Anyone not have a late pick up fee? I don't want it to look like late pick ups are okay, as long as they pay more for it. I want my policy to read that late pick ups are not tolerated period. They need to pick up their child(ren) by pick up time, or make arrangements for someone else to pick them up. My child spends weekends with their father, and evenings are my only alone time with him. Every moment counts.

I'm trying to figure out how to word it. How many late pick ups would you give before you communicate with the parents that the daycare hours of operation appear not to be a good fit for them.

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I don't charge a late fee. I make it very clear what my hours of operation are, and I tell all prospective families that I'm very strict about late pick ups. I've never had a problem with having everyone here on time. I think clear communication with respect to this policy is what's made it work for me.

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I used to have a late pickup fee, and had parents just blatantly ignore it all the time, would show up late and just flat not bring the extra fee.

Now, my policy states that if the late pickup is PRE APPROVED, I charge an overtime rate per hour or portion of the hour - and it's a hefty one. After two late pickups, the contract is terminated immediately. I've actually not had any problems with late pickups since I changed my policy, whereas before it was an ongoing problem. I make sure during the interview/contract process that it is VERY CLEAR that I do not tolerate late pickups for any reason whatsoever, because my family is involved in a lot of evening activities.

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