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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Open Hours Now vs When You Started
BumbleBee 06:18 PM 08-25-2013
Just out of curiosity, when you began home daycare; what were your hours of operation? What are your hours of operation now? And why did you increase/decrease your open hours? (If you did)
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blandino 06:25 PM 08-25-2013
With our first clients my mom, who started the daycare, worked M-Th 7:30-5:30.

Now we are open M-F, 7:30-5:30. We have help come in 3 days a week at 3:00/5:30, so one of us can leave.

Her original 4 day a week schedule looks great now, but considering the difference in income - I would still take our current schedule.
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BumbleBee 06:28 PM 08-25-2013
When I opened just over a year ago, I was open for 12 hours a day (6am - 6pm) and worked every one of those hours. I was burning out

Then I got smart and changed my opening time to 7am, so now I was open for 11 hours. (7am - 6pm) No more burn out!

Next I got stupid and agreed to keep a sibling set until 7pm a few days a week. Now I'm burning out again.

In the works currently is the next change. 7:15am - 5:45pm (1 dcf needs to drop off at 7:15am, another dcf needs to pick up at 5:45pm) so I'd be 'open' 10.5 hrs a day.
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momofboys 06:31 PM 08-25-2013
My hours have always been close to 7:30-5; however last year I took on a PT family who needed unusual hours - 2 days/week from 9:30 a.m. - 6:30. I regretted the loss of family time & no longer hve that family. My hours now are 7:00 a.m. until 4:30, & they work very well for my family. I won't work past 5:00 again as it it fringes on dinner and evening activities
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Maria2013 06:38 PM 08-25-2013
When I first opened I would have taken in ANYONE!! I was on call 24/7 and I was making less than I make now

I did that for a while (5yrs) then decided it was just too much, the kids thought they were mine and the parents started taking me for granted ( neglect to ask me "can you?")
today, I no longer do overnights, I no longer work weekends or holidays and I don't enroll kids that need to be dropped off before 6:00am, or picked up after 7:00pm (I still do occasional emergency care but that happens once in a blue moon)
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Crazy8 06:48 PM 08-25-2013
I always did contracted hours but would take almost anything - I went as much as 6:00am - 5:30pm (not for one family) now I do about 7:30-5:00. Would do earlier in the am if needed since my kids go to school at 7, but I really wanted to get my closing down to 4:30 this year but it didn't happen.
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Angelsj 06:49 PM 08-25-2013
I WILL operate and always have been willing to operate 24 hours.
However, I do have limits. I need my sleep, and I need to study.

I have balanced my needs with parents needs and kids. For example, I would take one family's three boys because they arrive at 8:30 pm and leave about 2 pm the next day. During school, the older two go to school. They don't need me right now, because they are working opposite schedules, but I WOULD take them. The boys sleep through the night with no issues and go to bed by 9pm like troupers.

I would NOT take an infant or any child that would not sleep through the night right now, because that does not meet the needs of everyone. (Mostly me )

I don't really do "set hours" and never have. I have nothing against those that do, it just doesn't work for me.
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SunflowerMama 07:00 PM 08-25-2013
When I first opened: 6am - 6pm

Now: 7:45a - 5pm

I reduced hours for my own sanity and the longer hours were primarily for one client that was a single momma so I was willing to help.
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snbauser 07:05 PM 08-25-2013
When I first started 11 years ago I was 6:30-6. About 6 years ago I changed to 7-5:30. This school year I changed to cater to school employees. So now I am open 6:30-5 because most of our elementary schools start early and teachers need to be there at 7.
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e.j. 07:17 PM 08-25-2013
When I first opened, my hours were 7:30 - 5, M-F. Once my own kids started school, I changed my hours to 8-4 so they could get ready for school and get on the bus before the dc kids showed up. I also wanted them to have me and the house to themselves after school so they could wind down and get homework started without having to compete with dc kids.

At about the same time, my Fridays opened up. I liked having my Fridays off so I could get housework done, schedule dr. and dentist appointments, attend IEP meetings, etc so I only took families who only needed M-Th.

Currently my official hours are 8 - 4, M-Th but I have one family who needs to drop off at 7:30 and another who leaves at 4:30. Once those families move on, I hope to go back to 8-4 but we'll see what happens.
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Cradle2crayons 07:24 PM 08-25-2013
When I first started this time around, I nannied a family with two girls rot down the road from me. I went to their house, got them off the bus with my daughter and stayed until 600 pm. Monday through Friday. I had them holidays and all day in the summers. They grew up and moved.

Then I started another afternoon family and then a day shift family. I really did not enjoy day shift at ALL.

now I'm back to mostly afternoon shift. Wich I love. And while I do work weekends, they don't get here until 300 or 400 pm and are in bed same time as my kids at 830pm. And that also means 2-3 days a week off usually in a row which is great because I can participate in school functions as well. S I get the best of both worlds. My special dcg and her brother are afternoon as well but two days a week they come earlier because mom has a second job. I get full time pay but at least with the three sibling set, I have them awake for four hours a day. Even when they get here early, like at 100 pm, they go down for nap u til 300 pm and then are back in bed at 830. So 20 awake hours a week for them. And I'm a night person anyway.

I love afternoon shift because I get to spend time with my kids in the mornings, I get plenty of days during the week for school activities and me time. And on the weekends I get to sleep in with the kids.

It works for me. But it may not for some.
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LK5kids 07:25 PM 08-25-2013
When I did child care the first time around my hours were 5:30 am to 5:30 pm. It didn't bother me a bit. The kids layed down and went back to sleep.It was just one family that came that early. It lasted a few years.

Now my hours are 7:00am-5:30pm. Only one almost 5 yr old comes at 7:00 a few times a week. I love the days when no one comes till 7:30/7:45.

I would HATE to have kids before 7:00! I have been really lucky ......small town & it can be hard to fill if you are too choosy about ages or hours. I am truly blessed right now with my dck's, parents, hours, etc. I have a wonderful group and I am always thankful!
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mema 07:48 PM 08-25-2013
When I first started, I was open 6a-5p. My 6a drop off either showed up 20 min late or 20 min early. My next drop didn't come until 745. When the first one moved away, I changed my hours to 7a-5p. I will go past 5p on occassion, with advance notice and approval. I would love to go from 600-330 for all the first shift workers at the local plants and hospital/clinic because then I would be done as my kids were either getting off the bus or getting out of school.
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Familycare71 08:48 PM 08-25-2013
When I first started I was open 7am - 6pm. Not too long into it I changed to 5:30 closing time. I am strict with my closing time- I would love it to be 5pm but I live in a small community and the clients just aren't there.
I am more flexible with my opening time tho the average is 7:15 am. I won't do before 6:30am anymore- I am not a morning person!
I have always done M-F with the exception of one family I did weekend care for. It is too much and it would really have to be one time and well paid for me to consider it again!
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CrackerJacks 09:55 PM 08-25-2013
When I first opened (6yrs ago) my hours were 7:30a-6p...Now my hours are 8:30a-5:30p. I've just started the 8:30a start time in order to accommodate taking my DD to school, we have no buses here, last year she hitched a ride with neighbors all year, but I just feel like its no ones responsibility to take her to school but mine. Plus, I like spending that little amt of time we have together before school just the two of us. Eventually I'd also like to have a 4:30p/5p close time. In a perfect world, we all can dream right?
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nanglgrl 11:47 PM 08-25-2013
When I first opened I was open 7:30 to 5:30 (all ages) but when the market changed in my area I started doing 2nd and eventually 3rd shift and I went back and forth with these hours and for a while even did 24 hours and weekends.
Now I'm open 7:30-3:30 and only take ages 1-6 but the majority are 2 -3 years. I've been on this schedule for over a year. I love it. All but one of my children are in school now so the daycare kids arrive when my children leave (except for my 3 year old) for school and leave before my kids get home. I don't plan on ever changing my hours but time will tell.
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Play Care 03:52 AM 08-26-2013
When I started out it was 7:30-5:00. Then it was 7:15 to 5:00, then 7:30-4:45. I've had the last hours for several years now. It does turn some people off (I had a woman go off on me a while back over it) but for the most part my parents make it work. For my sanity I need to be done before 5. Something about that 15 minutes makes me feel like I'm not working as many hours as I actually am

Next year I lose two to K, and I'm hoping it won't mean a change in hours.
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MsLaura529 04:15 AM 08-26-2013
I just opened (in April) but my hours are 7:30-5:30. However, very rarely is anyone here after 5 so far, and my newest little DCK will be coming some morning around 7 or 7:15, but that's ok.
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AnneCordelia 04:28 AM 08-26-2013
When I opened it was with the hours of 7-6:45. It was waaaaaaaaay too long. I burnt out and shortened my hours. Now I work m-f 7-5, but my current clients keep the hours of 7:15-4pm. Next week my 4pm close changes to 5pm again but its been a nice summer of early closing. :-)
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EntropyControlSpecialist 05:24 AM 08-26-2013
I used to be 8-5. I switched to 7-6 (the extra hour in the morning for families that needed it was free and the extra hour in the evening for families that needed it was $6.00 per day). When things were extremely stressful I switched back to 8-5. 8-5 is much less exhausting than 10 or 11 hour days!

In order to get new clients, I went BACK to 7-6 (but was only willing to work until 6 a few days a week so I do so 3 days). I have one divorced family that comes in at 7 two days per week, one teacher family who comes in at 7 four days per week, one teacher family who comes in at 7 5 days per week, and one family that alternates between mom and grandma dropping off who comes in about 3 days per week at 7. Only one child stays until 6 three days per week and they pay $6.00 per day. Complicated enough?
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Sunchimes 05:43 AM 08-26-2013
At first, I took whatever I could get. I had 3 part time families. One was only here1-3 days a week from about 6 to 3, sometimes less. One was here 2 days one week, 3 days the next, but the were 12 1/2 hour days with her. The third worked retail, so sometimes I worked until 9 pm. Small town, no teachers kids available, it was tough. Then 3rd mom changed jobs and we agreed that I would keep her until 8 pm, but her boss changed her hours and it was 10 pm, then it was midnight. And all of those hours were just guesses-she got off at midnight in theory, but if there was a customer (truck stop) or her relief was late, she worked late. I've worked from 5:30 am to 1 am a few times. I was just about to term her when she changed jobs again and had someone pick up at 7 when she had to work late. I worked every Saturday, but sometimes the stars aligned and I got a mid week day off. That lasted a year. I just have one family (2 kids) now and it is a dream schedule, 8-5 M-F. Lots of holidays that I get paid for because I am open, even if she doesn't need me. I really need to fill my last space, and I know things will get crazy again, but it's been a really nice few months. My hope with the new family is to work no later than 5:30. I don't care how early they get here since I'm always up by 5 anyway.
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coolconfidentme 05:48 AM 08-26-2013
(same)
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Scout 05:48 AM 08-26-2013
My contract says that I am available 5:30am-5:30pm(I think) but, none of my families use all of the hours. I have been blessed with really great families who don't take advantage! My earliest very pt child gets here some days at 5:30am and we just go back to sleep until 6:30 when the other kids arrive! She is picked up by 3. The others all arrive before 7 am. One leaves at 3:30, one at 4, one around 4:15. These schedules work really well for me as DS had baseball games at 6 this summer so we still had time to eat dinner beforehand. All of my parents pick up right on the way home from work so I haven't had a problem with abuse of kids being here til closing. I didn't want a younger child but, decided they will only grow to the age I like and the schedule meshed well with the others.
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Moppetland 05:52 AM 08-26-2013
When I first opened, it was M-F from 6am-12am. My last family got picked up at 11:30pm. This burnt me out. I closed because I was so burnt out. I thought I was done. I went to work in a all day preschool and was working from 8:00am - 6:00pm. If a parent is late picking up, I sometimes stayed and waited on them.

I was making way less money and was getting home after 7:00pm because of traffic. So, I thought about it. I told myself that I might as well open back up because now I'm really burnt out.

I'm open again and my hours are 7:00am - 5:30pm. I've learned so much from the first time. These hours work for me. I still have enough time to volunteer at my daughter's high school, go to classes myself, and just plain relax earlier in the evening.
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butterfly 07:08 AM 08-26-2013
My hours have not changed, but I have switched to a school year only program, so I'm now closed the same days as the school. I only made the switch because I happened to have nearly all teachers children. They didn't want to pay for the summers, so I decided at that point that's how I'd do things going forward. Works great for me. Allows more time for my own children and now that my children are school age, it's absolutely perfect.
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Blackcat31 07:34 AM 08-26-2013
When I first opened my hours were M-F 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

My current hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

My hours changed as I felt stretched too thin and as I grew weary of unkept schedules, 5 extra minutes here and there and simple disrespect of opening and closing times.
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mom2many 08:32 AM 08-26-2013
My hours were based on what the families needed when I first opened. They were both p/t and needed care from 7-4.

Later my hours were 8-5:30, because the dc families I had didn't need dc as early, but needed it later.

For the past 10 years, I have ended up working longer hours. I have some families needing care as early as 6:45 am and others needing care till 6 pm. This is a result of having more single parents (I used to have on parent drop off and another pick up) & the crazy, long commute many parents have around here.

I wish I could have the 7-4 hours again... But I'd lose every one of my families if those were my hours now!
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KBCsMommy 09:33 AM 08-26-2013
When I first opened my hours were 7 am to 6pm. Most of my parents didn't come until around 7:20 am and kids were all picked up before 5:30 pm.

So I changed my start time to 7:30 am and kept the 6 pm pick up as a courtesy.

I started a new dcg last August dcm is a teacher and works a little ways out of town but gets out of school at 2:45. She asked for a 7:15 drop off, no problem. Within two weeks she was strolling up the driveway at 5:58 pm EVERYDAY in her pajamas....Yes pajamas.

Needless to say I changed my closing hours to 5:30 pm. So now she comes strolling up the driveway everyday at 5:28 pm...everyday.....whether she went to work or not.

So now my hours are 7:30 am to 5:30 pm.
(With the exception of dcm who drops at 7:15, and not a minute earlier!)
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melilley 12:02 PM 08-26-2013
When I first opened my hours were 6am-6pm. I do contracted hours and luckily no one is contracted until 7:30 and they are all usually gone by 5:30. I am losing one child and now I am going to advertise that I am open form 7-6. I can't imaging having kids come at 6 in the morning!
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originalkat 01:34 PM 08-26-2013
I have always been 7-5:30. I have ALMOST moved to 7:30-5:30 but I always end up having at least one who needs to drop off between 7 and 7:30. Figures!
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lovemyjob 12:12 PM 08-27-2013
I started 5 yrs ago from 6-5:30pm. Last year i changed my hours to 6-5:00. However, a current client changed jobs and still needs til 5:30 pm. Is frustrating because with 3 kids of my own in school and 2 schooling at home.....i need more time in the evenings. We have adjusted for now and clean up and start supper during that last kiddos final 45 min. Otherwise it would be too much. My ideal hours would run 6-4:30. Someday perhaps?
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LaLa1923 01:28 PM 08-28-2013
I work whenever I need to, it isn't always perfect but it works. My core hours are Monday - Friday 6:30am - 5:15.
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