Anyone Open 'til 7 or Later? HELP ME!

[Breezy]

My 6AM-4PM dcf are moving the beginning of next month and I started yesterday with a new dcf that will replace them as full time. I have only ever done 6AM-6PM and have never had to offer dinner but, I decided that I would accept this family needing care from 9:30am-7:30pm. DCB is 3 years old and DCG is 6 months old.

Now, like I said, I have never had to offer a dinner before and the 3 year old is such a picky eater! I had originally planned on feeding him whatever I was making for dinner that night and if he didn't eat, he didn't it. I wasn't going to play the "I'll make you something special game" But when I made Chicken, carrots, corn, and broccoli last night, he of course wanted nothing to do with it!

So, feeling bad that he wasn't eating anything and would probably be going home straight to bed after being picked up at 7:30pm, I made him a ham and cheese sandwich and then felt horrible the rest of the night that he didn't get a hot meal!!

Therefore, my first question is: What do you all do about dinner time? Do you feed your DCKs what your whole family is eating, do you make your whole family something you know that your DCKs will like?

And then secondly, what do you do with them when it is dark out and your family is home? My husband gets home at 3PM, does his homework, plays with our DS, eats his dinner, and then wants to unwind. Which is no problem but I feel like I am running out of things to do with DCB at this time. Last night, we all had dinner and then we just played quietly until their parents came to get them because I figured being all wound up is not what their parents want at the end of their long day.....

I am probably over thinking all of this BUT I guess my main question is just what are your schedules for the day for kids that are with you 'til later in the evening?

I really need some ideas here to keep my business and my family running smoothly! :confused:

Sorry for the long post!!!

[mrsp'slilpeeps]

If you have to care for these DCk's past your normal hours, then yes they get the same food that you make your family.

They are there during YOUR family time, so they get treated the same way. Your kids get ready for bed, get the dck's in jammies too. Same snack, same bed rituals same everything.

I did this for a while and it just didnt work out for our family, My hubby hated it.

[Breezy]

Ah thank you. That makes me feel better that I don't have to be doing something special while my family is here too.

I think my hubby is going to hate it too BUT it is only 3 days a week. He is the one that wanted me to go for it and not look around more as he was afraid of how we would be financially though. I wish I would have charged them more though..

[AmandasFCC]

When I have children later at night, I feed them what my family is eating, and after dinner we sit down and watch a movie. Now with that said, I don't have kids late every day so .... I did have an older sibling pair from 5-8pm every day for 9 months. They played board games, occasionally I'd let them play Wii ... but a 3 year old ... My daughter is also 3 and honestly we use that time to wind down, cuddle with books and do quiet activities ...

[daycare]

Oh GF you are so going to regret this sooner than you know it..I can speak of it first hand. I got suckered into it for the same reasons as you and it was the worst decision I ever made... No amount of money is worth invading your personal family time.

First off is there anyway that you can cut bills so that you can let this family go?

the reason I ask this, is becuase i just went through this. I was so being taken advantage of and I just was so exhausted at the end of the day that there was NO time left for me or my family.

I made it very clear that the kids would eat what we eat and if they don't like it oh well too bad... You can lead a horse to water, you can't make them drink.

I don't do special food, I don't do special meals. UNLESS there is a doctors note stating why.

I hope that you are getting paid very well. I am not too sure how far into this you are, but if theres any way out, I would try to find it. Before you know it, everyone in your entire family is going to be miserable, mostly you.

so sorry you are in this siutaion..... I had to learn the hard way NEVER change your hours to suit just one family.

[Breezy]

This is my 2nd day with them and so I technically have 12 more days until our trial period is over (12 more care days). I'm glad I posted this now to see what everyone thought. I am NOT licensed and so I guess I have this issue feeling like since I am not licensed I should be charging way less for child care than if I was. So......I am actually getting $125/week so $500/month. And today they came 15 minutes early so I had ZERO time to even brace myself for these hours.

Last night, I was so exhausted I couldn't even think. I had to run errands after they left with my 8 month old and so I didn't get home 'til 9:00 and then LO was in bed by 10 (no big deal since he slept 'til 10 today...) But I could barely even move my body when we got back from running errands I was so tired. And I can just see every night being like this. BUT it is only 3 days a week I keep telling myself.....

UGH..

[nannyde]

This is a good thread to read:

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14240&highlight=movie

First, I want you to consider that even tho you are doing three days a week you are actually putting in six shifts for these kids. You are doing three day shifts and three evening shifts. I hope you are being fully compensated.

If I had kids on this shift I would do as I suggested in the evening thread:

Supper at 5:30 p.m.
Movie from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Infant would eat bottle at five and then evening nap from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The older kid needs a LONG afternoon nap so that he's able to stay up with his parents until eleven or so. This would give them 3-3.5 hours of awake time with him when they get home.

Even though they are picking up at this time the kids still need AWAKE time with them in the evening. Make sure they are well rested when they get picked up. If they pick up at 7:30 and go to bed at eleven p.m. it's the EXACT SAME schedule as a parent picking up at 4:30 p.m. and putting the kids to bed at 8 p.m.

My advice is to get paid FULL time plus for the extra shift (they aren't there the WHOLE evening shift BUT they are there all the WAKING hours of the evening shift... I did it for about fourteen/fifteen years... trust me on this) AND make sure the last couple of hours they are there that they are either sleeping or doing a restful passive activity. Having them go to bed right when they get home isn't any different than a parent picking up at four p.m. and having them go to bed at 4:30 p.m. These parents have the same 24 hours in a day as everyone else and they NEED to have AWAKE face time with their kids. You need to PACE your shift with them for the least amount of work possible the last two hours so YOU and your family can have some family time. Don't worry about the kids having their family time with you... they will have that at home with their own family... it will just start a few hours later than the average family.

[cheerfuldom]

here's my opinion.....do not do this. there are so many things you don't know and can't see yet because you are new to daycare. I don't think that you will be able to fix all the issues to make this work for you (especially with your own young kids in the mix). find families that work within the hours you already provide (and I wouldn't work more than 10 hours a day, preferably 9 per family). you can try and play with hours and such down the road after you have gotten your feet wet doing home daycare. the fact that the kids are there all their waking hours and parents are still showing up early is a big, big red flag that things are going to get crazy fast. please don't do this to yourself.

[Breezy]

Thank you very much for the advice nanny. I think I am going to print this whole thread out and study it! I have ZERO backbone and I NEED to grow one.

SO, my question now is: Am I sh** out of luck now because I already agreed to $125/week for these hours? And I am talking $125/week for both kids, not PER kid. So thats $500/month. (slaps forehead- STUPID STUPID ME). Or since we are in our 14 day probation period can I let them know this isn't working at this rate and if they want to stay with me here is the rate increase ____?

:/

[cheerfuldom]

what does your contract say about changing rates or terming during a probation period? your contract needs to be written to work for you, not against you. you don't HAVE to work forever for peanuts just because you originally made a mistake and under charged.

[Breezy]

here's my opinion.....do not do this. there are so many things you don't know and can't see yet because you are new to daycare. I don't think that you will be able to fix all the issues to make this work for you (especially with your own young kids in the mix). find families that work within the hours you already provide (and I wouldn't work more than 10 hours a day, preferably 9 per family). you can try and play with hours and such down the road after you have gotten your feet wet doing home daycare. the fact that the kids are there all their waking hours and parents are still showing up early is a big, big red flag that things are going to get crazy fast. please don't do this to yourself.

I was actually reading a thread this morning where someone said that they went off on their DCM because she came early and I was thinking to myself "Oh lord, I am such a push over for letting them in the house at 9:15".....Their shift starts at 10AM. They live a few blocks from me and I used to work at the location they do. It's a 30 minute drive from here to there. No reason they need 45 minutes to get there and I shouldn't have to care who they are picking up on the way.

The DCM came in and said "we were late yesterday..."

[Nellie]

I occationally allow my current daycare families to stay late if they get into a bind(I have GREAT families). I make it clear that after 5 "daycare" is over and they are part of the family. They eat with the family, hang out with the family, play by them selves or with my children(I won't entertain). At one point in my daycare career I considered taking on 2nd shift children to get started. One thing you might want to consider is that you might need to charge a little more for there meal. Family meals will considerable have more expensive meats in them compared to the average daycare lunch. I will give my own children peanut butter and jelly sandwitches if they don't eat there supper so I'd do the same for the daycare child if they were here at dinner. I feel a ham and cheese is above and behond for a child who didn't like what was served. I think most providers would say tough luck if they didn't eat what was served(I'm kind of a softy too). If they didn't eat there supper I'd just let the parents know. Its up to them if they want to try to get something in there tummy before bed then.

[Breezy]

what does your contract say about changing rates or terming during a probation period? your contract needs to be written to work for you, not against you. you don't HAVE to work forever for peanuts just because you originally made a mistake and under charged.

"An extra fee of $5.00 per child for every 15 minutes or portion thereof that your child is dropped off earlier than your contracted arrival time"

^^^That is what it says for early drop off.

"The first two weeks of childcare are an adjustment period. It is my responsibility to let you know if your child seems unhappy or the arrangement is unsatisfactory for any reason."

^^Thats what is says about the first 14 days basically. Not much more on that and I suppose it is open to interpretation on what can be deemed unsatisfactory....

[daycare]

Thank you very much for the advice nanny. I think I am going to print this whole thread out and study it! I have ZERO backbone and I NEED to grow one.

SO, my question now is: Am I sh** out of luck now because I already agreed to $125/week for these hours? And I am talking $125/week for both kids, not PER kid. So thats $500/month. (slaps forehead- STUPID STUPID ME). Or since we are in our 14 day probation period can I let them know this isn't working at this rate and if they want to stay with me here is the rate increase ____?

:/

when I did this, I also short changed myself.

After two weeks, I came back and said (like a dummy) after i did all of the math accoutning for all of the time and meals, I will need to change the rate to this instead. The DCF said ok. But it still was not enough to keep me and my family happy..

[Breezy]

when I did this, I also short changed myself.

After two weeks, I came back and said (like a dummy) after i did all of the math accoutning for all of the time and meals, I will need to change the rate to this instead. The DCF said ok. But it still was not enough to keep me and my family happy..

I originally said $150/week for the two kids. And they said $125 so it wouldn't be a stretch. I agreed if they brought snacks every day for the 3 yr old... Now, I feel like I am at the point where since I agreed to that I must be a push over in their eyes....

Does anyone have a rough estimate of the amount of money I should be charging weekly for these two kids being an unlicensed provider?