Vacation Care and Holiday Child Care Fees

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Permalink Reply by Andy on September 30, 2009 at 10:12am

As a parent that had 3 young children in Family Day Care I can honestly say I had no problem in paying for Public Holidays or holding fees when I took my children out for holidays. The Family Day Carer became a special person in my children's lives and it was well worth the extra holding fees to keep their place, and the Public Holidays were only 1 day occasionally - I know the carer worked hard and went over and above the call of duty to ensure the kids had a memorable day each and every day in care and if only in appreciation and nothing else - I was happy to pay. And no I am not a wealthy parent - my husband was in his 7th month in a coma in hospital so each day was a challenge but what price is peace of mind and happiness/normality and stability for children and parents at any time? However, I cannot understand why centre's close on holidays?? Just because children have school holidays doesn't mean parents can stop work?? That is a no-brainer!! WHY do they do it?

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Permalink Reply by Carole McGregor on October 7, 2009 at 10:20am

Have you every tried Family Daycare. We work throughout the holdidays and we also provide before and after school. Many families I have received because other schemes are not flexible.

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Permalink Reply by Vatche on October 27, 2009 at 11:08am

At our centre we do not charge for public holidays. After some years of talking to parents, we concluded that most parents do not like the fact they have to pay for days their child is not attending.

Business wise, it makes sense to charge, as we still have to pay staff their daily wage, but with carefully planned strategy, it can be made viable for any business.

Keeps parents happy, staff still get paid and shows business commitment to parents.

Regards
Vatche

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Permalink Reply by Vatche on October 27, 2009 at 5:50pm

Hi Andy,

This is normally the case with pre-schools that have school hours (8:30am-3:30pm) and close also during school holidays. Long Day cares normally open 7:00am- 6:pm to a minimum of 48 weeks a year (by licensing requirement).

The hours that pre-schools offer normally means at least one parent is not working, or working part time, and school holiday closure is not an issue.

If a long day care offers pre-school programme (3-6 y/o), they are offering the same curriculum as the pre-school, but with longer hours, to cater for working families. But, lot of parents still under the impression that pre-school is better than long day care. They believe long day care is some sort of nanny service so when the child turns 3, it is time to go to pre-school. Re-arrange work times/days to meet the pre-school hours and closures! This is not the case, as long day cares do offer pre-school programme.

basically, parents also need to understand the different centre's offers and operating time/days before committing.

Hope this explains the other side of the story.

Regards
Vatche

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