Advice for Beginning Child Care Providers

May 2004
by Michael Kauper

I have worked as a child care provider for about 30 years now, with a full time partner and many employees. Our family day care home is successful, well-respected, and unique. We have our own way of interviewing parents, our own very unusual fee schedule, customized permission forms for field trips, medical care, and baby powder.

If you were to visit other 30-year veterans, you would find that their child care is quite different from mine, and yet also successful and happy with the way they do things.

I have been wondering about what advice I might give to a new or recently licensed provider. What could I tell you that might help with your day-to-day work or set you on the path to your own unique way of providing child care? Are there any ideas that almost anyone can use? Let's give it a try.

Customer Is Always Right

We are all running a business. Our first obligation is to provide the means for the parents to work or go to school, knowing that their children are safe and secure. Remember that the customers are always right, even when they are "wrong." We are providing a service, not fixing their lives.

I have observed many child care providers complaining about the behavior of their day care parents. The parents do not pay on time, they are late picking up their children, they fail to buy new shoes for their kids, they fed their kids junk food! I have done my share of complaining, too. It doesn't really help.

Generally, we complain to let off steam, when we cannot or feel we cannot do anything more effective. We complain about taxes or babies who take short naps because no power on earth can do anything about it. The situation with your child care business is not quite so hopeless. Often, you can do more than you might think.

Before you start, however, think about this. Are you willing to lose a client to protect yourself and your business? If the client breaks your rules, pushes your limits, or is abusive toward you, can you tell them to find other child care? If not, you may not be able to run a child care business.

Think about it. Imagine telling a grouchy person, or a person "down on their luck," or a really nice person with a cute child, that you will no longer be able to serve them. Can you do this?

You may have a parent who comes late many evenings. They have all sorts of marvelous excuses. Some of the excuses might even be true.

I remember when I was a teenager my dad grounded me for being out past curfew. I swore that the bridge over the river was closed, but he didn't believe me. I was quite smug when he apologized to me the next day, because the bridge really was closed!

So, whose problem is it, when your day care parent is late? I would say that being late is the parent's problem, and what to do about it is yours. First, be patient; this will take some time to fix. Tell the client that you really want them to be at your home on time. Say it out loud, or write it down, clearly and directly. They will not "see" that you want them to be on time. It will not be "obvious" to the client. You have to make yourself tell them what you want. A dated note is fine, but keep a copy so you have a record.

Do NOT debate with them about the quality of their excuse. Maybe the bridge really was out. That is not your concern. You may offer sympathy, but do not offer any advice about how to be on time, unless they actually ask sincerely for help, which is unlikely. Remember, being on time is their problem. You are not responsible for getting them to your house.

Late Fee

Next, institute a late fee, or, if you have one, enforce it every time, or prepare to increase it. It must be enough money so that you will feel fine when a client is late! Ask other providers how they structure their late fees. I charge $3.00 for every 15 minutes or fraction of 15 minutes with a 5-minute grace period. So I charge $3 if they are 6 to 15 minutes late, $6 for 16 to 30 minutes late, and so on. This is a modest late fee. Many providers charge more. You decide what is right for you.

NOTE: The government does not want providers to agree to all charge the same fees. This is called price-fixing, and is against the law. However, any provider whose fees are in writing can freely share this information only if it is made available to the public (by posting them on a public bulletin board, advertisement, etc.).

I recommend that your late fee be in writing, and is the same for everyone, every time, unless you give someone special permission in advance to be late at no charge.

I keep a sign-in book near my front door. Every child is signed in and out as they arrive and leave. This is also a good place for taking notes and recording late fees.

Atomic Clock

You might want to buy an "atomic" clock. These clocks are controlled by the radio signal from the super-accurate atomic clock in Denver, and are accurate to better than a millionth of a second. Announce that you will use the atomic clock to determine lateness.

Our atomic clock cost about $25 at Costco, and we love it. When the power goes out, we can reset all of our other clocks easily and accurately, and the parents accept it as correct.

Before we were organized, parents came late, and then disputed our late fee. Now that we are clear about our policies, we get more respect, and the parents pay their late fees. If a parent abused this system, arguing with me or refusing to pay, then yes, I would tell that parent to find other child care.

In the short term you will lose money by asking them to leave. You will have to find a new client. But you may like yourself better, and you will be running a great child care business. When you respect yourself, other people will respect you, and you will be more in demand.

If you require that clients treat you as a business, that will help build up your reputation, and people will want your services. Being harsh or angry is not business—and neither is being "soft." Find the middle ground, and extend genuine good wishes toward the clients you boot out.

Junk Food

Here's another problem: the child eats junk food at home. This is pretty much none of your business. But if you really need to try to help, here are some ideas.

First, realize that you can feed the children really well at your day care home. We have kids who will eat the most wonderful, high quality food here at day care and only eat junk food when they are with their parents. Kids are adaptable.

Next, invite parents to come to lunch at day care. They may be astonished to see for themselves that young children will actually eat spinach salad, whole wheat bread, and all sorts of veggies.

You might start inviting all of your families over for evening potluck dinners, perhaps once a month. We do this in my child care home, and it only requires moderate planning. Parents ask us what they should bring, and we say bring anything you wish, home-made or store-bought, main course or dessert. Somehow, by the magic of applied chaos, it all works out well enough.

At these dinners the parents visit, share stories, watch each other's children, and notice what other people bring. You may thank everyone who brings food, and then pay extra attention to those dishes that you feel are most nutritious. Your praise and approval helps parents know what you feel is good food.

These potluck dinners are very popular. If you try it, you may find they have other benefits, too. Improved respect from parents, parents making donations after they notice things you need, parents forming weekend babysitting exchanges, a stronger community. All due to your business.

Newsletter

Here is another idea for encouraging good nutrition as well as other desirable parent behaviors. Start a one page monthly newsletter for your child care home. On the front page you announce birthdays, holidays, policy reminders, new toys and equipment, potluck dinners, field trips, etc. This is one more way to communicate with the parents, and it makes you look professional.

On the back page you can copy newspaper and magazine clippings about child rearing issues, such as car seats, discipline, child care tax credits, and good nutrition. Not all of the parents will read your newsletter, but some of them will, at least some of the time. You are supposed to get permission to use copy-written articles. You may phone your local newspaper and ask the reporter's permission; it would be very rare for them to say no. Articles in child care newsletters should always be copyable.

You can now buy a top-quality computer printer/scanner/copier for only $100, an amazingly low price for becoming your own publisher. Try it. I suspect that you will feel better doing something constructive than you ever did just complaining!

At Michael & Marian's Child Care Home, you can review our fee schedule, our policies, and our permission forms.