In my county, I can only have 3 kids under 2yrs.(Lcensed)I already have an 11mnth old, I just enrolled a 3 month old, so I have 1 spot left. Here's my problem...I've interviewed with 2 families. Family #1 has a 4 month old, and they want to start on Monday. The interview went ok. The baby was very cute, but the conversation with the parents was a bit akward, and forced. Mom didn't say much. Mostly I've been emailing/talking with dad. They live down the block from me.

Fam #2, I LOVED! Son was 13 months, and adorable!! Mom and I had great conversation, and share the same values, beliefs, and parenting styles. It really clicked! They would be the perfect fit! But...she was interviewing with another lady on Mon. night, and wouldn't have an answer for me until then. She said the other lady was much older and it would just be their son there. She said she'd rather have him around other kids, but this other lady was just down her street. I told her that I did have another family interviewing for the spot, but that I really thought that her family (#2) would be a better fit. So..........what should I do?

Fam#1 wants to start Monday, Fam#2 won't know till Mon. night. I REALLY want Fam#2, but I also don't want to risk losing both. My family needs the income. Should I have Fam#1 start, and then just see what happens? I had recently taken out the trial period from my contract (darn it) because I have it in there that I reserve the right to terminate, at any time, without notice, if I deem it nessesary for the overall health and well being of my daycare and family. So, I figured that if Fam#2 decides to come here, I would give Fam#1 notice since Fam#2 said she would need to give the center 2 weeks.

In case I haven't said it enough....................I REALLY WANT FAM#2 TO ENROLL!!! They would be my first choice. Any opinions are welcome! Help!
I went from no calls, to having too many! Darn it!

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Could you tell fam #1 that you will not be able to guarantee their spot until Tuesday, and if it is yes to them they can be enrolled by Wed?? Don't tell them you are holding out fir the other family, just say you have to get organized, go over policies, and ensure you have the appropriate start up material for their DS before you give the the go ahead. I am sure they can wait until Wed. I have never heard of ppl needing care that immediate for such a young child

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I'd tell Fam #1 that you won't make your decision about accepting them until Wed next week. Yes you might loose them but if they are serious about wanting you then they will wait. I always start my families on Mondays and don't allow them to start so soon after an interview. I always send them home with no paperwork and ask them to think it over and get back to me if they want to enroll. I get wonderful families this way. And don't stress out too much if you loose both because baby care is always the highest in demand so you'll get fam #3 coming soon.

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That's what I was thinking too. DCD says mom was at home with him, then got a new job and they wanted her to start right away, so dad's been taking baby to work with him this week. There were a couple of red flags that I noticed during the interview. First, they are county pay(fam#2 is not)-not discriminating, just saying, and on their approval sheet they showed me, there was another provider on it. So..he was already at another daycare, and he's only 4 months? They are not currently attending there, so were they terminated? They just said "it wasn't working", and (darn it) I didn't push the subject. So...red flag?

Also, the townhomes they live in are almost $1200/month +, they drive new cars, and are on county assistance? Not sure how.

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Thanks for the encouragement! I'd be more optimistic about a Fam#3 coming along soon, but I had gone almost 2 1/2 months with no calls at all, and we need the money!

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Go with your gut! Don't even bother with family #1. If family#2 doesn't work out someone else WILL come along. Red flags! I see red flags a waving

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I agree totally!
And again, tell them you need time to go over all of the paper work. Can u confirm with state to make sure they have valid paper work? Or contact the other provider?

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go with your gut I went through this in the spring and so glad I listen to my gut

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You couldn't take family #1 anyway until the 11 month old child's first birthday, right? You can only have two under one, three under two. Hopefully family #2 works out for you!

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I used to let families start that quickly after an interview. Now I don't. It's always turned into a hassle. They bring in their registration packet but I'd never get the immunizations or physical and I'd get the "Oh, I forget, I'll have to call the doctor's office tomorrow". (More like the second Tuesday of next week!)

When I interview now, I require at least 2 in person interviews and secure a deposit and I only do 1 interview per week so in order to start, it's going to be at least 2 weeks.

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Yep, I'm calling the county today, just to be sure.

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I could do it either way-1infant and 2 toddlers, or 2 infants and 1 toddler. The 3 month old DCG doesnt start until Sept. 12, which is actually the day after my 11 month olds birthday! So I technically only have 1 infant right now.

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daysofelijah is right about the ages so technically if all these families are full time, you couldn't even take the 4 month old from family #1 until your 11 month old turns 1 year old. (unless you have a variance or unless they are part timers attending on different days).

According to licensing standards, you can never have more than 2 kids under the age of one unless there is a second adult caregiver and you are a C3 license holder or uness you specialize in infant/toddler care which is a Class D license (which also requires a seconfd adult caregiver).

I also hope family #2 works out for you. They seem to have all their ducks in a row and since you "clicked" with them, it sounds like they are a better match for you than family #1 who is already making you have doubts.

Sorry, I posted seconds after you answered daysofelijah... in which case, by your explanation, you will be just fine. But I still hope family # 2 works out for you instead.

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I would wait for family number two. Sounds like a better fit. You could keep looking if it doesn't work out. The other family sounds like it wouldn't work anyway in the long run. If it's not a good fit, it's not.

Great you have the options!! Good luck

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I feel very fortunate to be in the position of having a choice. This actually hasn't ever happened for me. (I've only been licnsed 2 years)

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Thanks Blackcat! I just talked to family #2 and she says she wants to bring her son here, she just wants to have her husband meet us as well.(He's out of town until the 20th.) YAY! Still not [b]for sure[b]but at least I know I'm a forerunner!!

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Good for you!! It always pays to listen to your instincts! I have taken my fair share of undesireable clients before for financial reasons only to end up paying for it later in every other way so good for you!!! What a great way to end your week!!! WooHoo!!

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Soooo, I have an update. I went against my better judgement and took fam#1 because fam#2, if they did come here, wouldn't be starting until the second week in September, so I figured that if I took # 1, I could still make some $ in the meantime since they wanted to start right away. It's going pretty good. The baby is 4 mths. and is a happy baby. I'm still not blown away by the parents demeanor, and their county stuff still isnt 100% figured out yet, so I'm not the happiest. The good news is, I got another email from mom#2, and we've set up a time next week for her husband to come and meet me!! If they want to come here and have a deposit( she already said that would be no problem) then I'm going to have to term #1. I'd miss the little guy, but not the parents. I'll update again once I've met with fam#2 again for those who are interested!

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I hope it works out for you!

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Are you saying you took family number #1 with the intention of terminating them after just a couple of weeks for no other reason than the family you really wanted agreed to sign on?

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I interviewed a family where the mother basically sat there quiet while the dad and I chatted. I thought that was kind of weird at the time - but it turns out she was so upset at the thought of putting her baby in DC, that she couldn't even speak. I enroll the baby and the mother SOBS almost every day. After three weeks of misery, she pulled her daughter. I KNEW this family wouldn't be a good fit - yet I still enrolled the family. My bad.

So... My advice to you is, tell fam #1 that you will give them a decision in the middle of the week. If fam #2 doesn't doesn't want the spot, I would tell fam #1 that you would like to give them a two week trial and see how it goes. If fam #1 chooses someone else because they need someone by Monday, then it wasn't meant to be.

Good luck.

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Well.....not really. I'm in a very hard position financially, and I NEED the $$, ya know for food for my family and such. I took them because I'm not going to know if fam#2 is enrolling for a few weeks. And if they don't enroll, then my spot is still filled. Why does that make me in the wrong? Parents take advantage of us, and what not ALL the time. My reason for terming would really be because of all the "red flags" I was worried about initially are starting to surface. They showed me their county "approval" from July, and said all they needed to do was call to switch providers. Usually,from my own experience, the county can have their new approval to me within their first week of attendance. We're going on week 2 and no papers, and the county said they are waiting on more paperwork from the family. Which upsets me because they have given no money down (county will cover registration) and I'm basically providing free daycare. I did give them a bill for last week, and told them it needs to be paid tomorrow. And as I said in my initial post, the chemistry is very off with this couple. They are also neighbors, and I feel I'm being "watched" all the time. Anyhow, bottom line is, I needed the income, and didn't want to turn someone away if I didn't know for sure if this other family would come here. Call me selfish I guess!

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Don't provide any more free daycare hoping the county comes through for you. In that case, you are still losing income even though you are working! As for the crying mom mentioned....I had one interview like that. The mom hung on tight to the little one and asked no questions. They didn't end up coming here but if they wanted to, I would have said no. I could tell that it wasn't personal, no place was going to be good enough for them. I am lucky that I can afford to wait for the right families. If it came to me literally being able to provide shelter and food for my kids, I would have done what the OP did. Business is business and a girl has got to eat!

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