Is this normal to hold a spot?
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Anonymous
| There's an in home daycare we are considering that requires a month tuition (non refundable) to hold a spot. This is seven months out from when I'll be needing it. Is this common practice? Id be happy to pay a registration/wait list fee or even a week tuition (which I've seen required elsewhere) but a month seems kind of steep. Who knows what could happen between now and then that forces us to reconsider. |
Anonymous
I think that's the point. If they are holding the spot for you, that means that they might be turning down other interested families. If they turn down other families and then you change your mind at the last minute, that puts them in a tough spot, especially for a smaller place where each kid is a big percentage of their income. |
Anonymous
| I think it's a bit odd to ask for that much this far out- the one we go to asked for the first week tuition closer to the date. Maybe a month or two in advance? Infant spots are in such demand these days. I'm actually a bit surprised an in home daycare is willing to commit this far in advance. |
Anonymous
| Do you want to send your baby there? Then pay the month tuition to hold the space. If you don't want to go there, then don't pay for it. But know that there might not be space at that in home child care in 7 months. |
Anonymous
| yes it's normal |
Anonymous
| Normal and don't expect a refund if you don't show. |
Anonymous
|
How would it be applied? It is non-refundable - but it is to be used as tuition once you give your notice (after you have been there a year or more).
Is the daycare reputable? (meaning no complaints- including bbb, no history of issues and great references?) |
Anonymous
|
Are they having you pay a money to "hold" a currently vacant spot for 7 months? If so, that's a steal.
If they're having you pay a month upfront just to reserve the spot that they expect to be open in 7 months (likely because one of the older kids is moving on to preschool), then no, that's not normal. Watch out for these out of norm charges. There was an in-home in my city that was charging twice what all the other in-homes were, claiming that they could accomodate every parental request and tailor care to your baby. Something seemed off to me, even though the lady did otherwise seem to be running a rather excellent program. A year later she was raided and they found her to have three times as many kids as she was licensed for. I think the excessive rate she was charging was one of the red flags - she was promising something that would have been worth double but simply wasn't possible. |
Anonymous
| I am currently prospecting out family and in-home daycares for my second child, and this seems to be standard practice. If they know a spot will be available when you need it because an older child is turning 2, and you want that spot before anyone else gets it, that's the only way to guarantee it. Infant spots are gold! |
Anonymous
OP here. It's the latter. The other couple family daycares I've visited seem to do it differently, they maintain a wait list and go down the list once the spot is open or the child is about to age out. My first choice thinks they'll have a spot, but can't guarantee it right now. This particular daycare is nice and seems to be well liked, I'm just hesitant to commit a full month tuition this far out. Then again, a guaranteed spot would give is peace of mind. Also, I know someone who's baby ended up having a developmental disability that wasn't caught till the 32 week ultrasound and was a complete game changer in terms of what kind of child care they needed. Although maybe in that scenario providers would be more understanding. |
Anonymous
| We've only ever been asked to give a week's deposit. A month is a lot but if you really like the place then you'll have to do it. |
Anonymous
| It's only normal if they are guaranteeing you a spot. What happens if there is no spot in 7mo do you get a refund? |