The parts
- Who: the provider, the program and the family.
- Hours and pick-up: when you open and close, and who may collect the child.
- Tuition: the amount, when it's due, and that it holds the place whether or not the child comes.
- Fees: registration, late payment, late pick-up, only the ones you charge.
- Closed days and vacations: your holidays, your vacation, and what a family's vacation costs.
- Sick days: when a child stays home and when you'll call.
- What to bring: clothes, diapers, a rest blanket.
- Ending care: the notice either side gives, and that tuition is due for it.
- Signatures and dates.
Plain words beat legal words
Families sign what they understand. Short sentences in the second person ("tuition is due every Monday") are clearer than "the Parent shall remit". The contract builder writes each part that way from your own terms.
Try this Give a month's notice before a tuition change, and put the reason in one line. The builder has the letter.
Check it before anyone signs
Rules on contracts, fees, notice and refunds differ by state, and some licensing rules say what a family must be told in writing. Read your state's child care rules (Childcare.gov's state resources links each state) and have a lawyer review the agreement. Peabody's builder is a starting draft, not legal advice.