I have a dollar a minute late policy. I always thought that was pretty steep and a good deterrent because I never had an issue with late pick-ups. Fast forward to this year and I have a mom who texts me when she is on her way so I can get her tot ready to go. Well, her texts will often say, "On my way! Sheesh! Going to be past five!" I always give her a late notice and have never waived late fees but clearly this isn't deterring her as she keeps doing it.

-Should I institute a harsher policy to send the message home? What do you suggest?

-When she arrives late, she still wants to chat about her child's day. I don't think she should have the privilege of getting this communication when she is late. What polite yet succinct thing can I say when she shows up late and wants to chat?

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"____ had a insert appropriate adjective day. Your late pick up has put me behind in somethings I have to do. See you tomorrow!"

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charge her until she is walking out the door. If she needs a status update she has to get there before you close.

Just tell her... oh you guys better scoot. You don't want MORE dollar a minute fees.

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If you really want to discourage it, you need to change your policy, since obviously it's still worth it for this parent to come late. I personally never want parents to be late so I started with a very strict late policy. I close at 5:30pm, and they get 5 free minutes until 5:35pm, though interestingly nobody is ever even 1 minute late:


8. Early Drop-off and Late Pickup Fees

• Early drop-off is not permitted. Doors open at 7:30 am.
• The client will pay a $15 late fee when a child is picked up later than 5:35 pm.
• If the client fails to pick up the child by 5:45 PM, the client will pay a $50 late fee (in
• addition to the $15 late fee), and the provider may terminate the child care agreement.
• Late pick-ups are charged high fees in order to discourage their occurrence because I value my
• time with my family at the end of the day more than collecting regular late fees.
• All fees for late pickup are due at the start of the next day of care, before care will be provided.

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The point of a late fee for me isn't necessarily to make extra money but to discourage parents from being late.

My late fee policy is as follows

First late pick up .................$1 per minute
Second late pick up..............$2 per minute
Third late pick up..................Termination


Being late is rude and disrespectful.

As for the phrase or communication portion, I would simply say "Geez, DCM I'd love to chat but you are so late that I'm already off the clock"

Then walk away so she knows that she is not going to take any more of your personal time than she already has.

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I texted a mom last night about her mom (DCB's Nana) always picking up late. I told her when I had kids here til 6 it wasn't a big deal but now we have baseball and the days are lighter longer so when everyone is gone by 5 but this DCB who's been here since 7am it's kind of becoming an issue. She said she doesn't know why her mom is always so late picking up and she will talk to her. I told her I would speak to her as well, but I realized my license says my business hours are 6am to 5:30pm so I really need to be CLOSED by 5:30! I will probably reprint my contract and highlight the late pickup section and that I've been understanding of their schedule but now it's becoming habitual and needs to be enforced. I will also throw in there, the fees aren't a way to make extra money, it's supposed to be a deterrent for late pickups. I would gladly never accept a dime in late fees if everyone picked up on time.

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