How many of you have ever bumped a part time family when a full time family wants you.

I have been going through a lot lately. I lost 3 kids within 2 weeks so I am really looking for anything right now.

I have 2 part time families and 1 full time. The one part time family will be starting in a few weeks. The mother is a nurse and needs me to be available to her M-Th for 2 children even though she only needs care 2 days a week. Her days will change every week. I am only charging her for 2 days a week. She has to pay this weekly rate regardless of attendance/holidays. Yes, I am very glad this will help with my income but looking into future clients (If they ever call) I am worried that I this position will prevent me from taking on TWO full time families. That is such a big jump in income. The reason she is leaving her current home daycare provider is because they basically bumped her for a new family.

I have never bumped someone before to take on a full time child. I am so worried about upsetting the family. They couldn't find any other home daycare that would do what I am doing for them with the flexibility. Financially though I really don't think I could pass up this part time family right now but in the future I feel I wouldn't be able to pass up full time clients.

What exactly do you say to families when this problem arises?

How do parents react?

Again this family wont even start for 2 weeks. I am thankful they chose me but I am looking into the future even though no one is lined up.

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I have never bumped a family nor would I. But I also would not reserve a f/t spot for less that p/t pay. she wants 5 days but pay for 2 no way. my p/t is 3 set days anything else they pay for f/t so the days are theirs.

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I had to do this once. I had an infant (1 year old) coming to me one day per week and he was basically taking up an infant spot. All the calls I was getting were for infants so I had to let them go so that I could take on a full-time infant.

This family was one of my golden families. I had had their dd from newborn until kindy, and then this baby was their second born. Both parents' work situations changed multiple times over those years and I rolled with every change. Schedules changed more times than I can remember. It didn't matter a whole lot back then because I was legally unlicensed and only had a small number of children. Then I decided to become relicensed, and that ratio of children you can have under and over two was where the glitch came in.

When I had to break this news to dcm that they were losing the spot, she was not at all surprised. They figured it was coming and understood that it was strictly a business decision that I HAD to make. I was in tears and feeling awful about it, of course, but they were completely awesome about it. They have tons of family in the area, so they ended up taking the little one to an aunt I think for that one day.

It all worked out, but in the future I will not schedule a part time infant.

Good luck. I know it is not easy or a nice position to be in.

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I've had to do it - I approached the parent, told them I had a fulltime position that they either would need to take (and pay the full time wages) or I would have to give them their notice. They said they wanted to stay and paid the full time wage even though their child did not come full time. I had that child for two years and I can count on one hand the amount of times she used the entire week for her child.

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That's a tough situation. You need anything RIGHT NOW, but these 2 kids will still take up 2 whole spots.

If you think you may need to bump them in the future I would make sure they understand that full time trumps part time ESPECIALLY with 2 spots! That is a lot of income to pass up for part time

As to the bolded part, this is the reason she is having a hard time! She's asking you to keep the whole week open for 2 days that change, so you can't even fill in with other part timers. She's asking you to make half as much money to accommodate her schedule.

I would do it for now, but like I said, be clear that if something else comes along the deal is off

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My policy handbook states that while I do my best to accommodate all families, that full time children will always take priority over part time, and if in the event I have the opportunity to enroll a full time family I will provide the existing PT family the opportunity to go FT, but if they choose not to they will be bumped from my program.

I've not had to completely remove anyone from my program, yet, but that may happen very soon as I am getting more and more calls for FT spots. However, I have had to bump a PT kid to certain days and her mom was able to accommodate.

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I have never had to do it but I did take on a family letting them know this can happen and gave them the choice to still enroll. I took the family on when I was low in numbers but I do anticipate having a full house in upcoming months. This family could not afford to pay for unused days so we came to the agreement that I would keep them as long as I could and give a heads up if a ft family would be given her spot.

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I would tell the part time families what is going on and tell them they need to either switch to full time or arrange their schedules together so they only take up one space. In other words one family can have mornings and the other family can have afternoons. Or one family MWF and the other T Th, etc.
I have two families set up like this and because they are part time they pay more. So between the two I make $50 more per week on the one space.
If they take up one space together then you will also have room for the FT child. Win/Win.

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I have a part in my handbook that talks about priority. Full time takes priority over part time, part time needing the most hours takes priority over less hours, part time takes priority over drop in etc.

I've never had to actually bump a family but when I did have a PT family that came 2 days a week on a variable schedule and I got interest from a family needing 3 days a week on a set schedule and more hours (meaning more money) I approached my DC family with two options
1) keep their 2 days a week but change from a changing schedule each week to a set schedule taking up the 2 days that the interested family didn't need ... meaning 2 PT families would be using 1 FT spot and since I charge a little more for PT this FT spot would be bringing in more money than a regular FT child did.
2) keep their 2 days a week and their changing schedule but because they are taking up a FT spot then they have to pay for a FT spot.

In this case the 2 day a week family talked to their work and worked it out so that they could come the 2 days and that worked out.


I didn't always have my priority policy but I added it in when I figured out that I was losing business I added it into my new policies and tried my best to "grandfather" my current families in. As they aged out or moved and i got new families that's when I enforced my priority policy and new rates. Now when I get a family interested in PT with a flexible schedule they have to pay for a FT spot because they are taking up a FT spot. What helps me is to have a Rate sheet printed out with my rates and that's what I hand the parents during interviews. Having it in front of me and giving them a copy helps me stick to my guns.

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That is not true.
There are plenty of daycares that will take her on with that kind of schedule.

It's the payment obligations that are stopping HER from using any of those other daycares.

They WILL accommodate her schedule. She just doesn't want to pay them for that flexibility.

When she presents it as if other daycares won't take her, that is such an unfair and kind of dishonest statement to make. One I suspect she made so you will feel sorry for her.

If parents need/want convenience, they should have to pay for it.

Instead, they try and get the provider to deal with it and try and figure it out.

HER work schedule and personal situation should NOT affect you or your finances. She is using that against you and you are the one taking the loss for someone else's situation.

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I would not have taken on a flex schedule like that… If they needed me to be available for 4 days they would have to pay for all 4 days. Depending on my needs I *might* give them a slight discount knowing they are only using 2 but what generally ends up happening is "since they are paying for it" they start using 3 days and then 4 so you have to be careful with that discount.

I may possibly have to let a part timer go in the fall and I hate to but she is only 2 days a week - one of those days works with a child who comes 4 days a week but that 1 other day falls into what could be a full time opening for someone else. If I find a part timer (3-4 days a week) she can stay but if I find a full timer I will have to let her go. It sucks but its a SAHM and I know they won't want to pay for more days.

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THis!! I had a family years ago con me into taking their kids past my working hours because they said that they could not find anywhere else that would take them until that hour. It was the truth when it came to centers but not when it came to homecare.

I finally got sick of working during my family time so I told her I was going to raise the rates. This family had 2 kids so I didn't want to lose the income, both full time.

As soon as I told her rates where going to go up more, she magically found a daycare that would take them within 2 days.

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Yep, I had one that magically found a daycare center that would allow dcm to bring her kids any two days of the week she needed... She did say she hadn't discussed the cost when they signed up (all because I couldn't guarantee Fridays anymore, after almost 2 years with a discount, no holding fees for the summer, etc). I sincerely hope they wound up paying a fortune- at least the center could re-coup all the money I lost being too nice/ a doormat!

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I'm faced with this decision as well... I have a PT family that I REALLY like!! But they're only here Th & Fri and it's like the 2 days everyone wants! I can't give everyone Th & Fri availability... For some reason all of a sudden I've gotten a million calls for PT infants. I have had 6 interviews and still have 2 more. I really don't have that many spots, 1 already found someone else, and 1 is temp care while her mom is out of town helping her sister with her baby and drop-in as needed in the future. Only 1 is a FT family BUT I almost end up losing money if I take them over multiple PT families. IF I can make multiple families work for this one spot I would do that since it's more money. I'm likely losing one family today and it's a 2+ DCB so it does help me accommodate one more infant, but that still doesn't work well. It's just such a pain to work with all these different families and their different schedules but now I feel a little more value as I can pick and choose who I want and if a FT family comes along I may not offer as big of a discount for the future. Only $10/wk instead of $25/wk.

Ugh... I wish you luck. Like BC said though, anyone would be willing to take them at a FT rate with a PT schedule but no one wants to do that. I have a mom I interviewing with a schedule like this. BUT she has her schedule literally an entire year+ in advance (teacher on B days only) and she'll pay for those days and her MIL will have him some days as well. Like she can have him Fridays or something so I have Mon-Wed some weeks and Tue-Thurs other weeks. He's close to the same age as the others I have turning 2, so it can all work out by Oct but it's the Aug to Oct that will be trying. Thankfully my SA son will be in school mid Aug as well and then goes back to sharing one space... Ugh I don't know. We'll see how things go. I have a feeling my DCG may end up going to preschool soon when she turns 2 so I'm not counting them for long term.

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And of course as I typed this the mom who is looking for FT care wrote me that she wants to hold the spot!! I'm happy and excited but bummed at the same time to have to tell SOOOOOO many people that I won't be able to work with them now.

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One of the things I do to help make dealing with part timers easier is I allow part time space to fall on M, W, F or T, Th ONLY. If they want weird days like just Thursday, Friday...I can't do it...too hard to fill the other 3 days...

Most part timers are set up as every other day.

I don't normally take 2 days a week but will if I have someone in the M,W F spot. The 2 families that fill that space pays more than one full timer.

If they can't manage the M,W,F or T,Th option I can't manage care for them,

ALL infants here, REGARDLESS of attendance pay one flat weekly rate. Infant space is soooo hard to find here that it simplifies things for me.

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I do this. And I make it clear to part time people up front that this could be a possibility.

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Thanks, I know it would be much easier to force scheduled days and rates but I feel like I'm still making my way in the industry. I just realized last weeks just how many providers there are! A mom on the soccer league runs one and I dropped off my card to her about the soccer reg and she called me back to chat and said 3 others in her development do as well! I have 3 people nearby me who do, I know of many others. Once i get them here I have to sell ME at that point and I'm struggling with that idea. I feel like people know pretty quickly if they like me or not and it comes down to other factors like hours, flexibility, rate, etc.
Ugh I'm so stressed about this and need to stop freaking out and just go with the flow. Part of my worry is upsetting these people who may feel like they found their ideal provider upon meeting me and then have to start all over again. But it is what it is and I can't take 5 infants so my hands are tied. FT trumps PT.

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One thing that I got from this forum is confidence. I also learned what my value is. Once that clicks and you yourself believe that you provide a valuable service and that you are an asset it's easier for the parents to see it. When you carry yourself with confidence and pride in your work your body language will reflect that. You will emit an energy of positiveness and whatever else that you hope to portray. If you support physical activity be bubbly and energetic, if you support soothing environments be calm etc.

The most important thing is to believe in yourself and in your program. When you believe it and portray that then the parents will believe it too and it will be easier to enforce policies and run your program the way that you envisioned it. It will also be easier to make changes (like clients) that benefit your business.

The "good" clients that you want are the ones that appreciate you and your program and if they do that they'll stay or make accommodations in order to stay in your program when you want to make changes.

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See I have bumped Part timers… after they were given the option of going full time (I do babies only & have limited spaces); I also offer part time with a twist. If you have set PT days you pay less than if you have a rotating schedule (rotating PT is charged a 10% premium for the option)… has to be same # of days each week, none of the 2 days one week, 3 days the next crap.

I explain it to families as it's taking away from a space that could be contracted full time, however it's still cheaper than doing it as a Pay by the day, drop-in client which is not a guaranteed in the childcare.

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Thank you MV... After this last mega round of interviews I feel much more confident in myself and see my value for sure. I just still get the butterflies and feel nervous. The one mom who chose another provider actually let me know why and said it was a really hard choice but this other provider was closer to their home so ultimately that did it. There's nothing I could have done differently, some people value the 20 extra mins they'd spend driving every day. I totally understand that. 1 is bringing her child Monday, one is bringing a deposit Monday to start as soon as she finds a job and 4 others will be in touch, 1 more interview tonight. 1 more next week unless I hear back from more families.

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I am group so have a little flexibility, but I generally only take one part time family, with a minimum 3 days per week, whether they come or not. it is good to explain to them that you are losing a large amount of the income your family needs in order to accommodate their needs. Honestly, so many families just don't seem to get that if they don't pay us, we don't eat. They need a little information to understand our licensing restrictions, as well.

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How did your interviews go??? Any new clients? How is it going?

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