This mom is not working and wants to leave her fresh 1 year old who’s never been to care before from open to close. 7am-5:30pm. To me, that’s insane. I don’t want to care for her child for 10.5 hrs when she is not working... so what do I reply? Even if she was working I don’t want to care for a child that long. Am I wrong here?

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If I know a parent isn't working I limit their services to 5 hours max. They can not be the first arrival nor the last pick up.

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Maybe some version of:

Dear DCM

Katie is welcome to be in care for no more than 5 hours per day unless a parent's work schedule dictates otherwise. Quality time with a parent is ideal for all children thus the limitations in when scheduling. Thank you!

Sincerely
Katie's Daycare PROVIDER not PARENT

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You are not wrong in your feelings.

I, however, deal with it all the time, from birth on. As long as they pay tuition and stay within my business hours, what they are doing with their time is really none of my business.

I find that by keeping score of it, all I really do is interfere with my own peace.

Sure it can be super frustrating when they are the ONLY kid in care, but it is part of the contract, IMHO. (Last year I had one child here 11 days when both parents were off work and no other child was in care. I completely get what you are saying. )

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Is the child just getting used to care? What are their normal hours? What is the reason she needs care, if known? I was once a single mom and took days off work to do things like doctor appointments and things I could not bring my kiddos to (custody hearings etc.) I have contracted hours so as long as parents are within those, I am ok with it. None of my kids are here that long of a day though.

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She’s currently looking for a job but wants to start him ASAP to secure a spot. She doesn’t even know what her working hours would be, but in the meantime she wants to leave him here for 10.5 hrs.

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I'd tell her that her contracted hours will be based on her work schedule, but for now, while she's job hunting, she can leave him from 8-4. That means she can still make job hunting her full-time job, and he won't be plunged into 55 hours per week daycare right away....call it a transition time.

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Maybe just straight up ask her why she needs 10.5 hours of care if she isn't working....

I dunno, I have always been in the camp of not really caring what parents do when I have their child but I also have contracted hours and the rate reflects their hours so it's never been an issue and I'm only open 9.5 hours so IF I did have a child needing care from open to close, they'd be paying a fairly high rate for it.

Maybe you can tell her care for 9 hours is $X but for more than 9 hours its $X PLUS $. My reasoning for contracted hours (other than the obvious...knowing when kids are DO/PU) it's because I want parents to understand that care beyond what you truly needs comes as a price/cost.

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Charge more for those hours. I'm sure she can pick up sooner.

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Yikes!

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This ^^^

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My clients get 9.5 hours a day not to exceed 4:30. In the past, I have allowed some nurse clients that work 12 hours to use the 6:00 to 4:30 but they only are allowed the three days they actually work. I do not waiver on my closing time at all. This is one of the things I do so I wasn't irrated all the time about what clients are doing. I do like daycarediva's hours for SAHM. I don't have any SAHM but I would like to use that when a client is off for the day.

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Thanks guys! I responded to her basically saying that I can do 7-4 or 8-5 while she is looking for work and that 10.5 hrs is an extremely long time for her child to be in care, especially if he’s never attended daycare before. So she wants to ease him into care by doing 7-12 for the first 2 weeks and then 7-4 after that.

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This is really good advice here. When we had a home daycare and people would pick up kids late, coming in their gym clothes or looking like they just got out of bed, it was really frustrating. Making sure you have policies like reasonable contracted hours is the best way. Worrying about what people are doing while their kid is with you will drive you crazy.

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I don't think you're wrong! I'm glad you got it worked out with Mom! I make it very clear to parents that I provide care for Working Families. Almost all of my families have been word of mouth, so it's never been an issue, because they're seeking me out so they can go to work. I don't know where all these families are that can pay for daycare while not working, but they really don't exist in my area. For me, I set my daycare cost based on the parent working. If the parent is not working, they do not get the luxury of my daycare price. They get my babysitter price, which is much higher. Kids are expensive. If you want all the free time you can get away from them, you're going to pay a lot of money to me to get it. So much money, that you will probably not take me up on it anymore. I only care for a small amount of kids, so I'm sure with a bigger group it could be harder to manage, so I definitely think it's not a one size fits all type thing. For me, it's never been a problem, because like I said, parents around here are not going to pay $700 a month for daycare if they don't need it. I've actually taken more of a drop-in care approach these days, because I have a second job. I found that it makes me much happier than having kids full time. It is a new market of parents, because I'm dealing with people who work odd hours, but I enjoy the freedom it gives me. With my second job, if I'm tired or just need a day off, I don't accept any children for that day. So far, it's been working pretty well. It's sort of my exit plan. When I'm ready to be totally done, I just won't be taking on any more kids, but I dont feel pressure to make any moves before I'm ready because parents are not relying on me 50 hrs a week. Hope it all works out with this family!

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