Before contracted time 5 mins or so early (no notice) 1 4.17%

Before contracted time with notice 3 12.50%

At contracted time 8 33.33%

After contracted time with notice 5-15 mins late 4 16.67%

After contracted time without notice 5-15 mins late 2 8.33%

I have a cut off time -please explain 3 12.50%

I don't care 9 37.50%

other-please explain 2 8.33%

What time would you allow drop-off??

(beyond contracted time)


Input please

DO you charge? Does it matter what time they were contracted for?

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I really don't have a policy for this but I would like to implement one. I have one family who is suposed to drop off at 7:30, they are my earliest drop off so it is important for me to know when they are arriving, lately they have been dropping off anytime between 7:15 (not allowed!!!) to today they came at 8:05 which is annoying b/c had I known I could have slept 15 min more. I would like to make it 1/2 hr past drop off time you can still drop off BUT I must receive notification the day before. Maybe this is too strict???

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If it is more than 5 minutes early I want advance notice. I don't charge for it. If it becomes often enough (more than once a week) and outside of my contracted hours with them then they would have to pay extra.

I don't have a cut off time for drop off. If we have plans I let them know and I have never had a problem with kids being on time.

K

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I don't open the door before my 7:30 opening time. People who try it will find the door locked. I do have a 9:00 cut-off for drop offs unless I have prior notice. I try to avoid the later drop offs for the usual reasons (the child's schedule is off, they typically come after a meal and of course haven't eaten, etc.) I don't charge for late drop offs but do tell parents that late without notice may mean I can't take them into care that day (and they still pay for it).
I did have one family try to show up at 11:00 without notice(even though I had reminded them repeatedly I needed it) and they had been the only dc kid scheduled for that day. I just waved as I drove by them in my van. Never happened again.

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just thinking about this today as my first arrival was 10 min. early and I was pissed! 10 min in the morning makes a BIG difference in how ready I am!!!

I don't have a policy but would like to implement one - something like NO arrivals before your scheduled time, anything over 15 min. late needs to be communicated. I hate waiting around for people!!

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I never allow early drop-off if it is before my opening time (7:30). If people are late dropping off, I could care less, as long as they let me know within an hour of their contracted time.

All of my dcfs drop off within 30 minutes of each other, so I don't mind if they are a few minutes earlier.

I never open my doors before 7:30. My dcfs know not even to ask!

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My issue is lack of communication and when DCG is dropped off late she's upset, miserable, and just plain terrible all day. It really throws off our entire day. It's 9:38 here and her contracted time is 8am! I have not a clue when she's going to be getting dropped off!! If it weren't raining I would take all the kids out and leave....

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I am pretty flexible with drop off times as long as I have notice, no drop offs during naps though. The only time I get irritated is when they are my earliest drop off and they are late! I love my sleep and do not like to wake up early for no reason. I usually make a comment when this happens

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I would not let this happen. I would call if she is 30 minutes late and find out why. I would absolutely make sure the parents knew that they had to communicate better with you. That is just plain disrespectful!

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I agree! But I think it's their responsibility to contact me. Mom did text and tell me dad would be dropping dcg off today "when they get up"..........

What do I say? This is plain ridiculous, rude, and unacceptable!

(mom went to work and left her at home)

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Hmmmm, honestly, maybe I am passive-aggressive but I would say you were heading out with the kids to XYZ place or for whatever reason (if you go places) & say if she is not dropped off by X time she will not be able to attend today.

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Same here. If it's only 5 minutes or so early, I don't mind at all. Any more than that and I require advance notice.

I arrive at care about 15-20 minutes before first scheduled child so in some cases, I HAVE to have notice or I won't be here.

I also suggest to the family that we revisit the contract if the drop off time becomes earlier and earlier.

I don't allow drop offs before my opening time..... I am simply not here.

As for late drop offs, I do require the parent to notify me that they will be late. If they don't call to tell me and are 15 minutes past their scheduled drop off time, I consider them absent and do not have services available to them that day.

I have made exceptions but ONLY in extreme or rare circumstances.

I don't wait for anyone. I go about my day as planned whether or not everyone is present or not.

If a child is "off schedule" due to an irregular drop off time, I will send them home if it affects their behavior.

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Does anyone know how the centers do it? I have a child here with divorced parents and he arrives anywhere from between 7:30-10:30. It drives me nuts, as he is my only one on MWF. They do not tell me in advance.

The reason I ask about centers is b/c he was in a center up until 2 months ago, and I'm curious if they are just taking advantage of me, or if they were doing it there too.

I don't mean to highjack this tread, but it doesn't seem to warrant a second post.

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Send them home a written notice.

Dear DCP

As of Monday April 15, 2013 ALL children MUST arrive at their scheduled times. If you are running late, ADVANCE notice must be provided a minimum of 15 minutes PRIOR to your scheduled drop off time.

If you do not arrive at your scheduled time or do not call when you are running late, your child will be considered absent and NO services will be available for that day.

It is absolutely vital that parents communicate with me as I serve multiple families in my child care and cannot make special arrangements or changes based solely on one family's needs verses what is best for the group.

Thank you for your consideration and respect in this matter.

Sincerely

Provider

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Almost all my parents have a contracted drop off time of 7:30am - so that's technically when I "open". I do not unlock my door a moment sooner.

I do not allow drop offs after 9am, unless child has a doctor appointment.

As long as a parent drops off between 7:30-9:00am it's fine. Though, I serve breakfast at 8am - if a child isn't here by 8:01am they miss out!

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I am open from 7:15-6:00pm. They are all welcome at any time during these hours. I charge a flat daily rate, so it doesn't matter to me if you are here 4 hours or the whole time, you pay the same. That might not sound fair, but it's just easier for me to keep track of.

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I work at a center. Children can arrive any time of the day. I have some of my kids dropped off during lunch or even the middle of nap sometimes

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On my website and in my communications via email, parents learn up front during the enrollment process that the schedule they give me needs to be accurate, and if they need changes, which I am happy to accommodate, they need to notify me at least the day before during business hours, i.e. not calling me at 9pm or sending an email after I've gone to bed that they'll be there a half hour earlier in the morning.

My door stays unlocked when I am expecting parents for drop-off and pick-up, and my front blinds stay closed until I am open and during nap time. I let parents know if they arrive earlier than scheduled to please wait patiently in their car until the blinds are open and I am ready to welcome them.

The door is locked otherwise so there is no chance they will be in my house while I'm still in the shower, asleep or otherwise engaged.

I have had parents, very rarely, who felt they were the exception. One parent told me they thought they should be able to arrive 15 minutes early and not have to wait outside. They would knock and ring the bell and call until I came to the door, even if it meant I had to not finish in the bathroom (you know what I'm saying) to deal with their rude arrival. They didn't feel they needed to call ahead or arrange an earlier drop-off the day before, or even pay for late pick-up for that matter. In their mind that was unreasonable on my part. That family was soon dismissed. I tried to work with them for a couple of months, but they were determined I would provide care on their terms, rather than my own written policies.

My feeling is if we don't have a mutually respectful partnership, and if you do not value my time, I am not the right provider for you, and you should look for someone who can accommodate your needs better. Sometimes parents just need gentle reminders and sometimes they need a little firmer nudge, but most do adjust their habits so it doesn't adversely affect your scheduled day.

As for a final drop-off time, in the past, when we ran just a preschool, I did have a final drop-off time when we 'closed' our doors so to speak after 10am. If they arrived after then they would find a locked door, and if I did open it I would explain they were late and we had already started our day, and I hoped to see them at the regular time the next day. It was very hard to turn a parent away, and we did a couple of times, but those families NEVER came late again, and they didn't leave, so I would say it was very effective.

I am open now as a home childcare, and only available for the hours parents schedule their child to be in care. If they schedule a regular 8am drop-off, and show up randomly at 8:30am, 9am, 8:45am, I speak with them, let them know I've noticed they are coming later than originally discussed, and ask if they would like to adjust their drop-off schedule. Like you guys, I HATE waiting for parents, too, especially when they are my first drop-off, and I could have slept longer or taken care of personal needs rather than waiting uncomfortably for them to arrive. I have found that sometimes parents are unaware they are coming as late as they are, and just bringing it up often makes them more mindful of their times and solves the issue. Otherwise they are usually OK adjusting their arrival time to be later, with an understanding that if they need an occasional earlier drop-off, they can let me know the day before at pick-up or call before I close to arrange it.

We don't currently have an end time for arrivals, though. If we have plans to be at the library story-time for example, and a parent asks for a later drop-off at the last minute, I let them know they can bring their child to the library, or meet us wherever we are, rather than us cancelling or being late. I DO ask parents not to pick-up or drop-off at nap time, and if they must, to wait for me outside, and I will bring their child to them when they specify. That way the napping children aren't disturbed as much, and dropping off I do the same thing only in the reverse, I'll meet them outside and bring their child inside for them.

My parents pay based on # of hours in care. Part-time is up to 4 hours in a day, full-time rates go to 9 hours, and then over that is additional charges. If a family arrives early or late and they go into the next rate they are responsible for that difference. If not there is no additional charge. I also charge additional daily rates for arrivals before 7:30am and pick-ups after 4:30pm. So that would factor in as well.

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I voted "I don't care". Let me explain ...

I don't answer my door before business hours ... this is my only exception.

If I open at 7am and someone shows up earlier than their drop off time and I don't already have kids in care (unannounced drop-off) then I can decide whether or not I'm ready or not to take on a child. If I'm busy or had plans for the morning then I'll say no and ask them to come back later. If I'm not busy and it's not an inconvenience then I'll accept the child but charge a penalty fee well over their usual rate (way more than my drop-in rate).

If I a parent wants to drop off their child early unannounced and I already have kids in care then I'll accept them and charge the penalty fee.

If they drop off late without telling me, I don't really care. My clients pay a flat weekly fee so they are paying for their spot. If they use their time or not doesn't really bother me. I go about my day like normal. If they miss activities or if I'm away from my home etc. then it's their inconvenience, not mine. If they are not here at the time or before meals, snacks, activities, outings etc. then they don't participate. I don't call my clients to find out if they are coming or not, I do not go out of my way to feed a child that was not here on time for meals or snacks, I do not open my door at nap time, I do not come back if I am out of my house with the other kids etc. I do have it in my policies that if they are more than 15 minutes late without notice I assume that they will not be coming, which I do ... if they arrive after that however (and if I have room and haven't filled it with a drop-in child) they can stay. No penalty fees.

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I dont ever want to see anyone before 7am. Otherwise they can arrive anywhere from 7-8am. We leave for our school walk at 8am sharp so they must be here and ready to go. I oftwn head to playgroup or the park after the school drop so they cant drop after. So my cutoff is 8am.

Of course Im not unreasonable and can be back by 9am if previously arranged for a late arrival. I wont do it often though...just once in a very long while.

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I turn on the porch light EXACTLY at 8:00 AM to signal that I am open. I will not open the door before then (UNLESS you scheduled an early arrival with me, and at that point you have to show up between 7:00 AM-7:20 AM in order to be let in).

I then leave the door unlocked for 1 hour for any stragglers to come in. For all families that are interviewing now, I stress to them that arrival time is between 8:00-8:30 as we have a busy schedule. I haven't had any issues with new clients. I only have one that consistently comes anywhere from 8:20-9:15 AM every single morning that has been enrolled for a year. I will wave hello and continue on with what I'm doing with the children and pay no mind.

I don't like late arrivals, which is why I have made it a big point to tell new families that they must arrive between 8:00-8:30 (the children eat breakfast and then we do math during this time).

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I have a 10 minute drop off window for breakfast. If you arrive later than 8:10 AM then breakfast will not be served.

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I don't exactly have contracted times, they can come and go any time between my operating hours of 7:30 am - 5:30 pm. I have a section in my handbook with a strong suggestion of drop off before 9 am so they can have breakfast and be here early enough to get their energy out so they will be ready for nap by 12:30.

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Most centers allow parents to drop off at any time, it's just a suggestion that they arrive in the morning to participate in circle time and activities, and avoid nap time pick ups/drop offs. They can also pick up at any time.

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My clients can drop off at their contracted time, they can drop off up to 15 minutes late once in a while without notice, if they are going to be over 15 minutes late they need to call me before hand. They can't drop off between 9 am and 3 pm (I close at 3:30). I don't let people drop off a child after 9 because the child has usually slept in (most often because they don't feel 100%) so they throw the rest of the kids off when they won't nap and aren't hungry for lunch because they just ate breakfast. I also don't allow it because I've found that when a child sleeps in its a good indicator they are coming down with something.

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