I need a little moral support - or someone to tell me that I'm screwing up - I'm open to both. Here's my situation - warning-long:
I've come to the realization that I'm simply not earning enough for my family by solely doing daycare. My enrollment is max-ed out per state regulations, and my rates are slightly above average for my area....so I've felt like I've really maximized my earning potential with daycare. I've even tried offering after-hours care and parents-nights-out, but don't have enough takers frequently enough to make that worthwhile.
So last week I started applying for evening/weekend part-time jobs, and got one yesterday! Yay me! After 23 years of doing daycare, I'm really excited to leave the diapers and binkies for awhile each day and get out in the real world and talk to grown-ups and wear real clothes.
So my new job is well aware that I work full-time and is willing and happy to schedule me nights starting at 6pm and weekends. Great! Now all of my daycare clients during the school year are teachers, and all do their pick-ups between 3:45 and 4:15 with the exception of one family (who both mom and dad are teachers) but always pick-up between 4:45-5:00 - I currently close at 5pm. So I'm planning to change my "closing time" to 4:30 beginning when school starts...just to give myself a little breathing-room before I have to be at the other job at 6. I figure that gives everyone 2 months notice, and I really don't think that any other family will have an issue with it, except this one. Now I know many of you soley do "contracted hours" and I've tried that in the past and I'm glad it works for you, but doesn't for me...so I don't want to switch to that kind of a contract.
A little background about the family that I expect an issue with: They've been with me for 7.5 years now, and left their last provider because she changed her hours from closing at 5 to closing at 4:30. This fall, they'll have 2 girls in school - which Dad picks up every afternoon at school at 3:30 - his contract day ends at 2:30. So I'll just have the youngest in daycare. I figure it shouldn't be a problem for them to pick up dcg by 4:30 (the older girls' school and their home is about 10 minutes from mine) - but it will just not be as convenient for them to leave littlest dcg here until 5 like they have been doing.
I love this family - especially the kids, but I also expect them to give notice over this and find alternative daycare that they can leave the littlest one at till 5 every day. So I just need a little support that this is an okay change for me to make.
I've come to the realization that I'm simply not earning enough for my family by solely doing daycare. My enrollment is max-ed out per state regulations, and my rates are slightly above average for my area....so I've felt like I've really maximized my earning potential with daycare. I've even tried offering after-hours care and parents-nights-out, but don't have enough takers frequently enough to make that worthwhile.
So last week I started applying for evening/weekend part-time jobs, and got one yesterday! Yay me! After 23 years of doing daycare, I'm really excited to leave the diapers and binkies for awhile each day and get out in the real world and talk to grown-ups and wear real clothes.
So my new job is well aware that I work full-time and is willing and happy to schedule me nights starting at 6pm and weekends. Great! Now all of my daycare clients during the school year are teachers, and all do their pick-ups between 3:45 and 4:15 with the exception of one family (who both mom and dad are teachers) but always pick-up between 4:45-5:00 - I currently close at 5pm. So I'm planning to change my "closing time" to 4:30 beginning when school starts...just to give myself a little breathing-room before I have to be at the other job at 6. I figure that gives everyone 2 months notice, and I really don't think that any other family will have an issue with it, except this one. Now I know many of you soley do "contracted hours" and I've tried that in the past and I'm glad it works for you, but doesn't for me...so I don't want to switch to that kind of a contract.
A little background about the family that I expect an issue with: They've been with me for 7.5 years now, and left their last provider because she changed her hours from closing at 5 to closing at 4:30. This fall, they'll have 2 girls in school - which Dad picks up every afternoon at school at 3:30 - his contract day ends at 2:30. So I'll just have the youngest in daycare. I figure it shouldn't be a problem for them to pick up dcg by 4:30 (the older girls' school and their home is about 10 minutes from mine) - but it will just not be as convenient for them to leave littlest dcg here until 5 like they have been doing.
I love this family - especially the kids, but I also expect them to give notice over this and find alternative daycare that they can leave the littlest one at till 5 every day. So I just need a little support that this is an okay change for me to make.
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