Take Some Time Off This Summer to Frolick In The Sun

One of the comments from a recent blog here on this site posed the following question:

"So Judy, what do YOU do when it comes time for holiday scheduling?"

This question is asked a lot by daycare providers. It seems that many of us think that because we are self-employed and needed by the parents to be available when they go to work that we are also not entitled to vacation time ourselves. I think many providers view taking personal time off as a sign of being unreliable. And, let's face it - in daycare dependability is a key trait that can make or break any provider. Word gets around if you are constantly closing for frivolous reasons. As a parent, I too would be upset if any business I patronize did not follow their posted and usual hours. But, unlike other businesses, home daycare is different.

Home daycare providers do not have staff. We are not part of a larger company with employees to cover shifts when we can not work. Therefore, for many of us, closing means that services are not available. The other negative associated with taking time off is the absence of a pay cheque. I know of few daycare providers who get paid for their own vacation time. Personally, I think this needs to change. There are few persons in the general workforce who do not get paid for their vacation time. In fact, in Ontario and many other provinces an employer, at the very least, is mandated to pay out four per cent of any employee's wages to them in lieu of vacation time if not taken in a fiscal year. Now, I don't know about you but for me that would equal quite a bit of money.

In my early years of daycare when I was green, desperate and had not been pissed off so badly that I started to ask for what was fair, I rarely took time off. I did not get paid for stats and the parents were not expected to pay me for any time they took off. One summer it happened that all but one family took at least one week off in July. After I got over the initial shock of the nearly $1000 in income I would lose anger and resentment set in. I was angry because it dawned on me at that point that the parents actually made money by taking vacation time. Not only did they get a week off but they got paid for it. And, they saved the $150 that would normally have been paid to me for daycare services. This revelation alone prompted me to revise and renew with every family I had under contract.

Now days I am smarter, wiser and more apt to ask for what I feel I deserve. In my care, families pay for every single day that they would normally attend. They pay for all stats, their vacation time, days spent with grandma, sick days etc. I simply refuse to lose money and cost own my family the luxury of an income while daycare parents are getting paid to suntan on their deck while saving nearly $200 that week. I deserve better.

I book off time whenever I feel the need to. If I start to get burned out I open up my calendar, chose a few days and send the information out with my monthly email. I tend to give at least one month's notice whenever possible. Presently I have days booked off until Thanksgiving. There is not a single reason why the parents can not find alternate care when notice is given six months in advance. Besides, those parents are gaining a day off and getting paid for it. One would also think that any parent would be happy that their daycare provider was taking time to refresh. I know that as a parent, I would never want a burned out, over worked and stressed person caring for my child. Parents should take that fact into consideration.

So, to answer the question, "So Judy, what do YOU do when it comes time for holiday scheduling?", the answer would be, "I do whatever it takes, whenever I feel like it".

And no, I don't really care if a parent can't find alternative care, doesn't have any vacation days left, has to work the long weekend, worked last night, needs a nap, must go shopping, or any other ridiculous reason. As they say, "Not my situation - not my problem".

So, go to your coffee table, pull out your calendar and start writing the word 'CLOSED' in those tiny calendar squares. Your kids' childhood and summer will pass by all too soon. Enjoy some time with just them running through the sprinkler. You'll be glad you did.




For concerns, advice or suggestions I welcome your email at judytrickett@yahoo.ca