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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>How Do You Handle Maternity Leave?
justgettingstarted 08:36 PM 10-11-2012
When it comes close to the due date do you keep parents on notice and they have back up plans ready? Do you close a week before your due date soyou have a hard date for parents to plan on? If I decide to continue doing daycare I can only close for a couple of weeks for maternity leave, so how do you deal with the uncertainty of when you'll go into labor? DS (my first) was nearly a week early and I know second pregnancies often come early.
mom2many 09:21 PM 10-11-2012
I had 2 of my children while doing daycare. My middle child actually came 6 weeks early. I had told all of the parents that I planned to work up until my due date. (My oldest was born the day after his due date) and my pregnancies had always been easy and w/o complications.
I was doing great and watching kids on Friday and then Sunday my water broke. I called everyone to let them know I was hospitalized and would be having my son early. They all had a back up plan and it went off without a hitch. I only took a few weeks off...it was easier having my oldest son who was 3 yo, have his playmates back, so I didn't take much time off at all.
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I told everyone to be ready in case I had another premature baby. However, she was 2 weeks late and had to be induced! This actually made it easy, because everyone knew when it was going to happen!
I look back on it and think, "Wow, it worked out great both times!" Now I stress when I have to call the parents when I'm sick (which thankfully isn't very often!)
Last week, my own baby girl had a baby of her own...And once again, I wondered how is this going to work out and how will I be able to be there for the birth? I had told the parents that I would need to be there for her and 3 weeks before her due date, she went into labor. I called everyone in the morning and told them that I was on my way to the hospital. I ended up only taking that one day off and was back to work the next day. It couldn't have been more perfect (unless she'd been born over the weekend!)
I was doing great and watching kids on Friday and then Sunday my water broke. I called everyone to let them know I was hospitalized and would be having my son early. They all had a back up plan and it went off without a hitch. I only took a few weeks off...it was easier having my oldest son who was 3 yo, have his playmates back, so I didn't take much time off at all.
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I told everyone to be ready in case I had another premature baby. However, she was 2 weeks late and had to be induced! This actually made it easy, because everyone knew when it was going to happen!
I look back on it and think, "Wow, it worked out great both times!" Now I stress when I have to call the parents when I'm sick (which thankfully isn't very often!)
Last week, my own baby girl had a baby of her own...And once again, I wondered how is this going to work out and how will I be able to be there for the birth? I had told the parents that I would need to be there for her and 3 weeks before her due date, she went into labor. I called everyone in the morning and told them that I was on my way to the hospital. I ended up only taking that one day off and was back to work the next day. It couldn't have been more perfect (unless she'd been born over the weekend!)
baysmom 12:14 AM 10-12-2012
Originally Posted by mom2many:
I had 2 of my children while doing daycare. My middle child actually came 6 weeks early. I had told all of the parents that I planned to work up until my due date. (My oldest was born the day after his due date) and my pregnancies had always been easy and w/o complications.
I was doing great and watching kids on Friday and then Sunday my water broke. I called everyone to let them know I was hospitalized and would be having my son early. They all had a back up plan and it went off without a hitch. I only took a few weeks off...it was easier having my oldest son who was 3 yo, have his playmates back, so I didn't take much time off at all.
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I told everyone to be ready in case I had another premature baby. However, she was 2 weeks late and had to be induced! This actually made it easy, because everyone knew when it was going to happen!
I look back on it and think, "Wow, it worked out great both times!" Now I stress when I have to call the parents when I'm sick (which thankfully isn't very often!)
Last week, my own baby girl had a baby of her own...And once again, I wondered how is this going to work out and how will I be able to be there for the birth? I had told the parents that I would need to be there for her and 3 weeks before her due date, she went into labor. I called everyone in the morning and told them that I was on my way to the hospital. I ended up only taking that one day off and was back to work the next day. It couldn't have been more perfect (unless she'd been born over the weekend!)
Did you put anything about maternity leave in your handbook? How many weeks did you take off? No one had any issues?I had 2 of my children while doing daycare. My middle child actually came 6 weeks early. I had told all of the parents that I planned to work up until my due date. (My oldest was born the day after his due date) and my pregnancies had always been easy and w/o complications.
I was doing great and watching kids on Friday and then Sunday my water broke. I called everyone to let them know I was hospitalized and would be having my son early. They all had a back up plan and it went off without a hitch. I only took a few weeks off...it was easier having my oldest son who was 3 yo, have his playmates back, so I didn't take much time off at all.
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I told everyone to be ready in case I had another premature baby. However, she was 2 weeks late and had to be induced! This actually made it easy, because everyone knew when it was going to happen!
I look back on it and think, "Wow, it worked out great both times!" Now I stress when I have to call the parents when I'm sick (which thankfully isn't very often!)
Last week, my own baby girl had a baby of her own...And once again, I wondered how is this going to work out and how will I be able to be there for the birth? I had told the parents that I would need to be there for her and 3 weeks before her due date, she went into labor. I called everyone in the morning and told them that I was on my way to the hospital. I ended up only taking that one day off and was back to work the next day. It couldn't have been more perfect (unless she'd been born over the weekend!)
Michael 02:00 AM 10-12-2012
More threads: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.p...aternity+leave
daymommy 06:09 AM 10-12-2012
With DD I already had the day off because I was scheduled to go in for a non stress test (I was 5 days overdue). Well everything went well with the test and when they checked me afterwards they said I was 5 cm and didn't want me to go home. Luckily it was a Friday so my families had the weekend to prepare for the upcoming week. I had told everyone that I would work up to my due date. I took 8 weeks unpaid so I was flexible if people had back up lined up and if they wanted to start with back up on a specific date I didn't charge them. Most of my families started with their back ups on my due date, so they were gone by the time I went into labor anyway.
I only had one child not come back after my maternity leave (she wasn't a good fit and I had already had conversations with her parents about it, so I'm guessing that had about as much to do with it as my leave).
This time I'm due Jan 4th (Fri) and I told everyone that the 4th would be my last day doing daycare if I haven't had her yet. I also made sure to remind them to have a back up plan in place in case I go early, but this is my 3rd and I haven't yet. I'm taking 8 weeks off, so I'll go back full time in March.
I do have one little guy who goes to preschool with my son (I take them) so I told his mom he could come back after 2 weeks so they didn't have to figure out a way to get him to and from school since I'm taking DS anyway. Plus I figure that will give DS someone to play with and keep him busy. It will just be 3 days a week though and they are in school in the PM. I also made sure when I offered that I let them know that I would not be doing our typical "daycare" until the end of my maternity leave (no daily information sheets, no curriculum, art projects, etc). We still may do some of that, but I don't want to feel pressured to. I also made sure they were fine with him tagging along with us if there was ever a day when we wanted to run some errands or something. I am only charging them half price and by the day (vs my normal weekly rate) during my maternity leave since I won't be doing those things. They were fine with it and very appreciative.
I only had one child not come back after my maternity leave (she wasn't a good fit and I had already had conversations with her parents about it, so I'm guessing that had about as much to do with it as my leave).
This time I'm due Jan 4th (Fri) and I told everyone that the 4th would be my last day doing daycare if I haven't had her yet. I also made sure to remind them to have a back up plan in place in case I go early, but this is my 3rd and I haven't yet. I'm taking 8 weeks off, so I'll go back full time in March.
I do have one little guy who goes to preschool with my son (I take them) so I told his mom he could come back after 2 weeks so they didn't have to figure out a way to get him to and from school since I'm taking DS anyway. Plus I figure that will give DS someone to play with and keep him busy. It will just be 3 days a week though and they are in school in the PM. I also made sure when I offered that I let them know that I would not be doing our typical "daycare" until the end of my maternity leave (no daily information sheets, no curriculum, art projects, etc). We still may do some of that, but I don't want to feel pressured to. I also made sure they were fine with him tagging along with us if there was ever a day when we wanted to run some errands or something. I am only charging them half price and by the day (vs my normal weekly rate) during my maternity leave since I won't be doing those things. They were fine with it and very appreciative.
canadiancare 06:23 AM 10-12-2012
I am old and so are my kids.
I had son #2 in 1994 by unexpected C-section on a Friday (I was open Thursday and re-opened on Monday with my mother there to help me). Parents had a back up plan as I was a bit overdue anyway. I didn't have anything in a policy handbook as I only was caring for 3 children plus my own in those days.
By the time my daughter was born in 1997 I was only, deliberately caring for school teacher's children so I planned a pregnancy around summer vacation. I re-opened a month after she was born so it was a non-issue.
I had son #2 in 1994 by unexpected C-section on a Friday (I was open Thursday and re-opened on Monday with my mother there to help me). Parents had a back up plan as I was a bit overdue anyway. I didn't have anything in a policy handbook as I only was caring for 3 children plus my own in those days.
By the time my daughter was born in 1997 I was only, deliberately caring for school teacher's children so I planned a pregnancy around summer vacation. I re-opened a month after she was born so it was a non-issue.
mom2many 09:54 AM 10-12-2012
Originally Posted by baysmom:
Did you put anything about maternity leave in your handbook? How many weeks did you take off? No one had any issues?
No...this was before I even did contracts! Did you put anything about maternity leave in your handbook? How many weeks did you take off? No one had any issues?
Parents only paid for days they used and they had back up care in case my kids or I were sick. This rarely happened though and when I got pregnant, I just told them I would work up till my due date and then planned on taking 6 weeks off. After each birth, I only took 2 weeks off though and didn't actually need to take the full 6. The parents were all understanding and both times it was never an issue.
itlw8 10:57 AM 10-12-2012
Originally Posted by thinkinboutstarting:
DS (my first) was nearly a week early and I know second pregnancies often come early.
or late #2ds was 2 weeks late. #1 arrived on his due date. So since my body was always regular I thought it would be the same. so instead of Christmas Eve he cam in January lost that tax deduction that year.DS (my first) was nearly a week early and I know second pregnancies often come early.