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Unregistered 01:54 PM 05-22-2018
Hello there. I'm also rather new to family child care. I have two things to say. One, you owe it to you and your children to have a zero tolerance policy for any disrespect. There are plenty of appreciative families out there. Terminate immediately and do not communicate with that family. You owe them nothing. Don't text back, don't answer calls, or knocks on the door. If any threats are made you call the police immediately. Don't take any bull from anyone. Second, your policy on drop offs and pickups is perfect. Don't change it, and let me tell you why from my perspective. I have a 24 hours a day facility. Obviously it would not be appropriate for people to just show up whenever they want. I also have families specify the times for pickup and drop off and I expect them to stick to it. If they occasionally need to tweak it, I'm fine with it as long as it's not longer than a 10 hour day....if longer is needed I charge extra. I state in my policy that i may not answer the door if they show up early because I wasn't expecting them. It's super important they follow pick up times as well. What if you had an appointment for your child but since your "hours" are until 6, the family thinks it's no big deal to leave the child as late as possible. I've learned over the last few months to be greatful for learning experiences like the one you had, because now you can sharpen your policies and know where your personal boundaries are. Some policies I have added because of "bad" experiences:

No pascifier past 7 months
No bottle past 13 months
Always collect the last two weeks up front
Parents pay for the space even if they don't use it

There may be more but I wish you luck!
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