Hi all, My little girl is having severe allergies so i decided not to send her to preschool for this week.?

Question

So when i checked with the provider(reputed chain) they said i need to pay half of the weeks fee as a place holding fee. So my Q is should i pay half of fee which comes around $90 for nothing?

Answer 1

Not sure you need to let them know you don't agree with it.

Answer 2

It may seem a little unfair, but day cares are required to maintain a legal staff/child ration, and they can't lay off a staff member or terminate her benefits because your child was unable to attend that week.  If you like the day care and want to continue sending your child there, you should pay the fee.

Answer 3

Yes, most day care centers must have policies like this because...they are losing money when they hold a spot but don't require payment.  Another paying family could take that spot.  It's the business side of it.

It's all part of it...so I guess you'll have to decide whether you like your daycare well enough to pay it!

Answer 4

I think your child's daycare was actually very nice in telling you you only had to pay half.  I've never heard of that before, and I've been teaching preschool for almost 12 years, in many different centers.  Also, my own child was in preschool since he was 3 months old.  The centers I've worked in (and my son's school) had a policy very similiar to this:

You got 2 weeks' vacation with no payment, but you had to notify them in advance.  Other than that, you paid the entire weekly fee.

I know childcare is expensive, but the most of the operating costs (rent, utilities, teacher's wages and benefits) remain the same whether your daughter is there or not.  The only thing they don't have to pay for when she's not there is food, supplies, and water, since she wasn't there to use it.

Answer 5

That's the way daycares work. At least the one I work at. You have to secure your child's place, so whether or not they go, you still have to pay.

Answer 6

Most all child care centers have some kind of policy like that.  I know it seems like a rip off, but you have to remember it is a business paying employees (very little amount, by the way) and they have to make policies as such.  You can skip the payment, but chances are when you return her spot may be terminated, or you may be stuck with a late charge on top of the $90.00.

Answer 7

You aren't paying for nothing, you're paying to hold her place so that it is still available when she returns. If you don't pay it your child could lose its place altogether (especially if theres a waiting list for the preschool).

Its a common policy for most child care establishments to ensure that your child still has a place in the preschool. Though if you still have any of the original paperwork from when you placed her in the nursery check it, if theres no mention of this you could argue it but you could lose your child's place all together.