Child Care Notice

Some day care providers have a weeks vacation written into the agreement. Use the "vacation weekl" to cover one week of the notice. That is what my daughter did.

You owe two weeks' tuition. You can choose to pull your kids today if you wish, but you need to pay for 2 more weeks.

If you have a contract you don't have to send them but you do have to pay them for the two weeks.

If you don't feel secure with your children there - then you should just pay for the two weeks and pull them out now and find other childcare and take your loss. If you signed a contract that states a two week notice - then you need to follow that.

You're bound to the contract but that just means you have to pay for the two weeks. You don't actually have to send your kids during that time.

You need to pay her two weeks' pay. Can you go on vacation? That's a good way to not have to pay someone else to care for the kids for at least a week of it. If you have family around, perhaps they would help out.

You aren't "forced" to send your kids, but you should pay per the terms of your contract. If you don't like a contract, don't sign one. If you can't find a provider who will take care of your child without a contract, then you have to deal with that.

Your daycare provider could take you to small claims court and/or report you to the credit bureaus. You should pay what you agreed to when you signed that agreement.

Dawn

I am pretty sure if you SIGNED something then you are bound. IE: she could take you to court and get money for those two weeks. Talk to her in person and see what she says. I just pulled my kids out of their daycare (home) last week - no notice. But she also took my kids on an errand and decided to not put them in carseats (they are 2 and 4) so I did not feel they were safe. However, I never signed anything and didn't have any contract.

You haven't been "forced" into anything. You willingly signed a contract spelling out the terms.

Pay her for the two weeks and leave early. Two weeks notice is standard everywhere and gives her time to find new clients, possibly allowing her to continue paying her rent.

And, personality differences or not, I find it highly unlikely that any long-term childcare provider would harm a child (or even just treat a child poorly) because the parent decides to move the kids to a different provider. I understand your concern, but it's generally not much of an issue. Childcare providers generally really love children, though maybe not their parents.

The only time I fired/left someone without any additional pay or notice was when my nanny of 3 weeks admitted to my younger sister who was over for a playdate how much she hated watching kids and that she pushed my then 4 year old. My husband wouldn't even let me go meet her to pick up our car seat because I would probably have been given a free ride in a police car.

We left an in-home day-care provider (for the nanny) and had to pay her the two weeks. She used on of her vacation weeks as our second week, so we didn't have to pay that week, which left us with only one week to pa.y

We love her though and there was no hard feelings. Even when people have left on bad terms (one mom didn't think she deserved to close for two days when her grandfather passed!) she did not treat the child any differently. I asked my son if everything was going well and he said yes. So hopefully she will be professional, but you owe her the two weeks worth of pay. Up to you if you still use her then or not.

You can either give the two week's notice and still send your child, or just pay her two weeks tuition and leave early. The notice period is usually to protect the provider so that s/he isn't left high and dry with no notice and no income.

If the provider cares at all about his/her reputation, he/she will make certain your children are not treated any differently. This is a business, after all. The provider knows that you may encounter prospective clients and will want to do everything possible to ensure you have positive feedback.

We knew we wanted to send our 2 year old to a daycare in our neighborhood. They did not have an opening when I started working (I only had about 2 weeks notice before beginning my job), so we started him at another daycare center. I kid you not, there was an opening 1 week later. We gave our 2 weeks notice after he had been there for 1 week!

I was careful how I worded the letter. I explained that we were unexpectedly offered an opening, mentioned the convenient location and other kids in our school district. I also mentioned that we would gladly recommend them to friends and co-workers.

This is a business. Kids come and kids go. No one benefits from taking it personally. You might have things about this provider that are not positive, but more than likely you can still craft a letter that spins it well.

I wouldn't fret about it. Write a letter that explains your decision without saying anything negative about them. Be kind and thank them for the care they've given. Move forward with your plans. All will be well.

I'm a provider, but I can see both sides of this issue.

Have you voiced concerns? Is the provider aware that you are looking into other options? I would agree that some people might treat the child differently for those final weeks, sad but true. You might consider telling the provider that because you are not happy with her sevices you will compromise and pay her for one week, but remove your child immediately.

There is a big difference between a child moving on to go to pre-school or kindergarten and moving a child because you are unhappy with the care they are receiving. In that case the provider would probably have several months notice, or at least heads up.

Good Luck, Go with your gut and Mom instincts.

M

Yes. You have a legally binding contract. If your contract states two weeks notice - you are obligated to PAY them for the two weeks. You do NOT have to send them but you will have to pay.

IF she treats your children differently because you gave notice, she might not be in business much longer - word of mouth travels fast.

You do have to pay for 2 weeks after you give notice, but you don't have to keep your children there. If for some reason you don't trust the provider to give great care to your children after notice, trust your gut and keep them out. No amount of money is worth a possible risk to your kids.

Yes, the contract you signed is a legal binding contract that WILL hold up in small claims court. I know several Minnesota providers that have taken parents to court, contracts in hand and have won. I guess each state is different and I see that many that posted here are not from Minnesota.

If you feel that uncomfortable with your children at the day care then pay her for the two weeks and leave now. She's got her money and a two week notice, so everything will be good for her. I sure she will feel sad to see your children leave (we do become very attached to them), but then again if your personalities and styles don't match she might be sighing with relief too.

Just my opinion as a former Wisconsin day care provider......

The right thing to do is to honor the contract you agreed to, give a two weeks' notice (which means you will fulfill your financial obligation), and then decide if you want to send your kids there for the two weeks. No one is *forcing* you to send your child to this provider, but when you signed the contract you agreed to the terms. The right and honorable thing to do is to pay the two weeks.

Hi K.-

Two weeks notice is pretty standard...

A compromise might be that you could find replacement kiddos for her...assuming of course this is really just a difference in 'styles'...and not something more serious in nature.

Just a thought.

Best luck!
michele/cat

If you signed a contract, you are bound to paying for two weeks. But you do have a couple of options. First, simply pay for two weeks and put your children somewhere else. Or, don't pay. Let her know that you're leaving for real concerns, not just convenience, and that you don't feel you need to pay the two weeks because she's not running her center correctly. You run the risk that the child care provider will harass you or take you to small claims court, but if that's a risk you're willing to take, you can.

You don't need to tell them why you are leaving. We have changed daycare twice now and will be changing a third time soon. All of our changes where due to moves, but for all you care you could just tell your provider that you are moving or changing jobs or whatever you want and that their place is no longer convenient for you.
In my experience, and you may to consider that my DD has always been in professional care at a center, the teachers would do their very best to make my child feel special and good about the transition.
If you simply have a bad provider and would like to pull your kids immediately, you do not have to send them back - you just have to pay for those two weeks regardless of whether your children are attending or not.
Good luck.

To be honest those contracts are not worth the paper they are written on. I learned this is the state directors training. A parent can be taken to court for various reasons but the provider has to pay the court costs up front and they take a chance on the judge not finding in their favor. So they bluff their way into hopefully making parents think they will get sued.

There may be an occasional one that will actually take a family to court for a contract issue but they are so busy with the kids and such they can't close down to go to court multiple times. They probably won't even take it past just a threat. She might but chances are she won't.

I would however tell the provider. She may have 1 or she may have 10 calls per week from families needing child care and is turning them down since she has "promised" to take your children according to what you and she agreed upon. I would honor this agreement simply because it is the right thing to do.

She works on a budget and she may buy her groceries based on how many children she is expecting the next week. If she is expecting your children then she will be buying groceries for them, I always took the kids likes and dislikes into my shopping lists.

It is just not fair to her to not inform her you are leaving. It does not have to be "We don't think this is working out" it can be something as simple as "we have been trying to get in XX pre-school for some time and finally got in. We told them we needed to give notice here and they'd really like the kids to start as soon as possible. We need to give notice that we are moving the kids next Monday". She can only say no and try to bluff you. It would be nice if you'd let her have her 2 weeks if she needs it.

She has had families leave before. Unless this is her first business venture she has been through this. She should not treat the kids any differently. I can't imagine any reason she would unless you annoy her or intimidate her. She is a care giver and must care about kids or would not have chosen this field.

That two week notice basically means she wants time to find someone to fill your spot without losing any income. Give her your two weeks notice, but you don't have to send your children. But, you will be expected to pay for those two weeks. As long as she gets paid, it shouldn't be an issue whether or not your kids are there.

Unless your kids were grossly neglected or injured, then yes, I'd say the right thing to do is to pay the 2 weeks. What were the issues with her? Did you discuss them with her & try to work it out, or are you just pulling them without her having a chance to fix things first?

You can pull your child any time you would lke, but you may be required to pay for the last two weeks. You don't have to let them know exactly why. You can tell them something like I found a place that works better for us or is closer to work etc.

If you have a contract that says two week notice, you are legally required to pay her for two weeks (doesn't mean you have to send your kids but you should pay her). If she has someone waiting to fill the spot, she may be willing to waive it or split the difference.