Charging for Children Not Attending During Holidays in My Daycare

I did daycare for years, it was in my contract that if I'm open and the kids were not there then the parents had to pay. By the same token, if I was sick/closed then the parents did not have to pay for that day(s) that their child/children did not come. If they go on vacation and I am open then they have to pay me, but if I go on vacation they don't have to pay me. Honestly I think that that is the way most daycare providers run their business.

Absolutely you should charge the regular rate. You are holding their spot. My children were in a home daycare for 3 years and this was the norm there. Also, the daycare provider would take a week off and still charge the full amount.

Hi A.
I still pay for the full week even when the daycare is closed for the holidays.
I also pay the full rate if I decide to keep my son at home and the daycare is open.
Happy Holidays
B.

nope I charge it's just like them getting paid for the holiday from their jobs this is your job

Our daycare's policy is...

If "she" closes the daycare for vacation, we don't pay. If "we" do not attend b/c of our vacation, we pay. We all know this upfront and for us, this includes summers (she offers us the option of not attending 5 days/wk at a reduced rate).

What arrangements did you make when the parents agreed to have you watch their children? How are you being paid - weekly or hourly? Both you and the parents need to honor the contract (verbal or written). If you charge hourly, then the answer is - you can not charge them. If it's a weekly charge, they pay for the full week, whether they use the service or not.

It is usually expected that people keep their slot open at child care even when they are on vacation if it is more than the time allowed by contract. I had in mine that they were expected to pay for 50 weeks a year. If they missed I still had to pay my teachers, my utilities, my food bill, etc...I had a waiting list and could fill their slot if they didn't want to pay. Everyone else had one too so it would not be easy for them to give me notice at Christmas and then change to another center the first of the year.

It is reasonable to pay for the slot being kept for them. If you have kids paid by the state you cannot make them pay if their kids are not there. It is unacceptable for them to pay anything above their co-pay. You can get fined and might even be prosecuted for fraud if you did that. Not sure if you knew that so I just added it for FYI. I thought it was totally unfair to charge my cash paying parents for the same things that I could not charge others for but I did anyway. If I wasn't very frugal I could really get in financial woes after Christmas and New Years when my payments were very small..

I know you have had a ton of responses, but we pay whether our kids go or not. I don't have a problem with it, we dont have a contract either. It seems rude to expect the daycare to work around what someone decides to do. I love out lady and so do the kids, but its a business, and after all, these people love and care of your kids all day! Have a great holiday!

depends on what your contract states..... I always had to pay, but that is how my contract was spelled out -

If you are open, you should get paid even if they decide to keep the kid out, but this really needs to all be laid out in your contract with these parents.

I think you need to go with what is in your contract. If it's not specified, you need to be fair and given notice about changes to your charges. Just as you have bills to pay, so do the parents who are asking you to care for their kids; and budgeting during the holidays are tight.

That being said, the higher end home daycares in our area ask range from only having parents pay for the days the kids are there, to paying for the days the kids should be there but are "on vacation", to paying for the days the kids should be there but are "on vacation" and also including a 2 week period where the parents pay but the provide is on vacation (I only know of 1 in our area that does this last scenario; but she is super high end and accredited every which from Sunday).

I know when I was in a center, I was allowed 2 weeks at half price - maybe a benefit with a large business. I am in a home daycare and when I take vacation or she takes vacation, I pay full price - drawback to a small business. I feel the positives out way that one negative and I happily pay it and don't think twice about it.

You have a living to make to, don't feel bad for charging full price.

If you are open for business, you should still be paid, period.

I think that if you are open and keeping their spot, and they are choosing to be gone, then that's what you should do, charge full price. But this also concerns what sort of written agreement you have with your families.

Something to think about: I charge a tuition-based fee for my preschool, which is figured annually around the days I will be open and providing care. I do schedule in holiday breaks(when I'm closed) and then break up the total amount into monthly payments. If families don't come because they choose not to, this has no effect on my income. If you are on a pay-for-service arrangement with your families, (check your contract--- you should always have contracts with your clients) you may not have allowed that for yourself and might need to take the hit financially to be square in your agreement with clients. In any case, this if you have omitted this, consider it something to write into your contracts when it's time to renew. Good luck!

Do you not have any posted rules or anything in their contracts about this? You may run up against some problems if you don't. Most daycares and preschools stipulate that you still have to pay the regular monthly amount even if you're taking holidays or vacation or there's a holiday closing. Since they have to have a dependable budget, they have to do this. I would post some type of announcement regarding the fact that full payment is due even if the child is absent.

I always paid. Well i got one half off week every year. That was all established up front in writing with the contract.

Do you not have this in your contract? My parents were allowed one week a year to be discounted to 1/2 off for vacation. I was always paid for holidays and most of the time, they'd give me a bonus or a gift too. :)

We pay our sitter. If we take one full week a year we cant that as non-paid, or if she takes a full week, then we don't pay. So basically two weeks free per year. But definitely they should pay.

Unless it's in a written contract that was signed at the time you first took over care of the child(ren), you cannot charge them for days that they are not in your care.

The standard policy for my daycare is she gets the major holidays off (Thanksgiving and the day after, Christmas, New Year Eve and Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day) with pay if they are during the week and if she is sick or takes days off it is unpaid.

ie, if the parents have a 2 week vacation break like myself I still pay the sitter whether I decide to bring my child or not.

If you are open and it is their regular day for the child to be in your care it is only fair they pay.

This should already be in the contract that you both signed.

My public daycared allowed 1 week a year at half price.
My current in home provider does not. Each week is full price whether my child is there or not.

We pay full price for November and December though they are NOT EVEN OPEN in December from the week of Christmas till after the New Year. This was true for the Montessori daycare my kids went to, my son's parents' day out program, etc. Of course, this should have been established up-front with the parents to set proper expectations. This was in our parents' handbooks at both locations.

most daycare charge the full weekly rate whether the kids are their or not..it is to hold the kid's slot..

I pay full price for any days my children are not in daycare. I think this is standard in all centers. I get one week a year of vacation time at no fee.

What does your contract say? In my experience, for school aged kids that aren't typically there all day and had school days off, I have had daycares that have asked in advance for what days our kids will be there and then I had to pay for those whether or not they are there. For kids that attend full time Monday through Friday, it is their spot and they need pay regardless of if they are taking the days off.

I used to have to pay full price with an inhome daycare, even when she closed the week around Christmas. I didn't like it, but I did it.

You really need to already have this established in your parent handbook, as most of the posters have stated. Are you newer to home daycare as a provider? I charge for enrollment, not attendance.

I personally do not get paid for my own vacation/illness days..but I do get paid for holidays. Parents pay no matter what for days they voluntarily do not bring their child. Always.I am still open and providing my services, it is their option to not come on those days.

Look at this way...if they go on vacation or just decide they won't use their cable TV for a week, do you think they get the option to NOT pay the bill for the week? No, they still have to pay for the service to be in place. Its their choice to not use it that time frame. Same deal.

But you need to have all of this in writing and both parties need to know about it...put it on the calendar, remind parents in case there is confusion. Stand firm, etc.

Best wishes!

every day care i had...like you still had bills to pay, what's in your contract? one day care i had, after a year of attendance, they would give 2 weeks of vacation for the year where you did not have to pay as long as the child was not there...maybe set something like that up?