Holding spots but someone wants immediate care...

[Inspired by Reggio]

How are you going to ruin your reputation? ....

I agree that from our perspective it should not affect reputation cause you've given notice and returned the deposit ... however like any 'termination' of an arrangement it does have the potential of getting poor word of mouth going depending on how the client takes it .... that does not mean a provider should never terminate just that should weigh that risk when doing so!

On so many parenting boards you read the 'beware of X provider' posts about angry parents who thought they had childcare all arranged and the provider changed their mind on them ... telling only their side of the story and often leaving out little details like she gave them 4 months notice and refunded the deposit cause well the whole truth does not garner as much sympathy for them and when people are angry they only tend to focus on the 'negative' aspect of things

[sunnydays]

I feel your pain. I just went through something similar although my reason for returning the deposit and choosing the new family was because teh age of their child better matched my group and I felt I had made a mistake taking on another baby. They had a lot of notice as well, but I felt terrible and still do when I think about it. The new child is working out wonderfully and I know I made the right decision...but if there were a way to take the other child too I would have! They were pretty understanding and even still wanted a spot if one should come available, so it all worked out, but I am going to be careful not to have this happen again because once is one thing, but repeating it would certainly get me a reputation

[Mom of 3]

See I think if the parent wants to hold the space they should be paying the monthly fee up to the start date. If they choose to bring them in that it is up to them. Otherwise they need to call closer to the date to see if there is an opening. I will only hold a space for a month. So Nov.01 for Dec.01. In which they need to pay half months non refundable daycare fees.

[Momof4]

Oh no! Mof2P's this is also why I don't hold spaces any more, unless I know there is one coming open in the future of course. I agree that you should have monthly payments to hold a space.

Can you accept the family who wants care in Nov. so you can fill a current space and refund the deposit to the family who wanted care coming up in several months with an explanation that you made a mistake? They will still have lots of time to find another caregiver. You can tell them that you just learned a valuable lesson that you won't repeat again. Either that or you could come to an understanding where they start care maybe 3 days a week now?

You have some options open to you, so talk to the families and figure out what is best for you and your business. That's not being a bitch, that's being a smart business woman. Always remember that, ok?

[mommyof2princesses]

Thanks everyone, I feel better now. I think I am going to interview the November one and take her on. Then I am going to talk to the March ones and let them know that I just can't hold a spot for that long anymore and if they want to take the spots earlier then they can , if not then I have to advertise for ones that want to start sooner and refund their deposits. I know I have learned a lesson and I will not be holding a spot anymore for more than a month.

[Spixie33]

That is a tough predicament. Personally ...this is just me...I would stick with the original families you signed no matter what since they gave a deposit and signed registration forms.
You have to keep your word on that and honour that just as you would want them to honour your agreement/start date and not back out on you.
I would be worried if they bad mouth you. Even with plenty of notice - they might tell people you left them high and dry and didn't honour your agreement.

I would do all of them. Considering one is part time - I think you can do it.

Otherwise I would stop advertising if I was you and tell people you can add them to your wait list if anything changes or anything falls through.

[Crayola kiddies]

I too would interview the one that olwants to start in nov ... If they are a good fit and you accept them into care then as it was stated before you would have 2 days of 5 children and 3 days of 4 children .....once you get a routine going it will be easy peasy.... I too would NOT cancel on either one of the ones you have already taken a deposit for .... That's just bad karma .... And plus as you will soon find out daycare can change in a hurry .... You may just get them all started and someone will announce a pregnancy / a job loss/ a grand parent retiring / a relocation and then you will lose a child ... Then you will be kicking yourself and back to interviewing and transitioning ...... If this November kid is a good fit enroll her to get some income coming in and then you have several weeks before the next one starts to get settled and so on

[gramma]

If I make a committment to someone to hold a spot, i would honour that commitment but having said that I probably wouldnt hold 3 spots for this very reason. I would interview the people that have contacted you for sure, they may not even be a good fit you never know. I agree that we all have to look after ourselves but you made the commitment to these families knowing their start dates and that you wouldnt have the income until then. In my experience if families provide a deposit, they are serious about wanting the spot. We have all be screwed by families at on time or another and I totally get that any one of these families could change their mind but so could the family who wants to start in November. We just never know how things will go, we have to do what our hearts tell us is the right thing. You may want to consider what has already been suggested which is to take on the extra family and with your part timer, you would only have 5 kids twice a week. best of luck.

[Crayola kiddies]

Exactly ..... That happened to me in my first year .... I held two spots for two different families at the same time one for 3.5 months and the other for 5.5 months .... One was to start in the mid of may and the other was to start at the end of June ..... I only took a two week deposit and never did a monthly fee .....both of them cancelled out and I was out thousands of dollars not too mention I turned away three other famies looking for spots cause "I was full" ..... I learned the hard way ..... Now I take a four week deposit and a monthly fee if I want to hold a spot for any length of time ..... Those are all the little lessons you learn in the beginning plus I didn't know about this site at the time ..... I would have saved myself a lot of aggrevation if I had of.

[mamabear]

I would interview the families that want to start earlier and give back the deposits. Personally the only way I would hold spots is if they paid the full monthly rate, with option of bringing their kids. Why should we be out the income?