It's Friday...AKA Late Pick Up Day

[Soccermom]

I am open until 5:30 but most kids are all picked up between
4:30-5pm...except for fridays! Every friday morning I get the - Oh I will probably be a little later than usual tonight or the - I have plans so DCD will be picking up tonight so it will be 5:30 before he arrives.
Annoys me, especially the kids that normally go at 4:30..that extra hour on a friday kills me.
Right now hubby and I are dressed and ready to go out but I have a DCG sitting on my couch waiting for DCD. This DCG is normally gone by 4:15...this is an every friday thing!
Ho Hum....

[MarinaVanessa]

"Hi George, I noticed that you've been picking up later than contracted for on Fridays and since it's been a regular thing I want to make sure that my paperwork is up to date. I took the liberty of writing up a new contract with the new Friday pick-up time and the additional fees are already on here. Do you want to take a quick look before you sign it? Oh, you won't be picking up late anymore? Oh, okay"

If she's supposed to get picked up by 4:15 and it's after 4:15 and it happens regularly then why havn't you talked to them about it? I'd be all over it like white on rice especially if more than one client was doing it. Like children, sometimes they just need to be reminded of the rules.

[wahmof3]

What MarinaVanessa said.....

[Soccermom]

I don't have contracted hours with the DCPS. Just open from 6:45am-5:30pm. So technically I can't charge them for the extra time. It is just so frustrating when she is picked up all week at 4:15 and then suddenly friday she is here until 5:30.

[LK5kids]

Can you change your hours to close by 4:30 or 4:45 on Friday or even 5:00? For all families? I would if everyone is always gone but this one child and he is gone by 4:15 other days.

[littlemissmuffet]

Close at 5:00pm on Fridays from now on. Send home a notice Monday and let parents know the change is in effect immediately. Do you have a late fee? If so, I would triple it for Fridays! Just let the parents know you have somewhere to be shortly after 5pm on Fridays.... they don't need to know that somewhere is on your couch with your feet up

At the begining of the year (or when ever you renew your contracts- just give a month or two warning about the renewal) go through what is new in your contracts with parents and explain to them under the hours of operation- explain that you would like to have contract hour- this helps your figure out a routine so you can make plans in advance and also when the parent is late (even with warning) that they will be charged extra for picking their child up later than their contract hours state- such as $1 a minute they are late or $5 for every 15 minutes they are late (according to your own clock by the sign in sheet) starting at pick up time - if they give you a few days notice for more than a 1/2 hour just charge like $5 for the whole time (up to no more than a 1/2 after your offical closing time)- but an extra $5 charge for every 15 minutes they are late or a $1 a minute they are late- chances are they will be more likely to find some one to pick their child up on time or try to hurry rather than pay more money- some parents take advantage of providers by running erronds after work or even going to get their hair or nails done and waiting until the last minute to pick up their kids but if you are over booked and get inspected there could be major consiquences. Many people don't respect child care workers as more than "glorified babysitters", which is why we are underpaid compared to other field- this is why it is important to be well educated in child care and business laws- as well as standing your ground on your hours of operation- once in a while it is okay but if this happens every friday than it may be a red flag.

If they want a reason for the new change and you feel the need to explain it (which since its your business and you reserve the right to change your policies at any given time, you leagally don't have to):
"while this is my place of business and I love what I do, this is also my home and after hours is my family time- just like after hours from your work is your family time. after hours and weekends cound as my rest time as well. Family child care is know to have a high risk of 'caregiver burn-out' and I want to make sure I get plenty of rest and family time between closing and opining so I can stay healthy and keep doing what i'm doing to the best of my abilities"
-another benifit of this is that if a part time kid oppertunity pops up you'll know if you will be able to squeeze them in between arivals and departures which will help your other daycare parents because it can help you keep your rates low and help you still make decent money- without the risk of getting in trouble with licensing for being over booked.

[Willow]

Why not just close at 5 if that's when you're wanting to be done?

I can't imagine it pays to be open that extra hour for just one child, so don't offer it!