Holiday closings at daycare - opinions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again......is anyone else dealing with a center closed for 10 days over the holidays? I get paid holidays, but they are getting more paid holidays than I get!!!

Not at my current center but my former one closed for a long period at the holidays. You'll have the same issue once they hit school because of winter break.

yes.... but there are "camps" that you can schedule for winter break once your child is enrolled in school. For daycare, the back up plan is .... take time off, pay a sitter, have another family member help out.

We have done a combination of the three and it is a royal PITA. When I put our name on the waitlist, our daycare was open just about everyday of the year with the exception of the major holidays (Labor Day / Memorial Day/ 4th of July, Thanksgiving + day after, Christmas, New Years) . By the time we got a spot 2 years later they had teacher work days, extended winter break (closed Chistmas to New Years), as well as alll the federal Holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here......we don't have a contract with the daycare, and we weren't informed officially of the holiday schedule until a couple of weeks ago. They just have been telling us a few days before the holiday "Oh...BTW we are going to be closed on Monday for Veteran's Day." It is a wonderful center, and our little one LOVES it.....but this seems a little odd and very costly.

How is this possible? Didn't you have to sign tons and tons of paperwork when you enrolled your DC there? All the friggin paperwork felt worse to me than when I bought a house.

[Anonymous]

My son goes to a Kindercare, which has very few days off. Most federal holidays, but not all, and they only close early the day before Thanksgiving and the day before Christmas. They never even closed in all that snow we had a few years ago.

Kindercare also offers winter, spring, and summer camps for all ages, when the public schools are closed, if you want to check out that option. But it's pricey. I looked into it for my son because he starts kindergarten next year and we'll face the same thing -- 2 weeks off at Christmas, one around Easter, etc. I think other camps like Bar-T are a bit cheaper (and more comprehensive in what they offer).

What we've done when my son was sick was split days. My husband would go in super-early and come home early. I'd go in around 1pm or so and work late. We each usually could put in at least 6 hours a day this way. So that would save on leave and not cost us anything in additional back-up care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again......is anyone else dealing with a center closed for 10 days over the holidays? I get paid holidays, but they are getting more paid holidays than I get!!!

Not at my current center but my former one closed for a long period at the holidays. You'll have the same issue once they hit school because of winter break.

OP again......my biggest concern is actually less about taking time off to spend at home (though this is inconvenient) as it is that we have to pay for a week and a half of daycare cost when they are closed.

[Anonymous]

Normal and agree with you it completely sucks. We use a home daycare and she closes for every holiday possible, gets sick days and personal days - all paid. Oh, and sometimes she closes early or opens late and we still have to pay the full fee. The time off doesn't bother me since I'm a teacher the holidays usually follow my schedule - BUT, it is hard to justify paying so much money when your DC isn't even going there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
OP again......my biggest concern is actually less about taking time off to spend at home (though this is inconvenient) as it is that we have to pay for a week and a half of daycare cost when they are closed.

Unfortunately that is standard operating procedure, and it does suck, but you just accept it as part of the deal. I try not to think about it, to be honest.

[Anonymous]

yep, normal. very frustrating, especially when you have to pay/arrange for care on those closed days. grrr.

[Anonymous]

Yep, normal. Our daycare for the past two years closed for the whole week too. We just took turns. Now we are at a new center and they are open 3.5 days of that week, hooray!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again......is anyone else dealing with a center closed for 10 days over the holidays? I get paid holidays, but they are getting more paid holidays than I get!!!

Not at my current center but my former one closed for a long period at the holidays. You'll have the same issue once they hit school because of winter break.

OP again......my biggest concern is actually less about taking time off to spend at home (though this is inconvenient) as it is that we have to pay for a week and a half of daycare cost when they are closed.

if you didnt sign a contract with the provider, there isnt really any way she can enforce it. You could just not pay, but I would also expect she'd terminate care. Catch 22. What I dont get are the parents who sign a contract fully aware of the closures and dont say a word then, until the day comes, then all hell breaks loose because you have to pay.

I close for spring break and christmas break because it is the only time during the school year we can go visit family with the kids. I take off federal holidays, however i am open, to those who HAVE to work, for things like veterens and columbus days. I take 2 weeks during the summer. For the record, only 1 of those 4 weeks I charge. The rest i do not.

i guess you need to think how much you really like your daycare

[Anonymous]

Our center takes the whole week between Christmas and New Year off (fortunately my husband and I both get it off too) as well as all Federal holidays, a DC holiday and a couple of other days off. January 2nd? I get taking the first Monday of the year off if New Year's Eve falls on the Sunday but if it's the 2nd?? Come on now. I think what bugs me most is all the Christian holidays they take off. It's a center in a church but, as I understood it, the church and center were completely independent of one another. It's become increasingly clear that that isn't the case. I feel badly for families at the center that observe a different (or no) faith.

Hoping the waitlists we're on move quickly...

[Anonymous]

My child's center is closed from December 26 until January 9.....its really a burden but oh well

[Anonymous]

My daycare (Infant Toddler Family Daycare) announced that for 2012 they will be closed for THREE days to celebrate 4th of July. That's completely excessive to me and out of line. But otherwise, taking the Federal holidays off and being closed the week between Christmas and New Year's is normal to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daycare (Infant Toddler Family Daycare) announced that for 2012 they will be closed for THREE days to celebrate 4th of July. That's completely excessive to me and out of line. But otherwise, taking the Federal holidays off and being closed the week between Christmas and New Year's is normal to me.

Maybe they are closed to take a vacation and figure if they are already closed the 4th, which falls on a wednesday, lets take ther other two off and have a 5 day weekend so they can go away. sounds good to me. That is usually the week I take off during the summer, incorporating the 4th in it somewhere

[Anonymous]

17:16 -- that's great for them, but does anybody else get three days off for the 4th? I certainly don't.

[Anonymous]

OP, as you can see it's all over the map. One provider we almost went with took 2 weeks at Christmas, 2 weeks in the summer, all federal holidays and any time the local schools closed for snow. She had tons of other red flags so luckily we went elsewhere.

The in-home provider we are with closes for most of the major holidays. We also know that she closes the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Good Friday. Ask for a schedule, and go from there.

As for paying, look at it this way, if they didn't charge you for the weeks, the remaining weeks of the year would just be more expensive to cover the cost of those weeks. You'd pay for it one way or another. I assume you get paid on holidays from your employer, or are your paychecks smaller in months like January where there's New Year's Day and MLK Day then in months like March where there are no federal holidays? My guess is no. Your daycare is a professional business as well.