Should I Have To Pay?

My 4 year old is in full time home daycare with 1 provider plus 1 helper. The helper recently had a baby and the daycare provider came to me and said that because of the ratio my daughter would only be able to come certain days 9-11am, no daycare the other days for the next 2 weeks. Well I pay her every week for 8 - 5 full time hours and because I dont have fulltime daycare those 2 weeks I had to find alternate child support for 2 weeks until the helper comes back. We just found out that she is charging us the 2 weeks that my child was not there. Is this right?

[Blackcat31]

In personal opinion, I think that you should not have to pay for this time since it was due to circumstances beyond your control. I fully understand the adult to child ratios but if you received short notice and were forced to find alternate care then I think you shouldn't have to pay.

However, that being said, I would read your contract and see if it lists anything about unexpected days where the assistant is unavailable and how the daycare intends to handle it. If you agreed to pay for days the assistant isn't available then you may be stuck paying. But if you had no idea provider was going to limit the access you had for care then I do not think it is right that you are being charged for this time.

[MarinaVanessa]

If it were me I would not have charged you. It seems unfair to charge the full rate when the provider was the one to limit the days and hours that your child could attend daycare. It seems to me that the provider should have had a back-up plan or substitute assistant. I would check with your contract, what does it say?

[DCMom]

I don't think it's right, but check your contract to see if this situation is addressed. If it's not, I would talk to your provider. She may have some reason behind it, though I can't think of what it might be.

Honestly, I'm kind of surprised that your provider didn't make other arrangements for a substitute assistant or variance on her license for that two weeks. It's not like a baby just happens, you know?

Good Luck, I hope it works out.

[Cat Herder]

Does your signed contract say Full-Time or Part-Time?

Were you supposed to give notice she was not going to be there?

Does you child attend pre-school offsite?

Frustrating! I don't want to cause an issue because this daycare is perfect for my middle schooler also to walk to everyday after class. I will check but I dont want to cause any tension between the daycare lady and my family.

[wdmmom]

She is not able and available to provide care, therefore no payment should be made. It's up to the provider to remain within ratio. If her assistant had a baby, she should have found a substitute or notified you weeks/months ago that she would need to cancel services.

[misspollywog]

I personally would NOT pay for care if she cut the hours. Now if it were the other way around, well...

[godiva83]

personally I don't think you should have to pay FULL fee either - also what is 9- 11 realistically how does that help??
I think she just offered that to have you still pay. As mentioned refer to your contract. I don't think if you bring it up in a professional manner it will offend her. Perhaps say, " I understand that regular pay by clients is how you maintain such an excellent program; however, in this circumstance I have to pay for secondary care at no fault of my own and it isn't schduled time off. I don't see how this is fair. I am willing to pay for the hours that I use but the hours that YOU can't accomidate for reasons that don't pertain to me I am not willing to pay. I hope we can work something out that will be able to benefit us both, as you are a great care provider and both my child and I adore you - we really don't want something like this to hinder care or our professional relationship."

[youretooloud]

I personally feel like you should NOT have to pay her for full time.

If I had to tell a parent to find alternate care because of ratios, I would not charge the parent at ALL, and I'd do what I could to compensate for the inconvenience of displacing the child for two weeks.

That type of thing makes me mad. Clients should be treated better IMO.

[daycare]

This provider had 9 months to find someone else to help while the assistant went out on leave. This is not your probelm, its the providers problem. She should have never let this become your problem.

I would find another DC to be honest with ya....

[youretooloud]

Originally Posted by daycare

I would find another DC to be honest with ya....

That's exactly what I would do too. If I'm understanding the situation completely... I think the provider is very, very wrong, and I wouldn't ever trust her again.

That'd be like my hairdresser calling me to say she's sick, and can't do my hair tonight, but her friend at the salon can do it...but, I have to pay both my normal hairdresser, and her friend.

[MyAngels]

Originally Posted by godiva83

personally I don't think you should have to pay FULL fee either - also what is 9- 11 realistically how does that help??
I think she just offered that to have you still pay. As mentioned refer to your contract. I don't think if you bring it up in a professional manner it will offend her. Perhaps say, " I understand that regular pay by clients is how you maintain such an excellent program; however, in this circumstance I have to pay for secondary care at no fault of my own and it isn't schduled time off. I don't see how this is fair. I am willing to pay for the hours that I use but the hours that YOU can't accomidate for reasons that don't pertain to me I am not willing to pay. I hope we can work something out that will be able to benefit us both, as you are a great care provider and both my child and I adore you - we really don't want something like this to hinder care or our professional relationship."

IMO this would be an excellent way to handle it. If you read on this board long enough you will see that lack of communication between parents and providers is what causes so many problems. She failed to adequately communicate her reasons for this with you, but that should not stop you from communicating your position to her - to the benefit of everyone involved.

Good luck, and I'd be interested to know the outcome and how you end up handling this situation.