Dcm text me this morning to tell me she is working from home and wa to to drop the baby off at noon. I have not responded to her text as I don't know how to nicely say that lunch/ nap is not a good time to drop off. If she is home today keep the baby with you. Not much point in bringing baby for a few hours. What would you say to this dcm?

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My drop off cut off time is 8:30. All children need to be in attendance by then or they are marked absent.

I would just tell dcm, sorry dcm, but that would be too disruptive to our day. Baby needs to be here by x oclock. Let me know if you will be dropping her off by then or if we will be seeing you tomorrow.

Something like that.

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I would just say "sorry, unless Dcb is here by 9 am (or whatever time works for you), he will not be able to attend today." The main issue will be that she is letting him sleep in most likely, so when he gets to you, he will not be on the same schedule and ready for naps like everyone else.

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Babies usually nap in the mornings and again in the afternoon.

She can work in the morning and again in the afternoon but not when baby is awake and needing the most attention (lunch) so she's asking you....

Yeah, I don't allow drop offs during the hours of 11:00-3:00. period. ALL parents are told this during the interview process so it's not something they would ever ask as they know the answer would be no.

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Same as PP, but my current cut off is at 10am. I may make it 9 next year.

3 hours of drop offs followed by 2 hours of pick-ups is already enough to mess up my curriculum day.

It is so frustrating. I don't think parents get that. The flip side is; do we really want to squelch the shorter hours to make lesson planning easier? Eh, the struggle is real

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My cutoff is 9 am.

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My cut off is 9am. Otherwise the flow of the day is way off and they never get into routine. I make exceptions when I know it can't be helped but to just disrupt the day? nope.

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Do those of you with a cut off time make exceptions? For example, what about if a child has a well-check or dentist visit in the morning and the parent takes a few hours off work for the well-check?

Then they could not drop off their child with you and go to work for the remainder of the day?

I definitely understand why you would discourage drop off/pick up during naps, but why would it be so horrible for a kid to show up a couple hours later than everyone else?

*not a daycare provider, just a parent wanting to understand. My employer gives me a "late start" day (that I negotiated for) to allow me to spend a weekday morning with my kids so on Thursday's I don't drop off until 10:30.

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Late drop offs wrecked the schedule so I began a drop off cut off as well years ago. Drop off time is from 8:00-9:00 am. At 9:00 am the door locks, the front porch light goes off (it signals I'm open), and texts/calls aren't responded to about getting in. It takes most only once to learn to drop off before 9:00. Some...2 or 3 times.
But, it definitely helps. Late drop offs ARE permitted for things like a well check.

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Only for appointments, yes.

I tell all parents to aim for 8:15-8:30 am so if their car has a flat tire, they can't find their keys, their child needs them to turn around 5 minutes in to go to the bathroom, etc. they still have time to get here on time. I start Circle Time directly at 9. It's too disruptive to have them come in after unless it's prescheduled. The child's schedule is also way off since it isn't the "normal day" for them. Their behavior is typically affected. They also won't nap as well because they likely slept in which then affects the 11 other children negatively...
I'm not willing to create a negative environment to accommodate a parent, to be honest. It has to be in the groups best interest and drawing out drop off for several hours for 12 kids just isn't it.

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I work with littles under 18 months; I do accept 10:30am drops when I am told ahead of time, but no later please... we do lunch about 10:45a-11:15a and most the babies are knocked out by noon. I prefer parents not drop off or pick up between 11am-2pm because it's already hectic enough heating bottles, cooking lunch then trying to calm kids for nap after we read a story... would you really want to wake my babies up @ 12:30pm in order to drop yours if you had gone to the DR? It will make the rest of my day (and theirs) miserable. Believe me, it's not easy to get 4 babies to nap at the same time EXCEPT after lunch (they fall into a routine) - It may be the only time I get to take a bathroom break or eat all day until they leave

If a child is sick then I make exceptions for pick ups... if they went to a well visit, more than likely they got a vaccination; my babies stay out for 24 hrs after a shot, or if they are on antibiotics. It's a liability issue I don't want. And yes, I have experiences I don't wish to repeat for vaccination reactions

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Normally when kids are dropped off later they disrupt nap time. I can work up to 12 hours a day with nap time being the only time I can try to sneak in a break. I'm not willing to sacrifice that to accommodate one family.

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I dont have a cut off but dont really allow drop offs during lunch or nap for obvious reasons so a child can arrive at 11:30 and still be fine. We eat at 11:30.

I don't mind it as I hope its just more face time with a parent but I do make a point of making sure parents understand that later drop offs should never be because their child slept in and will now not need/want to participate in rest time here. It's disruptive to the flow and daily routine for others.
It's unfair and selfish of a parent to do.

I don't allow later drop offs because of Dr or dental appointments. Not even well child checks.
Too much room for dishonesty or no communication... "Hey Miss Provider, here's Johnny. Dr says he's healthy as a horse!" ...fast forward a couple days and everyone is suddenly coming down with strep

I encourage those types of appointments to be made in the afternoons instead and the parent just picks up early instead. If parents can't manage that (which is fine... as a working mom I personally couldn't have) I'm just not the right fit for that family then.

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If it's a well check with shots, they can't come back for 24 hours. Any other late drops should be prearranged and approved. I know it sounds like we are hard @sses, but late drops really interrupt the day and the mood of the child. I know I am the same. If I get the chance to sleep in or show up late, it messes with my whole day. But the difference is that as an adult, I get to control my day and decide what I do next. For kids, the day is planned. If they are late, they miss their circle time or outdoor time(makes the cranky). They are usually not on the same eating schedule, so they may miss or not be interested in lunch. The point I am making is that as humans, we adapt to a schedule for the most part. As an adult, I get cranky when someone messes with my schedule. As a kid, it can be the same or ten times worse. The main thing is to find what works best and is allowed by your daycare. If they are ok with late drop off, then that is great! My worst nappers have been late drops tho, so it wouldn't work for me

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I allow one family ro drop off later, and I will never make that exception again. This child is dropped of between 9-10 am 3 days a week and he won't nap here. He also is never hungry because of his late eating.

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I've never had a child randomly need a well child check OR a last minute well child check. I usually have them asking a week or more in advance so I know they're not ill!

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I also do not have a cutoff but there is absolutely no drop offs during lunch and nap. If the child had an appointment then the parents need to figure it out so they coincide with my policies.

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Thanks everyone for answering my question!

I definitely understand the impact it can have on nap time (my 4 year old is already an AWFUL napper and naps about 2 days per month).

Our daycare does not exclude for vaccines though

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The vaccine exemption for me is a big liability because I work with real tiny babies... they are here when they get their first shots & I have had some get bad reactions; 2 of my own had to be medically waived after seizures from a first vaccine.

Because I am so busy with all the tinies between bottles & diapers, naps & such why should I have to be the one to watch for the first reaction? I ask my parents to schedule appointments on Friday afternoons that way they don't miss much work & if something happens it's on their watch... except for one kid this year (reaction to MMR - he got measles)

I've been lucky so far but a few years ago I had 3 have fevers & one ended up at the hospital on moms watch with seizures (all in the first 24 hrs of a vaccine), so yeah - I exclude. If a child runs a fever, it's an automatic exclusion under the illness policy for 24 hrs and most providers have that in their policies too

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Your daycare has more than one set of hands to manage the fussy, irritable behavior that often accompanies vaccinations.

When you are a one person show.....it's vital that all the children be at 100% as anything less throws a curveball in to the day.

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No, I don't make exceptions for routine medical care.

The peds offices here only do well checks from 7-9am (clean rooms), so no exception would be required.

As a mom I felt immunization, dentist, specialists and eye visits were a bit scary/stressful for kids so spent the rest of the day enjoying our time together. As a provider, I encourage parents to make these appointments for after nap.

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I haven't excluded in the past for vaccinations, but this year there have been too many days where little one's came and were so sad and needy. They needed mom and dad snuggles and I just wasn't cutting it. I am adding a policy in January about it. A late drop off with a freshly vaccinated infant while I'm making lunch...it doesn't get much more stressful

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I exclude for vacs because I don't want a bad reaction to happne on my time. Whether that is a fever, fussiness, or a seizure, I just don't want to deal with it.

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Me, too. NO infants here but it's still not a risk I'm comfortable taking.

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I could have written this myself. i handle exactly like she does...

I would much prefer that a family pick up early than drop late. I am sure the child prefers it too.

Nothing is cuter than seeing a child's excitement of getting picked up early for the day.

Nothing is harder than to see a kids face that does not understand the change in the morning schedule and watch them freak out in a tantrum, because they don't understand why they got to stay home longer in the monring today but won't tomorrow.....the late drop off impacts that day and days after...

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I am dealing with this right now... I have a parent that has done a late drop 3 days in a row & didn't pick up until absolute last minute; when kids start pacing at the door, it means they don't understand why other kids got picked up first. The late drop throws off naps & eating schedules too

I have one kid that was thrown off real bad 2 days this week due to extra hours by mom (he was here when he normally isn't)... The child got ballistic & started acting out due to the schedule being thrown way off. I am about to say no "off hours" due to the child acting out in a way that was not good, but he is here only another 2 months before he ages out & he is FT ( when you can only take 4 kids... that's a lot of income)

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