We Will Be Picking Up Early Today

[DaisyMamma]

Between 2 and 3.

...its now 4:40...

[Cat Herder]

Yep....

Oh, I decided to run a few errands first. Should I have called?

[hope]

I have a family that is contracted till 6 pm but dads schedule changed and he now gets out of work at 2 pm. I was told he would be picking up earlier but everyday he has told me there is traffic and he comes around 5:30. Apparently it takes him 3 and a half hours to crawl through traffic to get here?????? Time for a new contract with new times!!!!! Parents really think we believe their lies????

[daycare]

Originally Posted by hope

I have a family that is contracted till 6 pm but dads schedule changed and he now gets out of work at 2 pm. I was told he would be picking up earlier but everyday he has told me there is traffic and he comes around 5:30. Apparently it takes him 3 and a half hours to crawl through traffic to get here?????? Time for a new contract with new times!!!!! Parents really think we believe their lies????

Their was a sports bar blocking the freeway....... Yup!

[SilverSabre25]

"....no, you're not," is my first thought to that! Every. Single. Time. I have learned to not alter my day in the slightest until I see the parent's care IN MY DRIVEWAY.

[DaisyMamma]

Originally Posted by SilverSabre25

"....no, you're not," is my first thought to that! Every. Single. Time. I have learned to not alter my day in the slightest until I see the parent's care IN MY DRIVEWAY.

Same here.
I just feel bad when the kid is old enough to be sad. Today this kid is only seven months.

[LaLa1923]

Originally Posted by daycare

Their was a sports bar blocking the freeway....... Yup!

[daycarediva]

I have a slip by the door that parents fill out with the new pickup time on it. They get the bottom portion where it says "after 3 pm late fees in the amount of ...."

I don't mess around anymore with this. If I am keeping a kid up from nap, or getting a kid up early, or changing our schedule to be indoors for pick up, it's an inconvenience if they show up late.

[nannyde]

Originally Posted by DaisyMamma

Between 2 and 3.

...its now 4:40...

The number one indicator that a parent will be late is the “I will be picking up early" if they are off of work that day or time period. I always say "just shoot me a text when you are 20 minutes away." I also tell them to not be late if I know they are off.

I would say that 80 percent of the time they are off work they don't come early. About 25 percent of the time they are actually late.

If they have a specialist doc appt or are leaving out of town and want the kid to sleep in the car for the trip they are close to when they say they will come. If not these two reasons then they change it to regular time or late.

In one ear and out the other. I don't do anything differently. I do not get kids up or keep kids up for early out. I don't change meals or outside time because they rarely ever pick up early.

I've had a handful of parents who were exact about it but they are rare.

[jenn]

I don't pay much attention when they tell me they will be early. I don't modify my schedule in any way. If they happen to show up early, great. If not (which is usually the case), our day just continues as normal. I don't want a kiddo sitting around waiting for a parent to show up and then be disappointed when they don't.

[TheGoodLife]

I HATE to admit that I did that quite a few times last year I was a teacher, and when I had work days (days with no students, but we had to be working in the classroom), I would plan to leave a little early like the principal usually let us- then I'd be so busy working and getting things done (something that was VERY difficult to do on days when you had kids, since you only had up to 40 minutes of regular time a day for planning time) that I would end up working the whole time and leave to get my daughters at their regular closing time. I didn't think anything of it then (I was working, and not just leaving and running errands or so forth) but now I feel terrible that I would tell the provider that I would probably be there early and then I wouldn't! Whoops, things you don't realize until you're on the other side!

[AfterSchoolMom]

Originally Posted by Mama2Bella

Whoops, things you don't realize until you're on the other side!

There you go. That's the root of every problem that we have as providers - that the parents don't think to consider things from our point of view. Not trying to say anything bad about you, Mama2Bella! I did some of the same things when I was working (and I have since apologized to my daycare provider for them all, lol). It's a totally normal thing - but I wish that in order to have a child in day care, you had to spend a couple of days in the provider's shoes.

[MyAngels]

Originally Posted by Mama2Bella

I HATE to admit that I did that quite a few times last year I was a teacher, and when I had work days (days with no students, but we had to be working in the classroom), I would plan to leave a little early like the principal usually let us- then I'd be so busy working and getting things done (something that was VERY difficult to do on days when you had kids, since you only had up to 40 minutes of regular time a day for planning time) that I would end up working the whole time and leave to get my daughters at their regular closing time. I didn't think anything of it then (I was working, and not just leaving and running errands or so forth) but now I feel terrible that I would tell the provider that I would probably be there early and then I wouldn't! Whoops, things you don't realize until you're on the other side!

I don't think I was/a very good DCP back in the day either . I think that's what makes me maybe a little bit understanding when my families do things that make me go , plus I'm more apt to address it directly, too (I wish my providers had - assuming whatever I did made them mad).

[Thetotspot]

I had three children not normally at my daycare on a specific day of the week be drop in for that day. Parent said 8-2 and they were my only kids that day. So i kept the kids and my kids up through nap time thinking i was getting off early. Nope...parent showed up at 3:30...the 1 1/2 uear old was so cranky and tired. She asked why i didnt nap him...and i just played stupid. WHat i wanted to say was "well you told me you would be here at 2 and then i would have had to wake him and that would have been harder for him than just waiting an extra hour and getting a full nap at home." the parents all seem off-put when i ask what time they are picking up on a drop in day like that but i need to plan ahead for our day for naps and snacks that i didnt know i would be serving that day. Grrr.

[DaisyMamma]

Originally Posted by Thetotspot

I had three children not normally at my daycare on a specific day of the week be drop in for that day. Parent said 8-2 and they were my only kids that day. So i kept the kids and my kids up through nap time thinking i was getting off early. Nope...parent showed up at 3:30...the 1 1/2 uear old was so cranky and tired. She asked why i didnt nap him...and i just played stupid. WHat i wanted to say was "well you told me you would be here at 2 and then i would have had to wake him and that would have been harder for him than just waiting an extra hour and getting a full nap at home." the parents all seem off-put when i ask what time they are picking up on a drop in day like that but i need to plan ahead for our day for naps and snacks that i didnt know i would be serving that day. Grrr.

I would have most definitely told the parent exactly what you said.

[crazydaycarelady]

I had a dcd show up at 5:25 (I close at 5:30) and comment that he was early! Early for providers is a completely different thing than early for parents!

The number one indicator that a parent will be late is the “I will be picking up early" if they are off of work that day or time period. I always say "just shoot me a text when you are 20 minutes away." I also tell them to not be late if I know they are off.

I would say that 80 percent of the time they are off work they don't come early. About 25 percent of the time they are actually late.

I completely agree with this! I dread it when parents are not working because it is highly likely they will be late!