Even though you havn't lost control of your DC this letter may give the parents the idea that you have. If the kids are acting up when parents arrive then insist that ALL of the children sit down and behave. If it means asking the adult that just walked in to step back outside so be it. The DC kids are testing the authorative figure and if the parents don't take charge then that means that you have to draw the line and I'm talking about drawing the line with the parents also.

If I saw a DC child hitting his parent and the parent said nothing you better believe that I deffinetely would. "Little Timmy!" look him square in the eyes "We do not hit. Gentle touches. No hit." (i have mostly 2 yo's) then a stern look at the parent "We do not allow hitting here. You cannot allow your child to hit you here especially not in front of the other children. It is inapropriate behavior that needs to be addressed, not ignored". You need to make it clear to the parent that THEY must take control.

As for the food program problem I would have them all FILL OUT THE SHEET IN YOUR DAYCARE. Then YOU mail it in.

As for the letter, I think it's way to long and way too detailed. If you shorten it and state only succinct facts the point will be better made.
If I were to write a letter about these issues I would have written it like this (everything else I would handle one-on-one with each individual parent):

Dear Daycare families,

There have been several reoccurring issues that have come to my attention that need to be rectified which I will cover in this notice.

In the summer new food program forms needed to be filled out and returned by the daycare families. Not everyone turned one in to the food program and therefore I will not be reimbursed for meals for those families. Because of this all families must fill out another form here at daycare by [date] which I will personally mail to the food program. Any families that do not fill out a form by the designated date will have a fee of [amount] added to their weekly daycare rate to cover the difference of that loss.

Secondly I would like to address that there have been issues with daycare children not following the rules while their parents are present. I would like to remind everyone of the daycare rules and recommend that you remind your children of these rules if you see any of these issues arise when you drop-off or pick-up your child.

1. No jumping on the furniture
2. No hitting of any kind
3. No going outside without permission
4. Be respectful and talk kindly
5. No running upstairs
6. Quiet during nap/rest time
7. Use indoor voices while indoors
8. Clean up toys before you leave

These rules are in place to maintain order and the safety of all children in the daycare. If I observe any behavior that does not follow our guidelines then [daycare providers] will intervene and remind both you and your child of the rules. Hitting another child in daycare or an adult (even a parent) will not be tolerated.

We have noticed that some children arrive unrested and are overly tired. Unfortunately because we always have other children in our care we are unable to provide specialized individual care for them. We recommend that all children get the required 10-13 hours of sleep at night that pediatricians recommend. Children that do not get enough sleep during the night may become highly irritable and may need to be picked up early from daycare.

We would also like to remind all families that when our “child is sleeping” sign is up, you must be respectful of the resting children and enforce the quiet during nap/rest time rule with your child.

If you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you,

Miss X and Miss Y

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