Holidays at Daycares?

[Strangeite]

You mean a "service industry" like childcare?

I laughed out loud at that.

 

[mom2aredhead]

Your local dentist office is probably closed on holidays, but he doesn't charge his patients for being closed. I bet the dental employees are paid. His insurance is the same. The due dates on the loans for the equipment are still due. The rent for the office is still due.

How would you feel if your dentist sent you a bill, even though you didn't go in, just because it was Thanksgiving?

I agree that they should have given you a calendar in the beginning as soon as you signed up. But to try to make your point by comparing your dentist to your daycare...that's a stretch.

I am assuming that you are contracted with your daycare on a monthly basis, meaning that it costs the same every month. That's the way ours was...they based the tuition on 4 weeks per month, 5 days per week, so 20 days per month x 12 = 240. Maybe yours is the same?
If you look at the 2008 calendar, counting only the week days, not weekends or holidays, it breaks down as...

Jan - 23
Feb - 20
Mar - 21
April - 22
May - 22
June - 21
July - 23
Aug - 21
Sep - 22
Oct - 23
Nov - 20
Dec - 23

Essentially I paid for 240 days, (4 weeks/month x 5 days/week x 12 months) and there are about 260 Mon-Fri days. Yes, there are about 20 days during the year that they're closed, but I'm not necessarily paying extra for them since my tuition is based on the 240 days. Some of the months had more M-F days than others. I was not charged more. Some had less, and I was not given a discount.

I would assume that if you want them not to charge you for days they are closed, you'd be willing to pay a surcharge for months that have more "open" M-F days?

Honestly, I'd be happy that you found a safe environment for your child that allows you to go to work and feel comfortable that he or she is being well taken care of and stop worrying about their profit margin or their expenses. My mother always taught me never to count other people's money...

 

[29apr00]

You want to know something funny. Lawyers and Bankers don't get Black Friday off with pay. It is a normal business day.

I guess we aren't "professionals".

Dh is an automotive technician, so i guess he wouldn't qualify as a professional, but i'm sure the salesman and finance department classify themselves as "professional" and they are working. Cause ya know...all those Professional people are out buying new cars and getting old ones fixed on Black Friday.

I work in the accounting dept at a manufacturing firm. Working on black friday. When i was a travel agent.....worked black friday. So i'd definalte believe that it's more 15-20% that actually have the day off as paid.

 

[29apr00]

Yes, there are about 20 days during the year that they're closed, but I'm not necessarily paying extra for them since my tuition is based on the 240 days.

Oh my!! I only get 2 weeks vacation, plus 5 days holiday pay!! So if I were at your day care center, i'd have a week's worth of days that i would have to take off work unpaid because daycare was closed! You can count out any Disney trips out of my future than!!

 

[Strangeite]

I am assuming that you are contracted with your daycare on a monthly basis, meaning that it costs the same every month. That's the way ours was...they based the tuition on 4 weeks per month, 5 days per week, so 20 days per month x 12 = 240. Maybe yours is the same? .

Nope. We pay based upon a weekly rate. That is why those weeks they are open only 2 days seems like a rip off.

 

[Nie0214]

There are A LOT of people who have to work those days. Is it just Laywers and Bankers who use Day Cares and have those days off?? What about Hospital workers? Anyone working in Retail? Service people? Small business employees?

Want a lot of paid holidays off, be a bank teller.

I work in a bank, with lawyers, none of us have the day after Thanksgiving off unless we take it as unpaid or a vacation day.

P.S. Bank tellers are now working 7 days a week, at least our branches are open 8-8 in many places. I have heard that Commerce Bank in the mideast-coast is open every day! I'm very glad that I work corporate and not as a teller.

 

[brockash]

We have paid days off for Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving (the only job I didn't have this day as PTO was when I worked for a stock brokerage firm) every year.

This year 4th of July was on a Thursday, so we had the 5th as a paid day off as well.

Christmas is on a Thursday as well so we have both the 25th and 26th as paid days off.

We also have January 1st and 2nd as paid days off.

My dh has the same days off as I do and he works for a law firm!

I would concur that MOST people have the day after Thanksgiving off. Unless you work in a service industry where you are considered essential. Most offices are closed these days.

My former employer actually closed down between Christmas and New Year's each year....totally paid! It actually cost them MORE to keep the building open with a skeleton staff (since it was REALLY slow and not much business was done) than it did to just send everyone home and save the heating and electricity bills!

Hmmm... I think I should move to Philly I work at our county DA's office and neither we nor the court house is closed any days except Federal Holidays, nor do any of our county buildings- and since it seems to be a little confusing, that means only Thanksgiving Day, Chritmas Day and New Years Day for us, as far as the upcoming holidays.

Also, I've heard a lot of talk about banks being closed... I used to work at a bank in AL and CO, and neither bank closed on any day other than those Federal Holidays. And yes, a lot of branches of banks are working 7 days a week now, and some up until 8 at night, and I know our banks around here are open the day before and after Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 

[ERMama]

ITA. I would highly doubt the "majority" of workers get all those days off and paid Even if in your area a lot of ppl. get them off for whatever reason, I'm sure it's more towards a 50-50 then a 90-10 as to who gets them off, so that's A LOT of ppl. the daycare center is not only inconviencing, but also making them pay extra money. I can see getting paid for the actual holiday, but anything more I think asking too much.

I agree. I guess here in Wisconsin we just have a better work ethic than most because I know of very few people who have paid time off on the day after Thanksgiving.

IF and only IF the "daycare" is a true preschool serving ONLY kids ages 2-4yr in a purely educational setting, I can see having off the same days the school district in your area does. But even then only major holidays should be "paid" days.

 

[GJM]

Nope. We pay based upon a weekly rate. That is why those weeks they are open only 2 days seems like a rip off.

If you really love your daycare and feel comfortable leaving your child there each day and like the people that take care of your child I wouldn't think of it as a rip off.

My DS is in elementary school now and I will tell you I miss daycare - granted I don't pay for public school, but they have alot of days off. I was lucky that my DS daycare would offer "drop off" care for the kids that were enrolled there, and I would pay a daily rate.

 

[Mom-2-2Princesses]

A daycare is a private enterprise. As such, it has the right to determine what days it is open and available to provide services and what days it will be closed. It doesn't matter if it is a federal holiday or not, whether the courts are open or not, whether the libraries are open or not. The daycare administration is absolutely legally entitled to close whenever it sees fit.

As for the issue of "paying for daycare on days they are closed"... I suspect that you pay a flat fee (monthly/weekly)? At the beginning of each year (or the end of the prior year, as the case may be), the daycare will sit down with a calendar and determine what days it will be open and what days it will be closed (just as any other business does-- and that includes law firms). They then figure out the operating expenses and costs associated with the days they will be open, and allowing for reasonable profit (as daycares are generally not non-profit associations), they arrive at a dollar amount for tuition. Your tuition is then prorated over a 12 month/52 week period, and the days that the center is closed are already accounted for in that amount. So it isn't that you are paying for days they are closed-- you aren't paying for those days at all, as they have already been "deducted" from the overall tuition.

And yes, I have kids in daycare, the daycare is closed 2 days over Thanksgiving and 3 days over Christmas, and yes, the full amount of tuition is due for both November and December.

P.S. And I'm a lawyer and my office is, in fact, closed the day after Thanksgiving. Yes, it is a paid holiday for all of our staff.

 

[Miss LD]

We've been in a couple of different daycares.
One of them charged a daily rate based on the number of days per month and if the daycare was closed we did not pay that day.
The other daycare we were at had a daily rate and you paid for every weekday - stat holidays included.
The interesting thing is that they had a slightly lower per day rate.
We calculated how much each one cost annually and there was no difference.
So - in the end it all balanced out.
Both daycares had some days that they were closed that were not stat holidays.
The second daycare would send a letter out asking parents to indicate what days they were taking holidays, and they were usually able to either close specific days or have less teachers.
I'm all for paid vacation for teachers. If the daycare teachers are happy the kids are happy.

 

[tinker&belle]

Not all people have Black Friday, Xmas eve or the day after off. There are A LOT of people who have to work those days. Is it just Laywers and Bankers who use Day Cares and have those days off?? What about Hospital workers? Anyone working in Retail? Service people? Small business employees? My dh works for a VERY LARGE automobile dealership, and they are open every single one of those days. And our day care is closed every single one of those days.

We did get a list at the begining of the year, however they added xmas eve off in October.

I guess i see it as......that is the employment position you choose. If you desired to be a manager at Walmart, chances are pretty darn good that you knew you would not be having the day after thanksgiving off, and as most walmarts are open 24 hrs, you would probably be working on xmas and xmas eve. Well, as a Day Care Worker, chances are good you don't get the "extra" holidays off either. Want a lot of paid holidays off, be a bank teller.

I am just suprised by many of the statements on this thread. Comparing childcare staff to Walmart workers? I guess I have always worked at schools that are opened much more than public school, but treat the staff as professionals.
Heck, even since I quit my VERY professional childcare position at the university I am working at a part time nursery school that is paying me for Friday.
My DH is a CPA and gets Friday as a paid day off. I understand school being closed can be difficult for families, but remember that the teachers that care for your children work very hard and giving them benefits will keep them refreshed and able to take care of your children to the best of their ability.

 

[GJM]

They are alot more then "hired babysitters" as was pointed out -
I personally could NEVER do the job and I give credit to the daycare workers that do a wonderful job.

I have been very lucky with the teachers my DS had at his daycare and I never consider them "hired babysitters".

 

[brockash]

Most daycares are not staffed with professionals. They hire babysitters with some early education units. And most people work very hard at their jobs. That is why it is considered a job. To think you work harder than someone in retail, are more deserving, etc., is quite snobbish, in my opinion.

ITA. Like I said before if you can find a great daycare- wonderful, right now I have a wonderful person that watches my DD, and I'm happy to pay her for holidays, give her gifts ect., but in my experience that is not the norm. My best friend from high school is a director of a daycare center, and no - none of the employees nor herself are ppl. I would call professionals- I'm not saying it to be rude, I just think to be qualified as a professional you should have a college degree, and she does not, nor does most of her staff. I don't personally think that means they're not qualified to do daycare, but I would not call them professionals. I would absolutely leave my kiddos with my best friend, she's wonderful - however I'm sure her entire staff is not as great as she is nor do I think most/all daycares are. Like I said, I feel very grateful that I've found the person I have for my DD, and am more than happy to pay her for these types of things, however I will say she did not/does not ask nor demands it, and that's part of what I think makes her a great provider- she not totally concerned about how much money she's getting, and it's more of she really loves what she does. I agree I think many of the posts about how much daycare's deserve more than just holidays as paid time off, as if they were better than those who don't, do come off snobish. BTW- I would call judges and da's professionals, and here neither get anything but the federal holidays off.

 

[matthew&haleysmom]

Over the years my kids have been in many daycares. All charged for the holidays. The trick is to find a center that doesn't take too many days off during the year. The place I used the longest was great-they closed Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years Day, 4th of July, Labor Day and Memorial Day. Any other day was business as usual and I was very pleased about that since not all jobs give you off for the minor holidays or sometimes even ALL of the Federal ones.

DS goes to a in home daycare. We pay for all of the holiday listed above and the day after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Eve. When the sitter takes vacation, we do not pay. She has never closed for personal or sick days that I did not know of for months in advanced. I have had piece of mind for many years because of this. I never complain! She has taken care of my children for 8 years, and I am thankful!

 

[kcromley]

OP, If it bothers you that much, find another situation; otherwise, stop nickel-and-diming minimum wage workers who are doing work with your child which you have chosen not to do. And hope that neither the workers taking care of your child nor your child ever reads your comments here and learns of your opinion. Good luck in the future-you will have an interesting time adjusting to the innumerable schedule changes, vacations, in-service days, conference days, and closures in any school system, whether public or private (and no, they don't refund your tuition in private school for closures, nor your taxes in public school). It is all part of parenting.

 

[mom2aredhead]

Oh my!! I only get 2 weeks vacation, plus 5 days holiday pay!! So if I were at your day care center, i'd have a week's worth of days that i would have to take off work unpaid because daycare was closed! You can count out any Disney trips out of my future than!!

Holidays are included in those 20 days, and the other days off kind of follow the public school calendar.

Just wait until the daycare years are finished and you have to figure out what to do with the kids...
Our public schools are closed for:
1-2 days for Rosh Hashanah
1-2 days for Yom Kippor
Columbus Day
Election Day
Veterans Day
2 days for Thanksgiving
8 days (12/24 - 1/2) for "winter recess"
MLK Day
5 days in Feb for "mid-winter" recess
5 days April for "spring recess"
Memorial Day
Not to mention the 1/2 days that end at 11:30 am for conferences, in-service days, etc.

 

[brockash]

OP, If it bothers you that much, find another situation; otherwise, stop nickel-and-diming minimum wage workers who are doing work with your child which you have chosen not to do. And hope that neither the workers taking care of your child nor your child ever reads your comments here and learns of your opinion. Good luck in the future-you will have an interesting time adjusting to the innumerable schedule changes, vacations, in-service days, conference days, and closures in any school system, whether public or private (and no, they don't refund your tuition in private school for closures, nor your taxes in public school). It is all part of parenting.

Ppl. should stop insinuating that the OP is a bad parent, because it comes a shock to him that daycares are requiring to get paid for days that his child is not there. I think anyone new to the situation would feel the same, I know I did, and I don't think I'm any less of a parent then you because of it. I don't know why you would say he should hope his child never reads this- that's rediculous, he said nothing about the child or that he'd rather put his child in a place that would treat the child badly if it would save him a nickle or a dime- c'mon, let's be reasonable here. I think a lot of the problem with this thread is that ppl. are argueing over different things- in-home daycare or daycare center, pd for just federal holidays, or more, if you/I get paid for the holiday or not ect. There's no reason to make him out to be a bad person... that's taking exaggeration way overboard.

 

[brockash]

Holidays are included in those 20 days, and the other days off kind of follow the public school calendar.

Just wait until the daycare years are finished and you have to figure out what to do with the kids...
Our public schools are closed for:
1-2 days for Rosh Hashanah
1-2 days for Yom Kippor
Columbus Day
Election Day
Veterans Day
2 days for Thanksgiving
8 days (12/24 - 1/2) for "winter recess"
MLK Day
5 days in Feb for "mid-winter" recess
5 days April for "spring recess"
Memorial Day
Not to mention the 1/2 days that end at 11:30 am for conferences, in-service days, etc.

Yes, but back to the original point/question, he won't be paying his public school for his child not to be there plus someone else to watch his child, because it's closed- yes, yes, everyone pays taxes, but that's a whole other subject- and everyone- whether they have kids or not pay for those taxes.

 

[mom2aredhead]

Yes, but back to the original point/question, he won't be paying his public school for his child not to be there plus someone else to watch his child, because it's closed- yes, yes, everyone pays taxes, but that's a whole other subject- and everyone- whether they have kids or not pay for those taxes.

True, but there will be the additional expenses of alternate care because the primary place where his children are is closed on a day that he does not consider to be a "holiday". Wasn't that kind of his point?