How Many Hours a Day Should a Child Be in a Daycare Setting?

Hi L.,

I work a 9 hour shift (40 hours a week - 1 hour each day for lunch). I have a 30 min commute each way. So, my bare minimum schedule is 10 hours each day of needed childcare - provided that my boss doesn't ask me for something 5 minutes before I am supposed to leave or there is an accident in front of me on the highway.

I would DEFINITELY LOVE to pick my daughter up sooner each day and spend time with her at home. Would you tell that to my ex-husband who decided he didn't want to be married to me anymore or have anything to do with taking care of her? I would LOVE to have family who could spend time with her instead of putting her in childcare 10-ish hours a day when she was younger, but they all work as well, so childcare was my ONLY resource since I chose not to just marry the first guy willing to support me after my divorce.

Having said that - if the "reason" a family wants childcare matters to you, then I wouldn't ever just list "open hours". I would have each family set SPECIFIC hours with you that you will be watching their child and then they pay based on that. If they get stuck at work or in traffic or whatever they would then have to call you and it would cost them extra. If they wanted you to watch their child while they run to the store they would have to contract that with you like they would a babysitter, and pay extra for that fee.

If you think it's not appropriate for a child to be in daycare 10.5 hours then you need to let them know that you are not the right provider for them and they should make other arrangements.

I know people get a lot of flack for being 'negative' on this site and I really try hard not to be negative when I respond to posts, so I hope I don't offend you - this is just my perspective and I can't figure out how to word it differently...... Also, when my daughter was little I always used day care centers, so this may not apply to your specific post..... but there was never 'judgement' attached to why I need childcare from the childcare provider. I guess from my perspective..... if I'm paying you to take care of my daughter it is because I think it's better for her to be with you than being wherever I need to be at that time. I would not be ok with someone telling me what I can and can't do while they watch my child (and I absolutely don't mean to be negative, that is just me). I think also - especially when my daughter was between 2-4 it was BETTER for her to stay 30 extra minutes at daycare having fun than for me to 'drag her around to the store or whatever'. That way when I picked her up I could immediately be engaged with HER. But my situation as a single parent is probably a bit different than most. I definitely respect your time - but if you've told me you are available to watch my child for 10.5 hours each day for a set fee, then that means I have the ability to keep her with you for that amount of time and pay that fee regardless of my work schedule.

Just my $0.02
B.

I don't mean to be rude but it really isn't your business why their child is there so long. When I was working I was required to work a 45 hour week, add the 45 minutes of travel time and my daughter was at daycare over 10 hours on some days that my husband couldn't pick her up. If you are open those hours and charge by the day you need to specify how long you consider a 'day' before you have them sign the contract. If you want to amend the contract that is your right, but make sure that you give them at least 30 days notice so that they can find another daycare provider.

If you don't say how long the kids can be there when you take the kids in you can't ask the parents to pick them up early. They could be working 8 hours a day plus have to travel. If you don't want the kids there that long then you need to have that in the contract before the kids start.

As a mom who is consistently called upon to work 12+ hours a day in the office, I am grateful for the daycare providers who watch my children after school. Would I like to be with my kids more? You bet I would! But unfortunately, with my husband laid off from his job and working construction to help make ends meet, I am not really in a position to tell my employer I won't work these hours. Losing my job would mean that we could no longer afford to live in our home (which is a rental, because the one we owned was foreclosed upon when my husband lost his job) - we would be out on the streets with no family nearby. Working these hours means I *AM* putting my children first - being homeless would be a lot worse than being in daycare.

So, while I can certainly appreciate and applaud your concern for the children in your care, please consider that these parents may be in a situation where they are doing their best for their kids, and that might mean that the child has a long day at daycare. You can certainly ask them about their schedule, but I would just be sure to approach it with sensitivity. Just a thought.

Ahh the hands off parenting! I worked in a daycare when I graduated HS, this was in 96-97, but there were numerous parents who dropped of their precious children at 6:30am and picked them up at 6:29pm at closing. The saddest part was they would rush home to a quick dinner and put their kids to bed at 8pm because they were exhausted. No family time AT ALL!

I think 10 hours is a lot. Even if you're scheduled an 8 hour day, adjust so that the parent who goes in latest drops off and the one who gets off first picks up. Maybe try to ask "Did your guys schedule change?" We use to see you here by 4:30 (or whatever time)". See if they have a legitimate reason. Or you'll find that they're delaying picking up because they're sitting a home without they're kids for a while. It's kinda sad to think of it that way.

I've been in your shoes!! First of all to the rude responses, people should re read your post. I don't think you were coming off accusatory, you're simply asking a question thats pretty legit to me!!

I took care of 2 boys last year in someone else's home. We agreed on a weekly rate, and the hours were to be apprx. from 7-4, 4:30 being verbalized as the latest. I just assumed it wouldn't be a problem. Well VERY shortly after mom started coming home later and later, EVERYDAY. Now don't get me wrong I understand the need to run errands and work runs over. But since you're prolonging MY work day shouldn't I get paid for MY time? It never happened. But what really upset me is that she'd walk in the house with grocery bags, or bags from birthday shopping for her husband, and ice lattees because she stopped off with friends. And not only did I never receice another penny, she never one time asked me first. I tried talking with her about it, and she just shrugged it off saying she'd "try" to be on time. And the one day I specifically told her I HAD to be out on time due to plans I Had, she was late and walked in finishing up a snack she'd stopped off to get. I was done, I put in my notice the next day!
Yes it sounds like you're being taken advantage of. And I would absolutely amend the contracts with ALL families so there's no hard feelings. Explain to everyone you love their kids and want them to keep coming, but you have a family and a life too!! I would make it a generic 8-9 hr. base rate, after that you charge extra by the hour. I'm sure that will put to stop to it!

If you add it up, some people take 30 minutes to leave the child until they actually have to be at their desk ready to pick up the phone or turn on their computer. That is reasonable, then they work 8 hours and have either a half hour to an hour lunch, then they get off work. By the time they close down whatever they are working on, leave their area, maybe go the bathroom, get to the car, start it and let it cool a few moments, then drive in rush hour traffic they are lucky if it takes less that 30 minutes. So, an average day for a child in the child care center is from 9-10 hours. I always informed my parents they would be responsible for over time if they left their children over 10 hours.

I also think if they are paying you for a service then it's really none of your business what they are doing when they are not there. If they get off early they are not obligated to come get the kids, do you give them a refund if they are there less that the 9-10 hours? No. If I got off work a bit early and wanted to go to the store and buy groceries without the kids then I have already paid for the child care for those hours and it's my choice what I do during that time.

So, to keep from offending them post a notice that you are having to limit the amount of time each child is in your care to 9 hours and if parents need more time than that they need to talk to you to make arrangements for extended care. That way no one is singled out and everyone is treated the same.

wow! 10 hours a day at the daycare? How sad.

I work in a church based, private daycare and we see this all the time. We have parents who drop off while the opening teachers are still locking up their cars at 6AM and those who pick up consistently ten or fifteen minutes after closing. You have to be understanding...to a point. In daycare there is a lot of biting one's lip as far as what you see from parents. Some parents figure that since they are paying for the time, they should use it whether they are working or not. My favorite is when teachers bring their kids in during school breaks. I guess that where I would happily spend every available minute with my son, not everyone feels that way about their kids. Some would love to spend as much time as we do with their kids, but can't because they are trying to put food on the table. So yeah, ten hours is a long time, but it is a necessity these days. On the plus side, those are ten hours of opportunity to give them valuable experiences and knowledge and make memories.

When I worked at a daycare a few years ago, it opened at 6 am and closed at 6 am. I normally worked in the afternoon, but would sometimes come in for the early shift when someone called in sick or was on vacation. On the days I came in for the early morning shift, I noticed that some of the kids that did not get picked up until on the dot of 6 pm were arriving at 6 and 7 am. For instance: When I worked downtown before kids, I would leave the house at 5 minutes till 7 in order to arrive in my office by 8 am because of morning traffic. I would get off work at 5 pm (8 to 5 with 1 hour for lunch is an 8 hour shift) and would chug through afternoon traffic and not get home till about 6:30. Now add to that the extra time to drop kids off for childcare and time to pick them up in the afternoon. Also, consider how far they live from you and how far they drive to work and the possibility of hitting rush hour traffic. And this does not include any errands. No, I don't think they are intentionally taking advantage of you.

My SIL is a single mom who has her child in daycare for more than 10 hours a day. She works in NYC, her commute is 1.5 hours each way. This equals at least 11 hours in daycare plus a little more if you count 15 minutes for dropoff and pick up.
She doesn't choose this, but she's the only one providing a roof over her and her son's head.
I think many moms (myself included) would LOVE to spend more time with their kids. Working with a young child was not my preferred choice, but a reality of our life.
I seriously don't know one single mother who prefers to have her child in full time daycare (though I hear they exist). Likely most of them wish they would be able to use your service less or not at all. Asking them to justify themselves is rude and unprofessional.

Good luck!

I also run a home daycare. I used to charge per day, not per hour. I have learned my lesson the hard way, and now I charge per hour. It is amazing how many families will now only use me for 8 hours instead of 10. When I charge per day, parents thought nothing about coming an hour or two later to get their own things done. Since I have switched to hourly, I have found that parents only use me while they are working. I am pretty sure that some parents will use you the maximum amount of hours if they pay the same for an 8 or 10 hour day. Sad, but true. I think you just have to accept that this family may, or may not, be taking advantage of you. In the future, you may want to consider charging per hour, instead of per day.

I also tell parents that I have my own family and expect that they will only use me while they are working. This is something I talk about at the initial interveiw. If you let parents know this from the beginning, they will know they are expected to come to get their children after work.

Hi! I've run a professional in-home daycare for over 19 years. I also run an online email list for providers from around the world. Your question is not unique as I hear this a lot. Personally my daycare is open 11 hours per day. Families may contract with me for up to 10 hours a day. Longer than that is an additional rate. Families may change their drop off and pick up times if they give me a 2-week notice. Then we will amend the contract. If their new hours won't work well for my business I can then terminate. I don't mind if parents are not at work and/or commuting while their child is in my care, however I do feel I have the right to know if they are in another location than their job. It would determine my method of contacting them in case of emergency. I don't need to know what they are doing, just that they are not at work, etc. I think in your situation, the big red flag is that this family has just gradually added on 2 hours to your work day without consulting you as they should have. Perhaps they feel since you are still open that it is okay. So naturally you are going to wonder if they are working or not. Whether to care for a child whose parents are working or doing other things is a provider's choice. I know from what I've read on my daycare email list provider's are split almost 50/50 on whether or not they allow this. Some allow it but don't like it but then IMO they just get resentful. My advice to you is to first decide whether nonworking parents are okay in your care, and then second to amend your contracts for specific drop-off and pick-up times accordingly. If my families will be more than 15 min late in the morning, they need to notify me. It's a matter of respect. Good luck!

They may have understood the contract to mean they could leave their kids for as long as they want during "open" hours. I'd talk to them and let them know that the pay was for what they originally agreed upon; only do it though knowing you may loose them as customers. I would go in with the attitude that you have a mis-communication - that probably is all that it is.

My daughter stays at daycare from 7:20 am to between 5:20 and 5:30 (5 if I'm really lucky, 4:30 if my husband gets off on time, which is rarely these days!) It's my 8 hour day at work plus the half hour I take for lunch (a lot of folks take an hour, which makes it 9 hours) plus the drive time. It sucks, and I wish I had a job closer to home, but it would suck even worse if my daughter's daycare lady didnt allow her to be there the whole time I'm at work/commuting.

This is a personal opinion so please do not take this the wrong way. My baby is at daycare for 10+ hours each day. That is because I work 9 hours (8+1 hour lunch) and then its 30 mins to drive to work and 30 mins to drive to pick her up. that is WITHOUT me doing errands. I will say that when I sneak out of work 15 or 20 mins eary I do run errands without my kids because its faster and I am more focused. I think that if you need to stick to the contract. If you are open for 10.5 hours a day and you charge by the day, then they shoudl be able to bring their kid to you for the entire 10.5 hours. if you want to change that, then you need to tell them (and everyone else you watch) that due to all the flex schedules you need to start charging by the hour. But you need to be fair and tell them WAY in advance (like 2 or 3 months) so if they choose not to pay by the hour, then they can find another place.

Hi L.
I work 8-5pm during the week so I drop my child at the daycare centre at 7.50am and collect him at 5.50pm which is nearly 10hrs.
This is considered a full time placement and many working mothers have to opt for this option.
I like to have an open honest relationship with the people that are minding my son so I would suggest you talk to them to voice your concern.
They will probally give you a straight answer.
I hope this helps
Positive vibes
B. K.

When your doing daycare it isn't really your business what the parent is doing lol. But it is your business if your being taken advantage of. When I did daycare my "rates" were for a 40 hour work week plus 5 hours of travel time. If the parent worked further away we negotiated a price for the over time that I had. After all I am not opting to work a hundred miles from my house. my work day is a 40 hour week. if I am asked to work over that then I was compensated for that. You can bet none of those parents would work a 50 to 55 hour week for 40 hours pay so why should you. As far as the child being in care for too long the state licensing standards cover that. I think it is 11.5 hours per day max thats why most daycare centers don't open till 6:30 and are only open till 6pm. you should talk with them. Sometimes both parents work far away and can't help it. Sometimes mom or decides that hey I am off work at 4 she is open till 6 I am going to the gym, home to shower and shop etc. and another problem with parents is parent A drops of child on his/her way to work at like 7am. parent B should be off work at 3pm and pick up child at 4pm. but decides to go do stuff. you sometimes just need to go back over your contract.

I haven't read the other responses, nor do my kids go to daycare...though my sister manages a daycare. I think the parents are possibly taking advantage of you. If, per the contract, they pay the same amount for you to watch their kids for 8 hours or for 10 hours, then why not have you watch them for 2 extra hours "for free"? Maybe they're working longer, maybe they're running errands. That really is of no concern to you. However, from a business standpoint, I think you need to be paid an hourly rate, not a daily rate. I think it's well within your rights as a business owner to amend the contracts for all your parents charging an hourly rate...or charging a daily rate for 8 hours, then after 8 hours parents must pay an additional $X per hour. You have to be delicate about it b/c they may get upset & walk; however, this is a business, & you have to protect yourself and your family also.

I have a daycare out of my home too so I can understand how you are feeling. Write in your contract that their child can only be in your care for 9 hours a day. Any longer then that they will be charged and extra fee for that time. Make sure you stick to that. The parents will get the message. :)

A parent will typically leave a child in daycare 9 or 10 hours. Take into concideration travel time, 8 hours of working, and lunch time. As a parent, I think it makes much more sense to run into the grocery store for a few items while my child is in daycare, then to pick him up and drag him with me to the grocery store, which will take longer. I also agree that 10 hours is a very long day for a child, but that's reality.

As long as they are abiding by the contract, there really is no "appropriate" way to ask them about their work hours. Don't mean to be rude, but what they do while your watching their child is none of your business.

Yes, it is appropriate to amend the contract.

I'm sure it'll all work out.

I had that as well with one family. He was the first child there and the last to leave....... 6:30am till 5 or 5:15 pm. (Usually 4 days a week though......)

My contract was very strict that you were not allowed to do errands. I was there to care for your child while you were at WORK! So perhaps you should add a clause to your contract. (I really wasn't that strict BUT my parents respected me and CALLED me any time they wanted to make a quick stop after work. And it was few and far between!)

Your contract should have a place for them to put their work hours (as you need to know where to reach them at all times!)

Just make sure that you are getting paid for it! If you are charging a flat rate per day, you may need to rethink that. Perhaps charging by the week based on hours instead. Just to make sure that they are not taking advantage of you.

Yes 10 hours is normal. Most people are scheduled for 9 hours, not 8 hours. That includes their lunch break. I agree that if you are open certain hours, as long as the child is there between those hours it's not really any of your business if the parents are working or running errands or whatever. If I sent my daughter to a daycare that was open from 6am-5pm and then someone questioned me why I am leaving my daughter there for as long as I am.... I would find another daycare provider.

Yes. Be detailed in stating what your daycare service provides, not what is expected of parents. For example, "Daycare hours will be provided between the hours of 7:30AM and 4:30PM." You do not want to say,"Parents are expected to use the daycare only during their work hours". If you believe a child should not be in daycare more than a certain amount of hours, then you must provide care that does not allow this. You may also want to charge a rate for a set amount of hours for example 9 hours. Parents can then decide if it will be feasible for them to adhere to this amount of hours. If not, they will go elsewhere.

I would agree that you need to be clear and set the hours that your "business" is open, so that if you do not want to be working a 10 hour day, you don't end up doing that. Our sitter's hours are 7:30-5, and we know that we have to be there by 5 to pick our kids up. I know that she does this to preserve her family time, and completely respect that. If they can't work around your hours, then they need to find another sitter. However, I would not single them out or ask them where they are for that 10 hours. They may be running errands, but if they are within the time limits to pick up their child, it is not for you to judge what they should or should not be doing during that time. Don't be afraid to make clear rules or policies for your business, that's how businesses run smoothly, and how you can keep your sanity and everyone can be on the same page. Good luck!

We all know that there are some parents who work a lot of hours. Having been a mom who had to work, to find a daycare provider that does quality care is worth their weight in gold. Due to my son's medical concerns, I am now a daycare provider so I think my view is balanced. The whole point of being open early and staying open later is so that parents' work schedules can be accommodated. The original point of daycare was to provide care for children so moms could work, nothing more, nothing less. It's the spot you are paying for, not the whole day unless your WORK schedule mandates such.
That said, if you are comfortable with the family enough, than say something. If they leave, there are more families that could use your help. From this point forward, make it a part of your contract so that it is clear from the beginning. Best of luck to you and stay strong.

L.,

I understand your concern, and while it's not the ideal situation, the parents probably have to work those long hours to provide for their children. Do what you can to make their kids' stay with you as stimulating, educational, nurturing, safe, etc. as you can and try not to judge the parents. The parents chose you because they saw it was a good place. :)

Don't amend their contract. You are providing a much needed service, so it doesn't make sense for you to now say you won't do what you promised or that you changed your mind and aren't open 10.5 hours. If you do, you will force them to go elsewhere that may not be as good as yours. It will not make them shorten their work hours. They probably don't have a choice, but even if they do, they did not hire you for parent education or as a family counselor. Just do right by the kids, as I'm sure you will, since you show it with your concern here. Good luck!

(Now, if they're not paying on time or are going past closing time and don't pay the overtime fees, then you should give official warning in writing and state exactly what will happen if they aren't there by closing.)

You have every right to charge as little or as much as you like, and to charge by the day or by the hour or by the week, and to accept or refuse business as it fits your schedule, but frankly, it is none of your business what the parents choose to do with their time.

I am a nanny, but my "charge" is going to be going to daycare in about two weeks. I am sick for her!! But, I know she will do great.
She will be in daycare 5 days a week, from about 7:30am-5:30pm....between 9 1/2 to 10 hours a day. While that seems like a LOT of time to me to be having a child in daycare, it is not my kid...so nothing I can say about that!
But, I don't think that is your question, right? First, when my "charge" is going to daycare for those 10 hours it is not for her parents to run errands. It is commuting to and from work and working a 9 hour day....pretty normal, really! I don't think that you want to ask them what they are doing with their day, especially since you are saying that your daycare is open for 10 1/2 hours a day. Second concern I saw was how much they are paying for your care. How long is your contract for (1 year, 6 month?)? You based it on how many days, not hours, correct? I don't think that you can legally go in and change the contract, unless they agree to it. But, even then, it could be kind of tricky asking the parents to do that, especially if your contract has a set daily price, that is probably one of the reasons they picked you. You can always sit down with them and say, "I didn't realize that I would be watching "Mary" all of the 10 hours I am open and do not believe the price that I gave you was fair. Would you be willing to renegotiate with me?" And see what they say!
Good Luck!
L.