How To Deny Acceptance To Your DC?

[dreamer]

You interview a family, and you decide they are not a good fit for you. How do you tell them? And when?

[Leigh]

"thank you for interviewing with me for the open daycare space. I am sorry to inform you that I have concluded that your family and my program are not a good fit. Good luck on your search! Here's a list of licensed/registered providers in our area: _____"

[daycare]

I also use
Thank you for touring with us. Unfortunately we have decided to choose another family to enroll at this time.

We truly wish your family the best of luck. Here is the. I bet for our resource and referrals dept.

[Gemma]

You interview a family, and you decide they are not a good fit for you. How do you tell them? And when?

After several years of dealing with parents, trying to please others and stressing myself out, I've finally found what works for ME.
I'm now super upfront with parents right from the start when they call/e-mail me.
I tell them what I offer, along with my expectations of my clients, I ask them if they have questions but by then I've already covered most of the basic, and absolutely left no room for their "demands" ....this is what you can expect, take it or leave it, do not ask me to adjust to your personal needs cause nothing in this program is (or will be) up to you, other than the permission slips required by Licensing

Totally not me!... but I tried running this business as the people pleaser that I am, and parents didn't like me any better, they just took advantage of my good nature and caused me so much stress, I was considering quitting

[Meeko]

Never let parents think or act like they are interviewing you for a job.

They aren't.

They are applicants for a place in your daycare.

I tell them during the interview that I will decide which family I am taking by such-and-such date.

Then I send an email saying that I enjoyed meeting with them (even if I didn't!), but that the place has been filled and good luck with their search.

[dreamer]

Thank you all so much everyone for your advice. I've got a lot of examples to look at to help me figure out how to word things now, and I appreciate it.

Gemma, thank you for reiterating that I should not worry about pleasing everyone. I've seen this advice given to others as well, and I will do my best to follow it.

Meeko, I love the idea of picking a date to decide by, which gives me a chance to think and also gives me a reason to tell the family I'm declining that I'm all filled up. I think it would work well for me! Thank you.

[Ariana]

This is what I have used:

Dear DCF,
So nice to meet you and your beautiful family today. Unfortunately I don't think we are a good fit for your daycare needs at this time. I wish you all the best in your search for the very best care.
Thanks,
Ariana

The first family I sent this too was basically a mom who was looking for part time care and early pickups. At first it sounded great until she started saying that she sometimes used the afternoons for shopping and getting her nails done. She never even tried to negotiate it with me, it was a given that I would charge her part time for full day care. She also mentioned that her son might crawl into my creek if he is not properly supervised! Yikes.

[thrivingchildcarecom]

I usually will just not send them a followup email that I usually send out a day after a tour. If they do call back, I will usually simply state that I don't think our care is the right fit for their needs and be ready to give them referrals to two or three other childcares.

[Gemma]

Thank you all so much everyone for your advice. I've got a lot of examples to look at to help me figure out how to word things now, and I appreciate it.

.

I used envy those that can word forms so professionally and for a long time I felt I had a huge disadvantage, but over the years I realized that parents (at least around here) take the "professionally worded" forms as if they are just a "formality" ,they don't actually retain nor respect whatever is written, they use the excuse that they didn't understand etc.....so now I keep it simple and very clear. I use short and down to the point sentences that even a child can understand, so they can't make up excuses

[KIDZRMYBIZ]

I always tell them the position was offered to another family whose child better fits my current clientele based on gender or age. Those are 2 things that can't be changed or attempted to negotiate (like pay or hours or policy). Also, it doesn't hurt their feelings or make them think I didn't like them. I have no interest in telling them what's wrong with them when they won't be my problem!::