Reply to day care waitlist policies- is this normal?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don't keep the spot open for 6 mos. In 6 mos some of the the infants in that room will age up to the next room.  So I know that there is an opening on x date and your registration fee reserved that spot. We have lots of families who want spots so if things change for the first family then we can offer the spot to the next family.  It is not necessary to charge tons of money to parents up front to run the business successfully.[/quote] this would be my thought. If you know you want the spot in March in a infant room, the daycare should know if they have babies aging up in Feb/March or not til July and be able to tell you that. I can see them asking for the first month as a deposit to then hold that spot that’s guaranteed to you. But to pay for several months is absurd. [/quote]

I assume based on the wording that they don't have any children moving up in March but I think they are keeping things open because someone might leave (since people often do in DC, either because their work moved or they moved to the suburbs or they got into a nanny share or whatever).  If they knew a child was moving up in March they would have of course told OP that they would have a spot in March.[/quote]
It's not that simple.  There may be a family on the waist ahead of OP who wants a February slot but doesn't want to pay ahead.  If that person doesn't get a slot in Feb, then they will be ahead of OP for the March slot.

Op, the only way to really get a sense is to buddy up to the person managing the waitlist to find out when babies are aging up and who is ahead of you on the waitlist.  If you 100% need a March slot then you can pay to hold a slot early.  If you have flexibility then you can roll the dice to see what opens up in March.  It's a super frustrating process and IME they don't necessarily respect the waitlist so the slots go to the people the daycare likes.  You want to be one of those people. [/quote]

This is true. I had my husband call and chat with them. He is much more patient and charming than me. I was stressed and scared and that comes off as desperate or rude. I think the young underpaid women were also somehow more sympathetic to my husband than me. 
It also helps if you know another family already at the center and have them check in for you - assuming they are nice / polite and the Director likes them. If you have a friend who is “that mom” who is super controlling, asks a million questions, and complains about everything- DO not have them ask on your behalf. Centers expect first time moms to be a little nervous and high maintenance, but there is a limit to their patience and if they have too many high maintenance parents they might not want one more. [/quote]

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