Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Questions about Policies
Dsquared 06:05 AM 09-11-2014
Hi Providers,
I Run a home daycare in Loudoun County Virginia. Our county has the highest home income in the United States. Everything here is very expensive and so is daycare. I charge a flat rate of $225.00 a week. You pay whether your child is here or not. I am even thinking of raising to $250.00 a week for infants. I only watch 4 kids at a time but I have had 5, and my kids are under the age of 2 1/2. I need to tweak my contract because parents have been forgetting the rules lately and I hate reminding them all the time because it make me feel like its all about the money. Parents are to pay me on friday for the following week to avoid the "I forgot my check" monday morning issue. I want to make sure my contract is fair. Here are some of my questions. What is your policy on a parent turning in notice? Mine currently is 3 weeks notice with your deposit used for the last week of care. I want to change this to a longer notice time. I held a spot for a family for like 8 months because they lived in the neighborhood, so recently after 3 weeks of care they tell me they are looking for a new provider. No explanation. They seemed happy and their baby is extremely happy. Problem is it will be hard to fill the spot now since school has already started and everyone has worked out daycare. Question #2: How much vacation do you all take and what is paid? I take all federal holidays paid. I usually get christmas break off and paid because most of my parents are home anyway. I take a week of spring break, and a week vacation in the summer. I ask them to pay for one week of vacation which is usually spring or summer. I have 2 kids of my own so these days are important for me to have off. Parents have to pay me if they go on vacation. I just want to reiterate in my contract that parents are paying to hold a spot for their child. Another note is my family is heavily reliant on my daycare income since my husbands business is not bringing in what it was in the past. Thanks for your advice in advance!
I Run a home daycare in Loudoun County Virginia. Our county has the highest home income in the United States. Everything here is very expensive and so is daycare. I charge a flat rate of $225.00 a week. You pay whether your child is here or not. I am even thinking of raising to $250.00 a week for infants. I only watch 4 kids at a time but I have had 5, and my kids are under the age of 2 1/2. I need to tweak my contract because parents have been forgetting the rules lately and I hate reminding them all the time because it make me feel like its all about the money. Parents are to pay me on friday for the following week to avoid the "I forgot my check" monday morning issue. I want to make sure my contract is fair. Here are some of my questions. What is your policy on a parent turning in notice? Mine currently is 3 weeks notice with your deposit used for the last week of care. I want to change this to a longer notice time. I held a spot for a family for like 8 months because they lived in the neighborhood, so recently after 3 weeks of care they tell me they are looking for a new provider. No explanation. They seemed happy and their baby is extremely happy. Problem is it will be hard to fill the spot now since school has already started and everyone has worked out daycare. Question #2: How much vacation do you all take and what is paid? I take all federal holidays paid. I usually get christmas break off and paid because most of my parents are home anyway. I take a week of spring break, and a week vacation in the summer. I ask them to pay for one week of vacation which is usually spring or summer. I have 2 kids of my own so these days are important for me to have off. Parents have to pay me if they go on vacation. I just want to reiterate in my contract that parents are paying to hold a spot for their child. Another note is my family is heavily reliant on my daycare income since my husbands business is not bringing in what it was in the past. Thanks for your advice in advance!
midaycare 06:58 AM 09-11-2014
I charge if my daycare is open. If it is not open, I don't charge. With the exception of 10 holidays per year.
I have an assistant for vacation days for me. If I go on a trip or 3 day weekend, the assistant covers it but I don't get paid. All money goes to her.
You can tell if your rates are fair by checking with the norms for your area.
I have an assistant for vacation days for me. If I go on a trip or 3 day weekend, the assistant covers it but I don't get paid. All money goes to her.
You can tell if your rates are fair by checking with the norms for your area.
llpa 07:52 AM 09-11-2014
My parents pay two weeks in advance so I ask for a two week notice. As far as vacations, I have one week paid, and 8 paid holiday days as well as the 24th thru Jan 1st off. I have a second vacay week that I do not charge parents for. For holding periods while waiting for someone to start, I hold for thirty days and they pay a nonrefundable regular ft rate while waiting to start. 