With summer, many working parents are starting to think about summer vacations and taking some time off to spend with their kids. If your toddler is attending a daycare you are happy with, it is important to consider what type of vacation policy they have so you can maintain your toddler’s childcare spot through the summer.

Determine Your Daycare’s Vacation Policy

Most daycares, whether your toddler attends a daycare center or an in-home daycare, have a written policy that parents receive at enrollment. If you have not looked over the childcare policy in a while, summer is a great time to review it, especially if you are planning on taking your child out of daycare for any length of time during the summer.

Review the childcare policy to determine how much notice you need to give your childcare provider that you will be taking your toddler out of daycare for a vacation. Most daycare centers and in-home daycares give you a set amount of vacation time each year that you can take without losing your toddler’s childcare spot. A daycare may charge full tuition, partial tuition, or allow a set amount of free vacation each year.

Communicate with Your Childcare Provider

After reading through your daycare center’s written childcare policy, it is important to talk with your daycare provider to let her know what your vacation plans are and to clarify the policy. Clear communication with your toddler’s childcare provider will simplify your summer vacation planning and help make the change in routine easier for your toddler.

Providing written notification to your daycare provider with the exact dates that you are planning to take your toddler out of daycare for your summer vacation will make a miscommunication much less likely and make it easier for your daycare provider, who may be distracted caring for children at pickup and drop off times, to remember when your toddler will be gone. Be sure to pay all required tuition fees before leaving on your summer vacation so your toddler’s childcare spot is secured and your daycare provider receives her payment on time.

Is Your Daycare Provider Taking a Summer Vacation?

If your toddler attends an in-home daycare, it’s likely that your daycare provider may be planning a summer vacation. The written daycare policy should address the issue of how much notice your daycare provider needs to give before taking a summer vacation and whether or not parents are still required to pay childcare tuition during the time period the daycare will be closed. Many providers charge full or partial tuition during their own vacations so that they are able to keep a consistent income and receive job benefits that are similar to what they would receive working outside the home. Daycare providers work hard, long hours for relatively little pay and it is important for parents to support the daycare providers need to take some time off to recharge and spend with her own family.

If your toddler attends an in-home daycare, you are likely required to have a backup provider available for times when your regular daycare provider is sick or needs to take time off for a vacation. Your backup daycare provider may be another in-home daycare provider who accepts toddlers on a drop in basis. Be sure that you have filled out all the required paperwork for your backup provider well before the start of primary daycare provider’s vacation. If your backup childcare will be family or friends, be sure and clarify the dates and times that you will need them to be available to watch your toddler during the summer.

Quality childcare is difficult to find, so it is important to make sure your toddler’s spot at daycare is secure no matter what your summer vacation plans are. Communicating with your daycare provider and understanding exactly what the daycare policies are will help you to enjoy your vacation without worrying about childcare.