How Many PAID Vacation Days Does Your Daycare Provider Get?

I'm at 8+ years with my inhome daycare.

I take 2 weeks vacation which are unpaid. The rest of the year, unless I'm taking off....I get paid. My attitude is if they get paid for their holidays, then I should too.

i think that is very normal. My daycare provider has 2 weeks paid vacation a year plus sick days (she has not called in sick yet so that is nice) plus the main holidays like thanksgiving, christmas, etc. she doe not take off the holidays like mlk or presidents day, etc and we pay for those also. It is a buisness so taking off holidays and having vacation time is very normal. I know there ar some daycare providers that take like 3-4 weeks vacation a year paid so i personally would not complain especially if you dont have to pay her for the 2 weeks she takes of. 11 paid days a year is hardley anything. how many days do you take off work that are paid? i bet more than 11. i dont think she is pushing it at all.

I did daycare for a long time. And now I nanny. the following are the paid holidays that I get.

New Years day - paid
Good Friday - paid
Memorial Day - Paid
4th of July - paid
Labor Day - paid
Thanksgiving day - paid
day after Thanksgiving - paid
Christmas Day - paid
christmas eve and new years eve are usually 1/2 days but paid full days pay.
I get 1 week of paid vacation time that I choose and 1 week of paid vacation time that is when they take their vacation.

I have not had any sick days but have had days off with pay when the children are sick and the parents stay home.

I think that having MLK and Presidents day off is not the norm.

**Adding this: you pay $770/year.
In my State.... this is about what people pay per MONTH. For one child.
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Currently, there are 11 U.S. Federal Holidays.
Here is the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_holidays_in_the_Unit...

If other working people get those holidays off, why can't she?
Her 'vacations' are not paid. 2-weeks is the norm for 'vacation' for employed people... BUT they get paid for this... from their employer. Your Daycare Provider, does not.

She is not doing nothing.
Taking care of kids everyday all day, is a lot and more laborious than many jobs.

Also, any person also has to do their own Doctor appointments, health appointment, Dentist, etc. But on "holidays" offices are usually closed on national holidays. So, she basically has no time 'off' to do these things, which are basic health needs, for a person. Even office workers, take time off for personal appointments or going to the Doctor themselves etc.

I did childcare for 2.5 years, until I had my son.

It is commonly thought, that a child care Provider... does not do these things. Because if they take off, then it is not really looked upon sympathetically by the parents. But any normal person, has to tend to their medical appointments too and time off.... and/or deserves a Holiday. Too. Normal office workers/employees... have that luxury.
And... if your Child Care Provider is taking off on National "Holidays"... then usually the parents have that as a day off too. So thus, child care is not needed....

I am an in-home daycare provider and I'm sure I will get a LOT of criticism for this, but here goes anyway: Do you seriously think your provider is not deserving of that much time off? Do you not get paid holidays? As far as her doing "nothing" on those days-what do you do on your days off? As one person posted, we too have dr. appts and other things that we cannot do during our working hours because most of us work a good 12 hours a day. I get very upset by posters that say 'get a new "babysitter"-we are not babysitters. A babysitter comes to YOUR house and eats YOUR food, and does what? I'm not sure about your DAYCARE PROVIDER, but I know the kiddos in my daycare eat MY food, can create a mess in MY house, and I am their teacher, maid, cook, nurse, caretaker and playmate. And babysitters make a heck of a lot more money per child than daycare providers do! In 2009 (over a year ago), family child care rates in Ramsey county were $30-$35 per day per child according to the DHS survey ($35 for infants, $30 for schoolage), so I would say your daycare provider is right within range. Having kids IS expensive, but they are the most precious things you have-aren't they worth it? And isn't your daycare provider, who takes care of your precious kids-worth it? As far as the poster who wrote "she's robbing you blind"-are you for real? You paid $70 a week-29 YEARS AGO! How much was a gallon of milk 29 years ago? If it's not up to you to pay a providers vacation, does that mean it's not up to a company to pay for their employees vacation? I truly do appreciate those posters that recognize the value of a daycare provider-THANK YOU! As a side note, I have 9 paid holidays AND 15 paid vacation days and not one of my wonderful daycare parents have a problem with it.

Additions: In response to Shari G. : ALL of my daycare parents have vacation days and holiday pay in their jobs-nurses, store clerks, dental assistants, factory workers, teacher aides, waitresses. So if asking to be paid for a day off is wrong in so many ways, then EVERYONE in every job is wrong to do so? Daycare parents are the employers, not the employees of a daycare provider. Employer=the one paying the wages. Employee=the one receiving wages for employment. A daycare contract is a "packet for wages"-it cleary states responsibilities/expectations of both parties, financial agreements, policies, etc.
In response to Jamie F. - I, too, was a waitress (for 4 years). Maybe it was where I worked, but when the restaurant was closed for a holiday, I DID get a holiday pay. Maybe the reason you didn't get paid holidays when you were a temp, was because you were a temp...not sure.

Hi BellaMomma,

I'm not a daycare provider (and I always put my daughter in a center, so I never had to deal with this sort of thing), but I am a hard-working person. I'm not sure a daycare provider is any different from me in terms of the compensation she should be given. It's just that I am paid by a company and YOU pay your daycare providers 'compensation package', which is more than just her hourly rate.

How many paid vacation days do you get?

I get 10, plus 5 paid "holidays" plus 5 sick days - for a total 'paid time off' of 20 days. I have been at my company for 2 years and I work M-F 8:30-5 with a 30 min unpaid lunch hour and 2 10-min at my discretion breaks.

How many breaks and lunches does your daycare provider get? I would bet none. I also bet she works more than an 8 hour day, because she has to figure in travel time for her parents to commute to their jobs.

The beautiful thing about America - is that if you don't like the compensation package she is offering then you can find someone who is cheaper.

One additional note - I wouldn't say you pay her $770 to do NOTHING. I would say that is time off because she has done a great job taking care of your children when you or another family member is not able to do so.

Just my $0.02
B.

I am a home daycare provider, and I must say I don't think this is pushing it at all. There are many providers who require parents to pay for the vacation weeks as well (though I do not). Your provider does not get breaks during the day as other employees would, and she has an extended workday due to parents' differing work schedules. Her job is not easy. Many parents think of a home provider as just a babysitter, but not so. We teach your children academic, social, and emotional skills. We plan and clean like crazy and work just as hard, if not harder, than most people. Sometimes having several extra small children (in addition to my two) is like herding cats, lol. So, give her a break. You would expect to be paid on those days in a regular job, so it is not unreasonable for her to expect it. She is providing for her family just as you are. If she is providing quality care for your children, then go with it. If not, then go with somebody else, but please respect what she does. You entrust her with the most valuable things in your life- your children. That is worth any amount of money in the world.

Our last provider (kids are now in school - yay!) got 2 weeks (10 weekdays) paid vacation and then 5-10 unpaid days. Our provider never took even 5 unpaid though she had it in the contract that she could take up to 10 -- Just in case she had a family emergency. She also gave each family 1 week (5 weekdays) of free vacation....Meaning, we did not have to pay 1 week of the year as long as it didn't coincide with her planned paid vacation.

She is running a business and she offers her employees (herself!) a benefits package. I have such benefits through my employer -- Seems fair that the person caring for my oh-so-precious children should get the same.

You will soon learn many people are on this board to put/keep people in their place and control their thoughts, or at least try to. Too many of them don't know how to simply answer a question and give advice objectively and without coming off as know-it-alls. If you feel she does nothing, then that's your perception. I don't agree with paying her for holidays unless the contract states it and that would be effective upon contract renewal, not just when she realizes, oh hey, I can get paid for two more holidays. You should revisit her contract terms so that it states the above about when changes can been implemented. I wouldn't want her to suddenly decide she wants to get paid for Flag Day too. Good luck.

Every daycare I have ever taken my child to gets paid for the state/federal holidays. Holidays are not vacation days; they are holidays and there is a huge difference. In my situation I can bring my child in on the holidays, but I have to pay an extra fee for that service. Some parents are glad to pay the fee because they feel lucky to have the service, I have never seen anyone complain about holidays, most parents understand this is the way of the world. My guess is if you refuse to pay her for the holidays you will lose your daycare provider to another parent waiting for her services.

I don't know about paying by the day, usually you pay by the week and you pay for the whole week every week or lose your spot in the program. By my calculation you are paying $175 per child per week which is competative. However if you are not happy with the service you can always call around and find something more suitable to you.

My daycare gets the following Holidays off: Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day. All of these are paid holidays. She also gets 10 vacation days and 5 sick days, all paid.

First, in answer to some comments that you are getting robbed by the $70/week....that is determined by where you are in the country, if it's rural or urban, if you're talking about something 30 years ago or now (please), what is provided at the childcare, etc. In a suburb in TX a year ago, I charged $50/day for 2 children: 1 child all day and 1 child half days. More if school was out and I had the 2nd child all day too). Noone in another part of the country can tell you if you're getting "robbed" as far as a daily rate goes; you just have to shop around in your area and see what the going rate is for something comparable. You will also note in both in home childcare and daycare centers that the price is higher for younger children and lowers as the child gets a little older. That is partly because of how much is involved in caring for them, but also (mostly) because the state and city have strong restrictions on how many children you can care for judged by an age ratio. If I watch an infant, then I can only have 1 other child allowed. If I watch school age kids, I can watch a different number. This is obvious and common. She may be doing you a favor and keeping it a semi-low flat rate. My oldest son: I paid $200/week JUST for him at his daycare center when he was 18 months old. I was so happy when it went down to $180 on his 2nd birthday.
Second, If you're not happy, shop around and go to someone else. But if you're happy with how she cares for your children, think on it.
I provided in home childcare a couple different times. I did tell them that I would take 1-2 weeks off in the summer, unpaid (depending on whether we were going to the UK for 2 weeks OR to Florida for 1 week), but gave 2-3 months notice and the name/number of another childcare worker I knew and trusted with my own son when I was in hospital, "just in case" the parents needed to make arrangements. I never asked for my days off to be paid for, because I figured they needed to pay someone else in my place. HOWEVER the difference there was that my income was not necessary for our bills. My income was for vacations and "extra" stuff; I was blessed by my husband's salary being enough for all our needs. My husband suggested this because his line of thinking was something like "Hmm. If they have to pay for the day no matter what, they are more likely to bring the children over and you'll work, and they will have the day off. If they do not have to pay if the children don't come, then they may choose to have a family day and you'll be off and able to do something spontaneous with us!" What I did charge for was for school days off. I gave the school age child a discount because I only had him half the day, but if school was out and I had him the whole day, I did charge for a whole day.
That said, I really liked the boys I cared for, and the parents did right by me. If they decided last minute with no warning to just stay home that day, they would pay me anyway without it being a discussion. If I knew a week ahead of time, I wouldn't charge for it.
Now my position was not one that is the usual; it was my choice to work for "fun money" and for my son to have friends, and it was my choice to not charge for some things. Most people, if they are working, are working for a living. In which case, I don't see anything wrong with charging for REAL holidays. I'm thinking Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day, maybe Good Friday. If she wants holiday pay for vacation and sick days paid, she should leave the house and go find a job with a better compensation package. That's my personal opinion. So no, I wouldn't sign a contract for all of that if I could find good reliable childcare from someone who was good with my children elsewhere. But keep in mind if you put your child in preschool somewhere, they will be off all days that school is off (2 weeks for Christmas! Whatever regional holidays you may have like Mardi Gras or snow days, etc, etc) You will still have to find childcare on those days too, and you will pay the same price per month on holiday months as you do on normal months. If 11 days in the year make you squeamish, imagine 11 days just in December.

Child care providers have one of the most valuable careers out there- caring for our children or the leaders of tomorrow. Daycare providers rejuvenate themselves on their days off so that they can be the best care provider that they can be to YOUR children. I believe that they deserve the "paid by enrollment" policy which is they get paid every week day despite the child being there or not. Really? Is that too much to pay somebody who has the most important person/ people in your life under their wing 35% of the time?

I haven't read all of your responses because there are so many with this touchy subject so this may have been said already. I just wanted to make sure that you keep in mind that this person is raising your children while you go to work. If you are in a situation where you need to have daycare that is open all the time, you have the option of going to a daycare center. But with that you are also going to be paying probably double for daycare with no breaks to you during the year. You are fortunate that you do not have to pay for her vacation time. Most in home daycares require you to pay their wages plus you have to find other care for your child during that time. Also, holidays are NOT vacations. Many companies give all employees federal holidays off so it may be a case of your provider finding most of her "parents" already had those days off. I would say you need to really look at if you are happy with how your provider is raising your children. If the answer is yes, well, doesn't that make the money worth while? I know my children are priceless to me and I would not let and extra $140 a year take them from someone they love and who loves them. My 2 cents. Good luck.

I know that this has been beaten to death! I do have to tell you if you are not happy look elsewhere but I can guarantee you that there is going to be something in the contract your not going to like! I have been a Daycare provider for 5 years and have learned you can't please everyone.

For the rest of you, we are not your employees we are self employed. If I were to do everything my daycare parents asked of me the kids would eat Mc Donalds everyday (because for a couple I don't think they have ever put a fruit or a vegie on the childs plate) you pay for a spot not a service! (ask my licensor she will tell you) If you don't agree with the services then you shouldn't sign up at our daycare.
I won't tell you what I have for time off because from what I see above mine is ridiculous but parents pay me and understand. Part of the reason we have to ask for so much is because we also have parents (and this has happened to me) bring their children after they threw up the night before and then the flu runs rampid in our house. I have had kids that have been "doped" up on ibuprofen and tylenol before coming here and the next thing I know the whole daycare has strep throat!
I would love for any of you to walk a day, yes just a day, in my shoes and tell me my job isn't "real". I have the best job ever, I get told everyday from my kids (daycare) that they love me! I get the best hugs ever! I get told my coloring is beautiful and I get told that I make the best lunches ever! (even if they really don't like it) Too bad parents can't be as appreciative as there kids!

Please do not ask if we have a "real" job if we are taking care of your kids and you don't feel that it is a "real" job you stay at home and do it yourself.

How much PAID vacation do you and your husband get? Do you feel that it's fair? If you have less less, and you feel that you deserve more vacation days, then you should re-evaluate your feelings about this issue. If it's the same and more and you do, ditto. She's a worker just like you and you ARE her employer.

I work in a low income area--I get paid betw. 18-20 dollars a day. I get the same holidays paid as S.O. except no Good Friday and I take July 4th instead. I used to take MLK and Veterans but removed those when my husband's job changed. I don't get paid for vacation or sick days either. Many clients get paid for those holidays S.O. listed so I think it is fair. Some don't--so that can make it hard. If you are getting paid for those holidays (And I'm assuming you are getting paid far more than she does for those holidays) then I guess you are getting paid to do nothing on those days as well. Just something to think about. I left a public school teaching career that paid me triple what I earn now so I could raise my daughter and provide quality care for other children whose parents wanted to or needed to work. Is she providing quality care? Think about that when you question her asking for a raise or different holidays off. The reason daycare center staff have high turnover rates and family providers often decide to head back to the "working" world where benefits are assumed is because of a lack of appreciation and compensation for what they do.

We have a nanny.

She gets 3 weeks paid time of her own choosing. Then she gets additional days where I tell her I don't need her/we go on vacation. I pay her for those as well.

Wow - when I was taking my child to a home daycare - she got no paid days off!!! If she didn't babysit my child, she didn't get paid! Unless I was sick or took a day off, then I would still pay her...BUT there were times she would actually work with me on that. If I needed a day off one week, she would watch my daughter on a different day so I wouldn't be paying her for a day she didn't watch her. This lady sounds like she is asking for too much!

Seriously - some of the responses are crazy!!!! I just need to comment that I have worked MANY jobs that I did not get paid holidays/vacation days. Kim S - really - when I was a waitress (for 5 years) I never got paid days off - if I was off (or they were closed) I didn't get paid. I was also a temp for a year - I did not get the paid holidays like the assocaites did. So if the office was closed on a day I was suppose to work - I went without. I left the restaurant business because I wanted paid holidays, I wanted benefits. People are in their jobs for certain reasons..... I would assume if I wanted to be a day care provider, I would not get paid for days when I was not open.

We paid by the year, broken down monthly. So technically either EVERY vacation day was paid for... or none were... depending on how you look at it.

Out of 12 months: 1 month in the summer, 3 weeks over christmas, 2 weeks of parent teacher conferences (fall & spring each had a week) 1 teacher work day every month, 8 federal holidays that occured during non-school-breaks.

So looked at one way it was about 2.5 months of paid time, looked at another, the days were just slightly more expensive.

I look at preschools that only have a pittance of days off (like a couple weeks) and wonder how on earth they keep their sanity OR their professional requirements up to date (credit hours required by law to keep their licences). But then again, I suspect that's why in a lot of preschools/daycares there's high turnover. I've noticed, however, that those who have yearly tuition with similar breaks to our school tend to be schools where the teachers stay on for 10+ years.

ADDED: Ditto April... none of us who are not in MN can answer to going rates. In my area 40 hours of care for ONE child who is not potty trained is $1600-$2500 per month. Potty trained = $1000-$1600 per month. School aged for 3 hours a day (at the Y!) is $600 a month (aka prices go up again for afterschool care).

The number of responses you have received is out of this world, yes I am going to add one more!! I have a wonderful in home care provider, she has watched, taught, and loved my children for over 5 years now. She also has 11 paid holidays, (yes MLK day is one of them for them to celebrate!!), and 2 weeks paid vacation a year. (I get two weeks free vacation a year as well, so it is kind of a wash there). She works over 11 hours a day, Monday through Friday. She feeds, cleans up, entertains, and teaches my children. If some parents with smaller children are not able to afford diapers, formula and wipes, she provides them, she also provides 2-3 healthy snacks everyday, a hot breakfast, lunches gallore!! Both of my children have been accepted into the accelerated school program mainly because of my provider and the time that she spent "teaching". My daughter now almost four has been reading for about 6 months now. And my son was accepted into the JET program out of Kindergarten. This woman is essentially raising your children, she spends more hours per day taking care of them then you see them? I understand that money is tight all around, I am in the same boat as the rest of the world, but come on already, is this really something to go crazy about?? If you are not happy with these changes then go "shop" for a new provider. I think after you go on a few home visits and interviews what you find out there will scare the daylights out of you and it would be best to appreciate what you have. My provider throws big birthday parties for all her kids, puts on a huge Christmas breakfast every year, and each child receives a very nice present, Santa and Mrs Clause included, new books, new toys come home, etc. etc....I have found the most wonderful 2nd mom to my children, I wouldn't hesitate to ever do anything that she asked of me.
Another mom in support of this lady!!
Tks T.

I have a home daycare and I don't ask for ANY paid vacation days. I only close the daycare on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Day and New Year's Eve and Day. I am open on every other holiday. I only take one ling weekend vacation a year and don't charge those days or any day I have to close due to being sick (about twice a year) or due to having to do a major cleaning because of a highly contagious illness (RSV, pinkeye, etc.). If all of my families choose to keep their kids home on a holiday, such as Labor Day or the day after Thanksgiving, then each child uses one of their 10 free sick/vacation days that I give yearly or is charged 1/2 price for that day. That's as close to a paid vacation day as I get.

I paid my nanny by the week. So if there was a holiday, she got paid for it, but she also worked all those "non-holidays" (MLK, Columbus Day, President's Day, etc). When I went on vacation she got paid. I only paid her for one week vacation each year.

Personally, I think she's pushing it. However, if she's a good provider, your kids like her, and overall it's a good situation, I would pay her.

I would find a new babysitter my kids were both in home day cares and when I interviewed and they said they were taking paid days off I crossed them off the list. I am paying them to watch my kids when I cant be there I am not paying them to take days off.

From another daycare provider....WELL SAID kim S. Although I agree that Mlk jr day and presidents day are pushing it for Holidays...I also have 9 paid holidays and 10 paid vacation days per year! We deserve time off just like everyone else that works...especially since most of us work 12 hour days or 60 hours a week....Anyone who complains is welcome to do our jobs and fit in our family schedules as well and then you'll understand daycare providers deserve vacations too....Your only paying for 11 days a year....Most providers that I know have paid vacation as well...So I would consider yourself lucky that thats all she charges for.

I can see both sides of the argument as I've been on both sides. Daycare is expensive! I decided to stay home with my kids because I would actually save money doing this. If I had to pay for daycare, I wouldn't be making any money. I've also done daycare and it is a tough job! However, with that being said, I think getting MLK Jr. day and Columbus day off and paid is pushing it. My older kids still have school those two days and most parents still work on those days.

Just my thoughts.

I think a few people misunderstood your explanation of what is going on/ have some poor math skills. Your lament was over 770 in paid vacation days (where she does nothing) not "she does nothing with my kids all day."

I work in daycare, but I work in a large, non-profit day care center/ school. (I only add "school" be cause we do much more in curriculum than most day cares.)

We are closed 4 professional work days (where we do cleaning/organizing/curriculum development). We also get 12 paid holidays. That is 16 days a year we are closed that parents pay for as part of their tuition. Vacation and sick days are covered by the center, so we are not closed for that obviously. If you are curious, senior staff (more than 3 years employed) get 20 vacation days and 10 sick days, paid.

So number wise, I don't think your provider is far off. The tuition (regular price) at our center varies with the age of the child, but is between (ball park, as I don't deal with rates much and they change slightly from year to year) 350 -150 a week (infant - preschool/private kindergarten) It's about 120 for before and after public kindergarten, and about 100 for before and after full day public school. Now that's per child, and there is a bit of a discount for more than one child so for example if you had an infant and a preschooler, instead of 500 a week, it would be about 425. Times 4 (for roughly a month's tuition) and that's 1700 for two kids (an infant and a preschooler). It's remarkably less for older kids. Going from infants to toddlers alone knocks about 100 a week of the tuition. Also those are our full rates. Being a non-profit, we accept vouchers from the state, and have also made exceptions in tuition for families experiencing hard times.

So she's not too far off on fees either (depending on the age of the kids). It seems like she is more of a nanny (at least that is the impression I got from your question) anyway. I don't know. Hopefully the information I provided about our center helps you compare.

Not that you really need any more responses but I am going to come at this from a business owner perspective (not child care related). Our full time employees get paid holidays for New Years Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, and Christmas Day. They also receive 2 weeks of paid vacation but no paid sick days (can use vacation days for sick days if they want). I think MLK Day and President's Day is definite overkill. Very few people have those days off. Does she have school age kids? Is that why she wants those days off?

It is quite normal for child care providers to have the same days off as regular employees. If a bank is closed it is normal for the care provider to have it off too. We posted our closed days at the end of the year for the next year. We always took the 2 days off at Thanksgiving, we were open Christmas even but did close early if possible, and memorial day, labor day, 4th of July, etc...are all legal federal holidays.

What a subject. It makes me glad my kids are all grown. First of all I have worked different jobs, Day care included and I NEVER had a paid day off on any of them. This feeling of entitlement is beyond me. When you provide a service such as child care, you are being paid for caring for that child as a private contractor. Yes, many businesses do get paid holidays and vacations but they are included in packages for wages, this is paid by the owner of the business, not the customers. I can understand charging for late call outs because you could have lost a opening for another child but honestly, that is the only reason I see on charging for an absent child. It is like motels or doctors who require a 24 hour notice of not making it. To charge parents for days YOU request off is so wrong in so many ways. I can't imagine a store telling all their customer lists that they are going to be closed on a certain day but they need to pay just as if they shopped there that day and it doesn't matter that you need to shop at another store instead for that day.

You deserve vacations and holidays but not at a cost to the parents who usually have to hire another child care provider for those days! Unless it is Union, most stores do not have paid holidays and vacations for their employees unless in management positions, so a lot of these parents you are charging probably doesn't get paid holidays either.

I did family daycare for over 20 years. I did not have any paid vacation or sick days but I did get holiday paid for News Year Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the Friday after, Christmas Eve day, Christmas and New Years Eve Day. These are the same holidays that all my clients (either mom or dad or both) got paid for from their work.

Our daycare is on an Army post. They get the same holidays off as the rest of the post. I looked at the list of Federal Holidays that S H. posted, the post & daycare follow those holidays.

I get 8 holidays at my company although Thanksgiving & Black Friday become partial & full work days anyways... lol That is our busy season (web site).

As in-home providers most of you are assuming that the parents are getting paid time off. How about those of us who don't get paid time off? If you take off, I have to pay you AND pay someone else to take care of my children OR take the day off which I don't get paid for. Either way, I loose money. Do this three weeks out of the year and it gets costly.

The problem is that we don't have a choice. The daycare providers have us over a barrel. They can charge what they want and include as many paid vacation days as they want because if we don't like it - we can go somewhere else and someone else will fill our spot. If parents keep paying it they will keep charging it.

Please do not feel like you have to oblige your caregivers every request. I used to send my daughter to a private in-home daycare and thought it was the best place for her. Until I started getting letters from the caregiver changing the terms of our agreement. I used to make my daughter's meals and bring them along until she told me I wasn't able to anymore. I used to bring her a comforting item she picked that day to bring along until I wasn't able to. I was almost forced to give my daughter a flu shot which I was against (I am not against vaccinating altogether; just the flu shot!). At the time it was not mandated by my state that I "HAD" to vaccinate for the flu.
I have obliged to almost all her requests until I learned my daughter has been eating hot-dogs everyday for lunches and watching TV ALL DAY LONG. That is when I researched all my other options and found a wonderful daycare which I could not be more happy about. My daughter loves going (she used to cry in the mornings about going to the private daycare) to preschool now. She is learning, eating the lunches I pack. They have new activities daily and fun games. Sometimes when you look into other options you may really surprise yourself pleasantly. All the best to you. And do not be bullied into forking over unreasonable holidays only banks and the post office have off.
Also all the negative posts on here are just spoiled nannies who keep fighting for more than what a regular person gets from their work whatever it might be.

For me, all the time my sitter takes off is hard because I'm forced to use my time off around her schedule. She decides when my vaction will be (because if I take vacation at a time other than hers I still have to pay her).
I think most business (not government) have 6 paid holidays a year.
Although the sitter may have been doing her job for many years, alot of her clients are young new to the work force and don't have a lot of paid time off.
Instead of seeing a new child as a new job, they continue to count their number of work years as a whole.
I like my sitter and I do what I have to do but I understand BellaMomma's frustration. Currently, I'm using my vacation time so my sitter can take off 1/2 to an hour early to go to her son's basketball (and in the fall, it was football) games. It wears on a person.

I just need to point out(being on both side of the coin). Although I agree providers need a break, with that being said , taking vacation without pay is the price u pay for owning your own business. No business owner receives paid time off. If owners are sick u call in your assistant. These daycare fees are getting out of hand period. Food for thought

My daycare provider essentially gets 8 standard national holidays paid as well as the day after Thanksgiving (and the day after Christmas/New Years if the holiday falls on a Thursday. MLK Jr and President's Day are not usually included and technically Columbus Day and Good Friday are Staff Development Days (the staff is there but the kids are not - I know because I showed up one day)

Our daycare provider gets 2 weeks paid vacation (she is an au pair so that is what she is legally entitled to). Before that, we used a Montessori school and we had to pay the same every month whether they closed or not (which included a 2 week closure for Christmas/New Years, 2 days for Thanksgiving and some other random days) and before that another daycare center that did the same thing. I think that asking for essentially FOUR WEEKS OFF A YEAR with 2 weeks being paid is asking a LOT. Not every parent has off on MLK day and other holidays (I do not). I think I would look for someone else unless you feel really really comfortable with this provider.

best wishes!

Most providers get paid holidays. Many also have paid vacation days written in to their contract. Our son was in childcare for three months. When we left, we had to pay her two weeks notice plus a week of vacation, so we paid for three weeks of care we never used.

Here's an interesting article about <A HREF="http://www.daycarematch.com/art_contracts.asp&quot; Daycare Contracts</a>.

It does get expensive....good luck!

So she gets 11 Paid Holidays and two weeks unpaid vacation? My old daycare provided took 14 holidays and two weeks vacation plus 5 total sick/personal days. It was very difficult. At first she really tried not to utilize the sick & personal and tried to be accomodating on the vacations but later it was ridiculous. So, I completely understand where you are coming from. My current one takes 10 holidays which is better (and not the other days).

It is normal to pay for holidays, vacation days, and sick/personal days. When you get holidays or vacation/sick days, you expect to be paid by your employer, don't you?

In my case, I now only get 6 paid holidays and one week paid vacation days per year. Add in days that myself or my child are sick and my old daycare had become ineffective for me...love her to death but it just was not working.

Check around at others to see what the norm is in your area.

i dont recall my daycare ever doing this-if she already gets 2 weeks-you are not her employer-its not up to you to pay for her vacation time.id find a new daycare with a quickness-shes robbing you blind-when my kids were in daycare 29 yrs ago-i paid 70.00 a week for 50 hours.wow glad their grown..good luck

Yikes! Being a daycare provider for many years I am saddened to see that someone would complain about the benefits their provider has proclaimed for themselves. I see by your post that you are getting very nice benefits from your job and that you think we should get a different job if we want them too...this is the very attitude that caused us daycare providers to seek out unions. We ARE STILL not being seen as a credible job/career deserving of benefits. Where does it say that us small business owners should expect to forfeit our rights to good benefits. And if all of us (care providers/teachers) took your advice and found a different job/career then your children would not have anyone to spend quality time teaching and caring for them. It is people like you that cause our job field to lose the quality people we do have. Anyone using childcare please don't assume we do nothing with your kids all day. Even when I'm not with my daycare kids I'm planning, cleaning, organizing, attending educational classes and getting things ready for our next learning adventure. Daycare provider's and teacher's obviously do not do this job for the money but I'd be lying to say that we'd do it for free, but then again would you work for free?? We have the most under appreciated jobs. I work long hours each week and make your childs development my priority, the least you could do is abide by the policies I create for myself which may or may not include vacation time, sick time and holiday time. I'm attending college to be a teacher and maybe someday I will change my career but I will never change my view that being a daycare provider is a career worthy of the best benefits even if its not a "corporate" job. Also, do you expect your provider to do anything for you while they are on vacation? I'll bet you would not tolerate your boss expecting you to work while on your vacation even if they are paying you. Maybe you need to change your views on the importance of your daycare providers job and that your job is not more important than hers. In honor of Daycare Provider Appreciation Week (May 2nd-8th).

When we were going to an in home, our provider had two weeks vacation that we paid, plus took the major ones (Christmas, Thanksgivig, Good Friday, etc.). I do think 11 is excessive. I only have 6 currently in my current job and every job I've worked has had between 6 and 7 holidays.

i think that is quite a bit of paid days along with unpaid vacation. but i dont know how most day cares work bc my daughter is not in one. i think 70/day is a lot because after 5 days thats 350 a week and depending on how much you get paid thats almost a pay check.

Using a nanny for childcare: families usually pay the major holidays and vacation time varies. Some families will offer 1 week paid vacation; others more. It is negotiable with the nanny. Salary is also negotiable; but on average a nanny will charge $10-$15/hour. A nanny might be right for your family. Essentially you could be paying close to the same amount of money and enjoy having the children in their own home. You may want to check it out. There is a free preview of nannies available at Nannies4hire.com. If you have questions, I would also be happy to answer them for you. Thanks.

yes, i think it's excessive. i work with hundreds of clients and many companies only give 6-8 paid holidays. usually new years day, memorial day, independence day, labor day, thanksgiving day, christmas day (sometimes black friday and xmas eve).

and you're right, $770 is a lot for her to do nothing; however, it's good to get others' perspectives so you can make changes if needed.

it's nice she isn't charging you for vacation time.

my $.02.

I think it is excessive - just from the standpoint of the fact that state employees (state of MN) get 9 paid holidays in 2011 (it shows 10, but it is counting Dec 31, 2010). Not that state employees are "more important," but I think it is a good guideline for businesses in general as to paid holidays. If you are really happy with the care she is giving, then I guess I would go with it, but if you were already on the verge of checking out other places, this would push me to do it.

Good luck!

Hi BellaMomma! We take our youngest to a daycare center, so I'm not sure if my input will help at all. They take all the federal and state holidays (including MLK and Columbus Day, I think) but they also take extra days, which I don't like paying for-- so for Christmas this year, they were closed on December 23, 24th, and 27th. Thanksgiving and the day after were both closed days. We can take as much vacation as we want during the year, but we have to pay for half of those weeks-- so if take 3 weeks, we have to pay for 1 and a half weeks, etc.

Our daycare center does NOT pay it's employees for the days that they are closed-- which really seems wrong to me, but I don't understand a lot of aspects of how businesses are run, so maybe that's not out of the ordinary.

Hope that helps a little!
J.

I know you've received a ton of responses, but as having employed several nannies I thought I might contribute. We paid cash weekly based on an hourly wage. I offered two weeks paid vacation: one week at her discretion and one week at mine. 7 paid holidays (the usual, New Years day, mem day, july 4th, lab day, thanksgiving and day after and christmas day.) I've always had a contract in place outlining specific duties. Requirements included children's laundry including linens weekly, general clean up etc. grounds for immediate termination (anything that puts the kids in danger, theft, unauthorized visitors, smoking on premisis etc) and a confidentiality clause. We're not famous or anywhere near it, however someone in your home could be privy to sensitive information, financial information, job related information, you get the picture. I'm not an attorney and the contract may not hold up in court should it ever go there, but at least there were difinitive ground rules. I would even pay 50% for a sick day if I really liked her. I thought this package was generous and professional, but there are many variations! Hope this helps.

I only read half the responses but wanted to give you one other idea
you say you are paying her $770 a year to close. So, Take that amount and divide it by the amount of time she is open ( 48 if she doesn't take paid vacation on top of those holidays), times 5 days = 240 days. Now divide the 770 by that amount of days and pay her an extra $3.25 a day that she is open and tell her for the closed days you won't pay her at all. Would that make you happier?
I tell my parents your tuition for the school year is X, you can pay that as one lump sum, pay it every month, every week, only during the school year, or whatever method you want I don't care as long as you pay in advance of care. If you think of it this way you may feel better.