Finally on the Road to Closing!

[mamadaycare]

I have been on the fence about closing for a while now, and I have finally secured a wfh job and I am so close to the end! It brings me so much joy to not have to deal with parents who don't actually want to be parents. So with that being said, I need help getting past the guilt of closing. I only have two families, one DCG 2, and 2 DCB 8 months and 2.5. I feel guilty only because the family with the infant paid for roughly 3 months before baby started and he is only 8 months old. I feel like I should be open longer. I feel like 5 months of care isn't worth the 3 months they paid to hold the spot prior. I won't be closing until probably the end of the year since I have to get through training til December and I am only part time at the moment. But I don't want my guilt to stop me from taking the opportunity I have worked SO hard to find. Months and months of searching and applying and getting denied. This feels like fate, but I have big feelings and I don't want them getting in the way. Also how much notice is sufficient? I was considering the beginning of December and then being done right before Christmas.

[Annalee]

I have been on the fence about closing for a while now, and I have finally secured a wfh job and I am so close to the end! It brings me so much joy to not have to deal with parents who don't actually want to be parents. So with that being said, I need help getting past the guilt of closing. I only have two families, one DCG 2, and 2 DCB 8 months and 2.5. I feel guilty only because the family with the infant paid for roughly 3 months before baby started and he is only 8 months old. I feel like I should be open longer. I feel like 5 months of care isn't worth the 3 months they paid to hold the spot prior. I won't be closing until probably the end of the year since I have to get through training til December and I am only part time at the moment. But I don't want my guilt to stop me from taking the opportunity I have worked SO hard to find. Months and months of searching and applying and getting denied. This feels like fate, but I have big feelings and I don't want them getting in the way. Also how much notice is sufficient? I was considering the beginning of December and then being done right before Christmas.

Best wishes to you

[e.j.]

Congratulations on the new job. I hope the change works out well for you. I think feelings of guilt are pretty normal but remind yourself that you're making a change that will benefit you and your family. Daycare parents do that all the time. They wouldn't hesitate to leave your daycare if they felt the need to go somewhere else. As for notice, do you have a handbook that states a time frame? If so, I'd go by that. If not, 2 weeks seems to be the standard but if you can afford to lose them sooner, I'd give them as much time as possible. Around here right now, daycare spots are hard to find so if I were closing, I'd try to let them know so they could start their search sooner than later. On the other hand, if I couldn't afford to have them leave before I was ready to take the new job, I'd give them 2 weeks only since that's what my dc parents and I agreed upon when they enrolled here. Good luck!

[BeeNature]

Glad you were able to find something! Personally, I would give them as much notice as you can afford to give. If it were me I could financially give 2-3 months notice, but I think from the beginning of December to Christmas is a good amount of time for families to find something. Try not to feel guilty.

[GirlMomma]

Congratulations!

If you can afford to lose them now (incase they find care sooner than you expect) you could give them notice now. If you still need the income, I think your plan is just fine. That would give them a little over three weeks to find childcare.

Like someone else mentioned, try not to feel guilty. Parents will always do what works for them. You do what works best for your business and your finances.

[SandBox]

Congratulations and good luck!

[BaileeB]

I am in a similar situation. There is a big in home daycare near me with multiple locations. They just opened a new location and are hiring part time with a free spot for my ds12 mo. I told them I could start as soon as my families find care. I told my families in the October newsletter I sent out on September 30 that my last day would be the 28th and 2 families have already found new care. I still have 3 though that seem to be taking their sweet time. I’m ready to be done. I originally planned to stay open until December and then find something at the new year but when I came across this opportunity (and we found out my husband will start working nights), I jumped at it and let my families know asap. So I agree with what everyone else said, give as much notice as you can afford. Some families will leave immediately and some will take their sweet time. I think 2 weeks notice is sufficient but since I live in an area that is a daycare desert right now, I felt bad so I gave a full month.

[BaileeB]

@MissCait
I’ve been licensed for a little over a year now and was operating Legally unlicensed for a few months before that. It wasn’t a center. There is one woman who owns 3 houses and uses them all for in-home daycare and hires people to work in them. She had just opened her third location BUT I guess something is telling me this is not where I am supposed to go because it isn’t working out. She ended up closing this location due to “staffing and COVID” even though she gave me a start date and everything… I looked at their last inspection report on our state website and I’m thinking she got shut down or in big trouble and was forced to close that one temporarily…. But now I have one infant who can’t find care so I’m keeping him and my niece was going to that other place and they let her go due to space so I am keeping her and I guess I’m just going to see how it goes the next couple of months. 🤷🏼♀️

[SandBox]

BaileeB

Aww I am sorry! Do you just not like doing it in your home?

[BaileeB]

MissCait I was hoping to move it out of my home so I can leave work at work and to try to lighten the load since I am in school full time. I also wanted my son to be around other adults to get over his intense fear of everyone except me 🙈 my husband is also still in a training phase at his new job so he will be working nights for the next month and it will be hard to keep the kids quiet enough that he can sleep. I’m just going to keep 2-3 for now and then decide if I want to keep going once his night shift month is over. I will definitely be hiring as assistant/sub though if I keep going because I want to be more involved with my daughter at school and be able to attend her events

[JaeB]

Considering the fact that you lovely ladies are getting out the field show just how bad this field is I believe it's to the point where now the state licensing and anybody else who regulates child care might want to come back to the drawing board before these parents be watching their own kids and rightfully so considering how much drama this industry brings. I contemplate every month whether or not I will continue to do this when I for sure can go into a center get salary pay and come home at a decent time and manage my household how I'm supposed to

[Annalee]

Yes; they are closing in large numbers here; but corporate business seem to be planning to pick up the slack but I don't know how they plan to staff these large corporate buildings...the kids will come but how will they maintain ratio?

[BeeNature]

That's the problem a lot of the centers have in my area is keeping it fully staffed. Some are having to close certain rooms like infant rooms to staff the other rooms, and infant spots are so hard to come by as it is.

[Blackcat31]

It's government funded childcare for the win!

The government doesn't care if in-home providers quit or that centers can't find staffing. As a matter of fact, those issues work in their favor.
Fully funded state/government run childcare is their goal. The Head Start model will be the model for ALL early learning/education/care.
But let's not mention that it's an $8 Billion dollar failure. I just can't.....

[Annalee]

Yep; just hoping all holds out a few more years. I saw where some state had companies who had enough arpa money to pay families child care for a year. Crazy stuff!

[JaeB]

I honestly do believe they are trying to wean us out with the universal childcare, POC required raised fees for private pay and etc etc. It's sad and unfortunate because we are the blue print.

[Annalee]

One of the big cons to having universal child care is housing all the kids and another con is I can't see all politicians voting to PAY for child care for everyone. Even Pre-K has remained income-eligible here and they still can't fill up as the hours do not work for families so they then offer the spots to private pay clients. Universal child care has been talked about my entire child care journey (30 years plus) so, at this stage in my life, I live from year to year!!!!! I would like to think I have 10-15 years left but??