been pretty lucky with the parents I've had. I kind of prioritize the following 1. Do they pay on time? 2. How difficult are the parents? 3. How difficult is their child? If they pay on time, they are easy and so is their child, I'm all about working with them because they have shown me respect (which is what it all boils down to). If they are a pain, payments are late then I would put everything in writing.

Oh- and I'm also a little lazy when it comes to extra paperwork, lol.

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Thanks for your replies!

I like things in writing too, just in case there is ever any confusion over who said what and when

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I may decide to offer a discount for using half the week. I like the idea of having 2 days with a lighter load.

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this is a case of "I'm paying for it anyway" so of course parents are going to want the ability of changing things as their schedule changes. I've dealt with this with teachers too and if they plan something and it gets rained out they want to switch days, etc. I didn't charge for the entire week so I felt I could say no to a change but if they are paying for the 5 days they are going to want access to the 5 days.

I offered a discount for the summer, and even non-teachers took me up on it (had grandma watch them 1-2 days a week). For me I valued having the time off more than the money (I did not want to work full time all summer when my kids were home and bored because I couldn't do anything with them).

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I would defiantly offer some sort of discount or a "perk" to keep the baby home on certain days of the summer. I suggest that because I have been in this spot before, and once I brought it up to mom asking for a schedule, they didn't get upset, but figured since they had to pay for the spot anyway they then decided to being DBG everyday. So the things I had planned to do in the summer I ended up with a baby all summer. But make sure what every you offer her or work out, she understands that it needs to be the same every week. Otherwise you will get into a spot where she asks to switch the days each week.

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I have heard of day cares that have teachers charge more through out the school year and not charge for the summer, or close for the summer and hold spots for the school year.

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