Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Charging according to pick up time eliminates that resentful feeling when you have one kid there later than everyone else feeling. Now if that one kid is here later than the others, I am being compensated well for it so it's something I can rectify in my head much easier.
I also don't have parents complain about their rates either.
If they want to save money, pick up earlier.
Win-win for everyone! 
Like my previous post said, I work less hours now but make more money. 
I like this structure! How do you handle drop offs? I have one family who will bring her child occasionally on her day off so Mom will drop off an hour later than normal to let her sleep in, etc. Do you allow this? It makes the morning unpredictable and throws off the little ones nap schedule. My biggest hesitation is I don't know of any other in home daycares in this area who have contracts that the parents sign and who don't charge strictly by the hour. I am the only one that I know of who charges by the day whether they are here the entire time or not. I'm also the only one who charges for sick days. I don't want to make my set up too different from everyone else as I feel I'm already pushing the standards for our area. We live in a small community, people talk A LOT and I'd hate to be who they are talking about. My anxiety couldn't handle that! LOL!