Even though we used pay like $700 per week for both kids to go to daycare ($40K/year), there were are all these extras that we always feel guilted into paying for. Like we signed Mel up for a phonics class that was an extra $125 per month. They also had a cooking class, soccer, math class, etc. We even signed her up for something called Splish Splash, which as far as I could tell, involved spraying the kids with a big hose for $40 per month.
They even had an extra class for Arts and Crafts! This seemed a little fishy to me because Mel was only four years old, so if they weren't already doing arts and crafts with her, what exactly were they doing with her all day? Trigonometry? (No, because that would be extra.)
Seriously, what were they going to start charging for next? Nap time? Outside time?
At first I was always looking for sheets in her mailbox about what she had learned in phonics that day, but eventually I sort of lost track of the class because I had a new baby and all. One day, I asked Mel how the class was going and she informed me that she hadn't had any lessons in a month.
Being a small child, she wasn't exactly reliable. So I finally went to the day care director and asked about it.
It turns out she was right. Due to a shortage in staffing, they had stopped having the phonics class. But they were still charging me for it and obviously didn't tell me that this was happening.
What really bugs me, is that if Mel were just a little bit younger, she might not have even been able to tell me that this was going on. And they would've just gotten away with it.
Since the day care is state licensed/sanctioned, report them to the state for further action (recognizing that you wouldn't do this while your kids are still in daycare because you would need to worry about retaliation). In addition, the beauty of sites like Angie's List and Yelp is that you can now warn other parents about what is essentially tantamount to theft/fraud.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned you have your in-laws in town, and your mother has no other kids than you and your kids. Would it be cheaper to hire someone or use family. Still I hoped that if you pay a high price, it should be a quality daycare.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if my comment posted, so I'm sorry if this is repeated,
ReplyDeleteDid you demand a refund? I cannot believe a daycare would do such a terrible thing. We are lucky to have family that can babysit - otherwise we'd be seriously screwed.
Yes, they gave me a refund and I canceled the class.
DeleteGirl no way, I'm one of those that is on top of that stuff because I know they'll hoose you over. If you dont have time, get a parent or someone else that does and get them loose on them. I wouldn't expect you to give me free stuff and they sure don't deserve it.
ReplyDeleteYou mean to tell me: They'd have gotten away with it, if it weren't for those meddling kids!
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