Daycare

Regular daycare do not charge for days they are not open...if daycare is open then you are still responsible for paying to "hold" the child's place in the daycare even if the child doesn't attend. But here you are paying for a convenience...if fall break means this sitter isn't able to pay bills that month due to fall break etc then ya might wanna make sure they can keep their home... Or perhaps suggest a 20 dollar increase a week to cover the expense.... Not sure if that would save money long term or not but there it is.

My daughter goes to an at home daycare and we also pay 50% for the two weeks they’re closed which are one week for summer break and one week for winter break

It’s pretty normal when you are dealing with childcare for a limited # of kids as in your case. My son (3) goes to a small day school 9-1 and then to an in home daycare 1-5 MWF. The school charges full price for each month they are in session, even when they close for up to two weeks in some holiday months. The in home day care charges weekly and we have to pay the full weekly price even though we don’t attend the full week. They also charge 50% for holiday breaks. But both are really small groups so I get it. His school only does 1 class/age group (infants, 2s, 3s, 4s, etc.) and only 10 students/class w/3 teachers. The in-home daycare is only 5 kids w/2 care providers. So we have to pay to “hold” his spot since spots are so limited at both places and they can’t afford to have so many days with no pay. I do know of daycares however that you only pay for what you use, but my experience has been they are typically bigger and can afford the flexibility because of their numbers.