My mom owned a daycare center when I was growing up (80s and 90s). I found her old policy manual and was sort of shocked by how small it was. She charged an hourly fee per child and other than a few rules, there was very little else. It was tiny compared to some of the policy manuals I have seen these days. She didn't charge vacation days and they only paid when they came. I never remember my mom having kids when their parents were not working. Today, it seems to be a common thing. It made me think of a few things and maybe some of you, especially the veteran providers, can answer my questions.
Was it normal to have a large policy manual and to charge 52 weeks a year back int he 80s and 90s? If not, when did you change and start beefing up your policies and implementing the pay, regardless of stay policy? Do you think having to pay for daycare regardless of attendance is a main reason parents bring kids whether they work or not? What changed the most between doing care 20 years ago and now? Is it the parents? Is it the daycares and their price? Is it just the new societal norm to pay other people to care for your kid almost 24/7?

I just see so many posts of providers upset because the parents bring their kids to daycare everyday regardless of whether they need it or not and it made me wonder when it became the norm for kids to be in care so much. It never seemed that way at my mom's daycare growing up, so is it a relatively new thing? Thanks for your insight! (Oh, and maybe I should lay off the coffee..thinking too deep on this Monday morning!)

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