Daycares are in an impossible situation. While I do think that demanding payment to hold spots right now is tantamount to ransom, I'm not sure there's actually a better way to deal with the situation when 1) daycares are hurting right now, and 2) they're expecting a shortage of spots in the future.

And I definitely expect to see a shortage of spots, probably heavily dependent on age. Maybe parents will keep older kids are home while they telework, but that's just not possible with infants and toddlers. Those spots were already hard to come by.

The payment scam OP is describing is ILLEGAL.

OP is obviously an unethical daycare owner trying to get as much money out of people as possible.

And OP, your school sounds terrible.

Many families are too scared to use the daycare spots so it might well even out. I know many who have hired nannies, etc. and won’t return to centers right away.

Will this affect infant spots? The CDC recommendation is no more than 10 kids per room, but in MD it is usually 6 (with 2 providers).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what I wrote in a different thread (I’m posting this to try and be helpful and will try to answer questions but we are in dark just like the general public):

Take my advice if you are in Maryland. I run a daycare so this is what we are being told.

Only EPCC approved daycares will be allowed to operate until phase 3. When EPCC started we were allowed to accept kids up to 13 years old (even if we were not geared toward it). Start calling now about securing a spot. That may mean paying a holding fee. Many in home daycares (that's me) are not doing in person tours or interviews so be prepared to have these on video chats.

I have been preaching this since the beginning: daycare spots are significantly reduced and many daycares are closing or already closed. There will not be enough spots for all of the children who need care.

I wish people would stop freaking out. There will be enough spots. A lot of people will continue to telework and can provide care at home. Many will choose a nanny instead. Many will stay home themselves. A lot of people are scared to put their kids back in daycare.

It is not freaking out. Just in my own home I have already lost five spots. That means those five families now I have to scramble and find care elsewhere and many day cares Have reduced capacity. It is based on the number of people who live in your home and you were only allowed to have a maximum of 10 people. Centers are also reducing spots. Many families cannot keep their kids home from daycare they need to go back to work and those are the kids who will need care.have reduce capacity. It is based on the number of people who live in your home and you were only allowed to have a maximum of 10 people. Centers are also reducing spots. Many families cannot keep their kids home from daycare they need to go back to work and those are the kids who will need care.

Cost thing sounds rife for charges of unfair practices . If you are a low wage earner and cannot afford to pay as high SES earners can you may be in a protected class and can sue . Would be careful about spreading nonsense Perhaps so e lawyers can step in and tell us what laws apply.

Anonymous wrote:This is what I wrote in a different thread (I’m posting this to try and be helpful and will try to answer questions but we are in dark just like the general public):

Take my advice if you are in Maryland. I run a daycare so this is what we are being told.

Only EPCC approved daycares will be allowed to operate until phase 3. When EPCC started we were allowed to accept kids up to 13 years old (even if we were not geared toward it). Start calling now about securing a spot. That may mean paying a holding fee. Many in home daycares (that's me) are not doing in person tours or interviews so be prepared to have these on video chats.

I have been preaching this since the beginning: daycare spots are significantly reduced and many daycares are closing or already closed. There will not be enough spots for all of the children who need care.

I wish people would stop freaking out. There will be enough spots. A lot of people will continue to telework and can provide care at home. Many will choose a nanny instead. Many will stay home themselves. A lot of people are scared to put their kids back in daycare.

This is what I wrote in a different thread (I’m posting this to try and be helpful and will try to answer questions but we are in dark just like the general public):

Take my advice if you are in Maryland. I run a daycare so this is what we are being told.

Only EPCC approved daycares will be allowed to operate until phase 3. When EPCC started we were allowed to accept kids up to 13 years old (even if we were not geared toward it). Start calling now about securing a spot. That may mean paying a holding fee. Many in home daycares (that's me) are not doing in person tours or interviews so be prepared to have these on video chats.

I have been preaching this since the beginning: daycare spots are significantly reduced and many daycares are closing or already closed. There will not be enough spots for all of the children who need care.

I have been saying this for a while now.

I completely understand why they’re prioritizing people who have been paying more people with 50% reduced spots they still need to pay the same amount of overhead once they open and they need to maximize their income.

Might be the only way they stay in business. It is similar to airlines catering to their most frequent highest paying customers.

Your preschool sounds horrible and that honestly sounds illegal. Bunch of BS

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully any school that is prioritizing by how much people have been paying told that upfront. Otherwise that is a major disaster waiting to happen.

Yep, people are going to be pissseeddd.

Hopefully any school that is prioritizing by how much people have been paying told that upfront. Otherwise that is a major disaster waiting to happen.

We just heard from our preschool in MoCo that, even when childcare centers are cleared to open (TBD on date obviously) they will be restricted to 50% capacity for some period of time. The school said they don't know how long that will be, but that's what they are hearing from the state.

Right now, they're serving essential personnel, but they put together a priority system for figuring out how to allocate the spots, once they are able to open for non-essential worker families. First priority is essential worker families whose kids have been attending, and then it goes by how much tuition you have been paying. At our school, there are multiple tuition options, so they are prioritizing those who have been paying more tuition. It sucks, but is probably the only way to really do it.

So this is just a head's up that you may be getting something similar from your school, so I'd suggest paying some level of tuition, to optimize your position on any priority list that your school might institute.