Frustrated with Daycare

[SoaringEpcot]

We just added a new addition to our family, Seth was born on July 17th. Back in December of last year DW put down a deposit to reserve a place for his daycare. She new then that we would not need it until some time in October when she went back to work.

Yesterday she got a call from the daycare saying there was a spot opening the first week of September. When she called and said we did not need it until October when she went back to work, she was told to go ahead and start paying the $180 a week or get moved to the bottom of the list and probably not have a spot until December or January.

We already have to pay for DS(4) even when we go on vacation, and I understand that (sort of). :confused:But now they are wanting us to pay 5 weeks before Seth even starts.

:thumbsup:We love the daycare because it is across the steet from where DW works and it is a relly good daycare.

Any comments are welcome.

Just frustrated:mad:

[DisneyDog]

Unfortunately, if it is a good and popular daycare, you have to take a spot when it opens or they will give it to someone else who is waiting. MY DS was at 2 bad daycares (one in Florida and one up here in PA) and it is not fun to deal with a bad one. He was on a waiting list for one that we wanted, and then we found another one that didn't have a waiting list. We put him there right away, and he's been there for almost 4 years. He will be starting elementary school in a few weeks, so we are now done with day care. But sometimes it's trial and error.

Personally, I would rather the daycare be near home than near work (although for me that's one in the same). If your wife is sick and can't go to work and can't take care of the baby, she could still take him to daycare. Plus, then a lot of the kids in the daycare would end up going to elementary school with him. It's nice when they already have familiar faces when they get to "big kid school."

[Disney Doll]

I know it can be frustrating. The liscensing agency in your state will dictate how many children the center is allowed to keep. Sounds like you have found a good daycare that everyone wants to get into. If they have a slot open they need to fill it so that they are not losing money. I know it doesn't always seem fair, but if they have someone who is willing to fill that slot right now it wouldn't be very smart for them to hold it for you free of charge until October. I think what you have described is standard practice and if you can get your kids a spot in a really good center it is worth it. There are lots of bad centers out there and I hate to even think about what goes on in some of them.

[bibbidiboo3]

I know how you feel. To save some $$ we took our kids out of daycare over the summer and used a family member to babysit.
Our daycare has a corporate number that you can call and talk with the center director's boss. If you can't resolve this issue with the person in charge at the center, then you may need to take the issue up with their boss or owner.
Maybe you can pay a smaller amount each week until October that you can use towards the first weeks of daycare.
Good luck!

[MNNHFLTX]

If you do end up having pay for the extra five weeks of daycare, maybe you could use it as a transitioning period (for a week or two anyway). Dropping Seth off for a couple of hours at a time will be a lot easier initially than dropping him off for a full day the first time. Plus it will also give the caregivers there a chance to get to know him better before having to care for him full-time.

[Georgesgirl1]

I work at a really popular child care center in my area and I see both sides of the issue. It is frustrating to have to pay when your child isn't even going, but the school still has to pay the teachers, overhead, etc even if kids get sick or go on vacation. If they leave a spot unfilled, they are losing money and other parents on the waiting list who may need that spot right don't get a chance at it.

You could ask if they would let the person behind you have the spot and then you be next in line. They may already be doing this by saying the next available spot would be in December. If they are truely going to put you at the bottom of the "list" it seems like you would be waiting longer than until December. My school already has a waiting list into 2010 for the infant room!

If they won't do this you could also do what someone else said and use this time period as a transition time. Drop the baby off for a few hours a day to give your wife time to run errands. In the end it will probably make going back to work easier for the baby who would already be used to new people and your wife who would feel more comfortable with them.

Good luck!