Who Follows Their Policies To The Letter?
Most all of us here have policies for payment, early drops off/late pickups, late fees, illness, etc. I also know that many of us (myself included) feel guilty for sticking to them on occasion. I'm just curious as to how many of us actually follow our policies exactly as written? If you do, do your parents fight you on them, or do they seem to respect your rules?
I have a theory that maybe if I'd enforced all of my policies hard core from day one, I may be having an easier time of things now. |
I think you are right - if you start hard-core from day one they would probably respect you and your policies more! But I wouldn't know about that, I don't follow mine all the time :( I want to, and it makes me mad when parents don't follow my policies, but it's my fault for not enforcing them. I have so many excuses for why I don't always follow my policies, but I really shouldn't excuse them, I should just enforce them.
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I make exceptions. This week I let a long time family use this week as their vacation week. She called fridAy and said... I know itsnot your policy but is there any way I can use next week as our vac week? I said yes.... And explained that because of their history. They always pay are never late picking up bring supplies. They deserve special consideration. Will I miss that money this week? Yes. Do I consider it worth it to repay the curtesy they have shown me every week for 3 years? Absolutely.
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Originally Posted by marniewon: |
Originally Posted by laundrymom: |
Over the years of doing daycare, I gave this one a break, then another one, then another one, and so on and on...... Almost everyone one of them wanted more and more, then some of them actually bit me in the butt!! From now on, I am sticking to my contract, late fees, etc. I placed this note, in the contract for the upcoming yr. these late fees will be implemented from now on.... I give a 5 min. window and that is it anymore. I used to have one family think nothing of being 15-30 min late almost every single day. THen another family would see that, and she started doing it as well. Not anymore, I am totally charging for late pickups anymore!!
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My policies are fairly simple, my contract is 3 1/2 pages, just the basics, and so, yes, I generally will follow my policies. The one I will occasionally flex on is my illness policy, which I will use my best judgment at times to allow a child to attend who would not be able to under the policy as it's written. I have always been fortunate to have families that don't give me much grief as far as the various items in my contract, including on time payments, vacation, on time pickups, etc. I don't know what I've done to achieve that, but I'm greatful for it every day :D.
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I find sticking to it from day one is easier, because if you let something slide once or twice, its harder then to stick to your policy. Then they think "well you let us do this before". If they think your policies our negoitable, they will fight you on everything!
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Originally Posted by legomom922: |
Originally Posted by legomom922: |
I'm a stickler when it comes to the more important policies but there are some that I'm lenient on. That probably sends a mixed message but depending on the situation I don't feel comfortable sticking to certain things.
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Originally Posted by nikia: |
I agree that starting out it would have been easier to stick to it, but sometimes things happen and we all try to be a little human and understanding (Unless you are the one paying..haha) but I have found that if things start getting a little out of hand, I will actually send a letter out saying that too many people are taking advantage of such and such policy so I will no longer be making exceptions. Gets them all back on track and makes the offenders feel somewhat guilty and all is well for bit until we start the cycle all over again! Whew! Should of just been strict from the beginning.
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I had an issue with myself not be able to charge the late pick up fee, so the way I fixed it for myself was to readjust my work week. Before my wk ran from m-f, with payday being fri. I gave them their invoice the same day they paid me, but it wouldnt reflect the late fee if they were late on Fri, and usually when they showed up on Fri, their ck or cash was already made out for their normal weekly amount.
So I changed it to run Fri-Th with payday still on Fri, however now I send home the invoice on Thurs, which enables me to charge them for any late fees for that week, and if they are late on Fri, I put that on next weeks invoice since Fri starts the new wk. Works great so far! Now I charge the late fees with no problem! |
Guess I'm lucky to have 3 really great families. They are considerate of me and I am considerate of them. We work within each others needs.
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I follow them 90% of the time. I do allow for exceptions from time to time, but it is all my disgression and I make sure they know not to expect it every time. I have never gotten any push back on my policies and actions. *knock* on wood.
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I dont follow them pretty much at all...which was a mistake since day one.
I feel that since I have been lenient for years that it would be hard to all of a sudden be ********. My families signed with me knowing I was working for THEM....since I know how hard it is to work outside of the home and be a parent with a child in daycare. I am pretty strict on my sick policy though. My parents dont pay late and are usually on time to pick up. If I have a problem with any of them going outside of my guidelines I talk to them about the issue - letting them know how it makes me feel or how it impacts my life and they fix the problem quickly. |
Bit of a stickler
Now that I've got a few years under my belt, I know how important it is to follow my policies as they're written in my contract.
I used to let a lot of stuff slide, but not anymore. As a result, I very rarely have to deal with parents trying to get me to make exceptions. I'm especially strict on my illness policy. |
I stick to all my policies, but I have fairly simple policies. The only one that parents would give me trouble for is that they have to pay if their LO misses a day. No one has even said anything about it and has always paid (well, I've only been open since August...lol).
My families so far pay on time. I don't have a late pick-up fee yet. This is mostly because 6 of the 7 families are friends of mine and we all babysit eachother's kids at one point or another. So far I've had a family late twice (different families). I called them within 10 minutes of when they were supposed to be here and they each apologized profusely and one even asked if he could pay me a late fee. I anticipate next year I'll have more families that I'm not friends with, so I will institute a late policy then. |
Originally Posted by DanceMom: |
Originally Posted by Preschool/daycare teacher: |
Originally Posted by DanceMom: So...never mind my previous post! lol |
Yes, in fact I let one policy slide this morning. DCM called 30 min prior to drop off and asked if she could bring dcb since he had just thrown up. No temp, maybe a fluke? Well, he was my only dck today so I told her I would watch him and send him home if he developed a fever or threw up again. She brought him, he was pale and looked terrible. The moment she started to pull out of the driveway he began throwing up in the toilet! I stopped her before she left the driveway to tell her he had to go home. Should've saved her the trip and told her not to bring him! But I felt okay in trying it just in case it was a fluke; and he was my only dck, and she has never questioned my sick policy or tried to be dishonest about her children being sick. That deserves a bend in the rules for certain instances I think.
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Originally Posted by Preschool/daycare teacher: |
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