<p>So my kid is 3 months old and happily enjoying daycare.</p>
<p>Just received some e-mails that the parents committee is putting together gift baskets for the faculty there. Things like movie basket, scrapbooking basket, etc, etc. The teachers enjoy receiving them. They do this a number of times throughout the year.</p>
<p>I’m wondering if this is something that I’m supposed to contribute toward. I don’t want to be an outcast and simply refuse, but I do feel that we pay them an ample amount each month and don’t have many resources left over to contribute to the teachers beyond what we pay in tuition each month to daycare.</p>
<p>If it’s a hardship, don’t do it. A card with a heartfelt thanks for the daycare providers will also be very appreciated. And if any of the other parents ask about a donation, simply smile and say you’ve thanked the staff privately already. No need to explain farther.</p>
<p>I am a former daycare/preschool teacher and I can say that we always enjoyed any recognition or appreciation from the parents. I can also say that less of your tuition than you’d imagine actually goes to the teacher. Like someone already said you don’t need to be spending your money but something simple is always nice too. A card or some candy. A couple parents would sporadicly bring a couple dozen donuts on a Friday once in awhile. It is appreciated more than you might think. Being a good teacher to large groups of very small children is hard work.</p>
<p>I used to do the payroll for a daycare center and NotAClue is correct, daycare workers are not getting rich on the fees you pay. IMO you’re entitled not to contribute to the group gift. If you want to do something privately, I’d suggest a gift card to Target rather than purchasing something. Enclose it with a heartfelt thank-you card, and it will be much appreciated.</p>
<p>You don’t have to spend a lot to contribute - especially if lots of gifts are going to be pooled. For example, purchase a box of microwave popcorn, and they can split the individual packages into baskets. Or some of the movie theatre style candy - around here, a box is around $1 at the drug store.</p>
<p>If you don’t have any $ to spare, I understand because I’ve been there, too. But just because something costs quite a bit doesn’t mean that the employee is receiving it. I used to work at a law firm in a support staff position and my time was billed to clients at a rate several times higher than what I received as an hourly rate.</p>
<p>I understand the teachers may not be paid large sums of money, despite how expensive daycare is. They do have a lot of operational cost in being a daycare.</p>
<p>Do you have a special talent you could offer or could you contribute baked goods? I see one of the baskets is a scrapbooking basket. If you have computer skills, could you offer to “touch up” photos. Perhaps there are things you could contribute that wouldn’t cost more money.</p>
<p>If it’s a for-profit day care, one of the largest costs may be the absentee owners salary. Having worked in the childcare industry, I always recommend that people find out where their money is going.</p>
<p>Yes, they are a large for profit daycare that pays returns to absentee owners. I like having my kid(s) in a for profit center and like the place they are at, and have no problems with the fact they’re for profit.</p>
<p>I think the fact that they’re for profit makes me a little less inclined to want to donate or volunteer my time. I think I’d rather provide for my family at home.</p>
<p>Well, you have the answer — the owners of the facility are recieving the lion’s share of your fees, and the staff is being paid little. If you are comfortable with that, but still want to show appreciation to the people who take care of your baby, find ways to do it.</p>
<p>Kick in to these gift baskets — or buy gift cards for your child’s caregivers—and one thing that is free and very appreciated is a letter to the management saying how much Ms X does for your child and goes over & beyond, etc etc (if it is true)—that will go in the employee’s file and will help at raise/promotion time.</p>
<p>This sounds like the place I used to work! It was not cheap but the teachers made next to nothing. It was also one of the best preschools in the county. </p>
<p>We were always encouraged to ask parents for donations to the classroom which never sat right with me. The parents were paying a lot of money yet we had to basically beg them for supplies.</p>
<p>I wonder what is going to happen when women become empowered enough to not have to work for such low pay and/or parents start refusing to allow their children’s caretakers to be underpaid so that absentee owners can live affluent lives.</p>
<p>Of course, it all hinges on respecting women and goodness knows we have a ways to go in that area. </p>
<p>Signed, An excellent former childcare worker who finally got tired of being underpaid</p>
<p>This is a form of tipping, and the cost of doing business. If it’s the norm to contribute then I would do it to make sure my baby is getting the same attention as other babies.</p>
<p>If you can’t afford to contribute (and even if you can) , writing an excellent letter of reference to be placed in the worker’s file is free and will do more than a Starbucks gift card.</p>
<p>I always had in-home care for my kids. I took care of them better than my own parents. The reason - if I was nice to them, most likely they were nice to my kids. They got birthday presents, Christmas bonus, and I always made sure I had food they liked in my house.</p>
<p>I agree that a letter of recommendation is great idea anytime, but especially if that is all you could afford.</p>
<p>But in general, one reason why I would never use a for profit school or care service, was that I wanted all the money to be going back to the school/children, not off site or even out of state.</p>
<p>My view is that we live in a free market society. If you drive a car, use a computer (apple or mac), buy groceries at the store, or spend money at the mall, some of the money that you’re spending is being funneled to the absentee owners. They either shareholders of publically traded companies, private investment firms, or a tight circle of large owners.</p>
<p>I think the daycare pays the staff competitive market rates. Since we have reasonable competition in my city (same as emeraldkity’s), they would not be able to keep staff if they underpaid. If they didn’t, their turnover would be too high and the quality of care would suffer. I also think they invest enough of the tuition back into the facility to ensure that my kids are well taken care of. I honestly have no idea if any money is being paid out in dividends to absentee owners or not - I don’t know if they are profitable. But I like the facility and I like the environment my kids are in, so I don’t have a problem that they are for-profit. </p>
<p>Through our family’s investments and stock/mutual fund holdings, most people who read this board are absentee owners of companies. I think most people on here own stock or mutual funds, whether retirement, college savings, or personal investments.</p>
<p>Wow…I jsu don’t see it that way. We are talking about your child not some stock. But then again mine weren’t in daycare at that age so I guess I am just a throwback from another generation.</p>