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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>How Accommodating Are You?
Unregistered 06:11 AM 03-11-2021
How accommodating are you with schedule changes? Do you require at least 24 hour notice? I’d prefer for one thing if they asked me if they could and not just tell me they are.

Parent text me at 7:45 last night to tell me they are not allowed to use cell phones at work so she couldn’t tell me until this late that she needs to bring the girls an hour earlier than normal today and Friday. I was at the store in the checkout line when I get this text so I didn’t have time to respond until I got home.

It frustrates me because it’s her 3 month olds second week and I’m trying to get her on a schedule and this extra hour changes the whole day and adds an extra feeding of breast milk. She doesn’t take a bottle very well yet.

Now that I’ve allowed this schedule change I don’t want it to become an all the time thing. How to address it?

These two are also here early which means they play alone for an hour an a half before anyone else gets here. That’s an extra hour an half I could have had to myself with a cup of coffee. On a normal schedule day they are the first to get dropped off.

How do you handle schedule changes at the drop of the hat?
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Cat Herder 06:23 AM 03-11-2021
It would depend.

Is this early hour before or after your normal opening time?

Here: If it is before opening, it is an extra $1 per minute fee. If it is after opening, the message was simply a courtesy to me and I would reply with "Thanks for the heads up".
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Blackcat31 06:28 AM 03-11-2021
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
How accommodating are you with schedule changes? Do you require at least 24 hour notice? I’d prefer for one thing if they asked me if they could and not just tell me they are.

Parent text me at 7:45 last night to tell me they are not allowed to use cell phones at work so she couldn’t tell me until this late that she needs to bring the girls an hour earlier than normal today and Friday. I was at the store in the checkout line when I get this text so I didn’t have time to respond until I got home.

It frustrates me because it’s her 3 month olds second week and I’m trying to get her on a schedule and this extra hour changes the whole day and adds an extra feeding of breast milk. She doesn’t take a bottle very well yet.

Now that I’ve allowed this schedule change I don’t want it to become an all the time thing. How to address it?

These two are also here early which means they play alone for an hour an a half before anyone else gets here. That’s an extra hour an half I could have had to myself with a cup of coffee. On a normal schedule day they are the first to get dropped off.

How do you handle schedule changes at the drop of the hat?
If her employer required her to come in earlier than scheduled then her employer needs to allow her to make those arrangements with you.

Unless she knew previously but waited until the last minute to tell you. If that is the case, her failure to plan does not mean I would automatically accommodate.

So for me, the answer would depend on when she knew this information as well as if it were outside your regular service hours.

I normally require parents to give me their weekly schedule on Friday the week prior. Changes are rarely allowed unless they ASK and unless it honestly canNOT be helped.
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Snowmom 10:34 AM 03-11-2021
I don't allow changes. If they want to arrive later than their contracted time, no problem as long as it's before 9:00am.
I make it clear that I am NOT available before their contract arrival time and I am NOT available after their contracted pick up time.
If they use in-home daycare, they should be prepared with their own back up plan for any variances they need- otherwise, (imho) they should use center care with the premium cost associated for earlier/later hours and the staff to accommodate it!
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284878 10:12 PM 03-11-2021
I have allowed time changes, as long as they ask with enough notice, not tell, and pick up early. A request for an hour early means they have to up an hour early or $1 late fee applies.
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e.j. 07:16 AM 03-12-2021
I try to be as accommodating as possible but I will refuse a parent's request if it's too inconvenient for me or makes my day more difficult. (I normally open at 8:00 but have parents who need to drop off at 7:45. Although it's a little inconvenient for me, I've agreed to do it for them because I can do it without too much trouble. I have another parent who requested a 7:30 drop off time. I refused because it would be too disruptive to my own family members who are still getting ready to go to work at that time. The parent who asked for the early drop off is making it work on her end.)

If you don't want it to become a frequent thing, just let her know you're willing to help out when you can but there may be times when you won't be able to take the baby earlier than normally scheduled and that she may want to have a back up plan for those times you can't help out.
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Sunshine69 11:19 AM 03-12-2021
It depends on the parents record of how much they take advantage.

When I first started I had a parent that worked different hours every day. She sent me her schedule as soon as she got it so I could plan accordingly. In the beginning it worked out okay but she eventually got comfortable working late and not texting me until 15 minutes after she was expected to pick up her child that she was working late. Sometimes she would even ask me to feed dcb dinner in that text. Then she started forgetting to send me her schedule and would inform me on Monday morning that she needed to work until 7pm. Her next contract I included a clause that said I needed at least 72 hours notice to accommodate any care outside my normal hours at a rate of $5/per 15 minutes. If it wasn’t provided, I charge $1/minute and do not guarantee my availability.

I had one parent who habitually picked up their child late with no apologies other than “Ha ha, I got stuck in traffic.” Grandma would pick up child on Friday and inform me that dcd would stop by later to pay me. I ended up chasing him around for pay after hours. When they wanted me to open a half hour earlier to take their child at 7 am, I told them I would for an additional $25/week. They didn’t want to pay more so they left. Worked for me.

Now I have a family I open early for because their schedule was modified to allow employees time to be Covid screened. I’ve been opening early since July and the family has been on time 3 times since. Dcm must be late to work every other day. I didn’t charge extra because I knew it would be temporary but I’m close to informing them that I’m going back to my old hours.
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Rockgirl 12:44 PM 03-12-2021
I guess I’m not very accommodating. Anything outside my operating hours of M-F, 7:30-5:30 is a no-go.

When I was younger, I gave a little more in this area. Now it’s way easier to say no.
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Pestle 06:14 PM 03-12-2021
"Not allowed to use cell phones at work" = got too sucked into work to say "I need to contact my daycare provider to let them know about the schedule change." I have worked jobs where we weren't permitted cell phones. You could still make family-related calls from the desk phones, or step outside of the office to send a text message.
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e.j. 06:16 PM 03-12-2021
Originally Posted by Rockgirl:
I guess I’m not very accommodating. Anything outside my operating hours of M-F, 7:30-5:30 is a no-go.

When I was younger, I gave a little more in this area. Now it’s way easier to say no.
If I worked your hours, I wouldn't be very accommodating, either. Those are long days! My kids are grown and my regular hours are 8-4, M-Th so I can usually be a little more flexible. I was much less accommodating when my kids were in school and I wanted them to be able to come home and not have to share their home and mom with the other kids.
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Rockgirl 07:32 PM 03-12-2021
Originally Posted by e.j.:
If I worked your hours, I wouldn't be very accommodating, either. Those are long days! My kids are grown and my regular hours are 8-4, M-Th so I can usually be a little more flexible. I was much less accommodating when my kids were in school and I wanted them to be able to come home and not have to share their home and mom with the other kids.
Most people here work an 8-5 day, or at least the office-type jobs, so my hours really just allow for commuting.
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Pandaluver21 08:23 PM 03-12-2021
It depends on the parent and how much they are already tried to get things changed for them, or if they are a parent that is good about respecting my rules.
Honestly, if a parent TELLS me what they are going to change, the answer is no... period. If they ask, I'm much more accommodating.
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284878 10:14 PM 03-12-2021
Originally Posted by e.j.:
If I worked your hours, I wouldn't be very accommodating, either. Those are long days! My kids are grown and my regular hours are 8-4, M-Th so I can usually be a little more flexible. I was much less accommodating when my kids were in school and I wanted them to be able to come home and not have to share their home and mom with the other kids.
8-4 in would love that too. My current hours are 830-6 M&W and 7-53 T&TH. I feel more worn out on M&W, that last 30 minutes suck.

When I was pregnant for ds, my hours were 930-415 two days and 8-53 the other two days.

Most providers here work 6-6, M-F, now that is nuts.
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CeriBear 07:06 AM 03-13-2021
I work in a center so we have to follow their guidelines. Parents are not allowed to drop off before we open and if they pick up after closing they are charged a late fee.
I do like for a parent to send me a text message or email if they are going to drop off later than 9 am or pick up before nap time is over. Most of them a pretty good about doing so—at least the parents this year.
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Valerie928 07:25 AM 03-13-2021
Originally Posted by Rockgirl:
I guess I’m not very accommodating. Anything outside my operating hours of M-F, 7:30-5:30 is a no-go.

When I was younger, I gave a little more in this area. Now it’s way easier to say no.
Same here, I was overly accommodating back in the day.
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Former Teacher 07:45 AM 03-13-2021
Originally Posted by CeriBear:
I work in a center so we have to follow their guidelines. Parents are not allowed to drop off before we open and if they pick up after closing they are charged a late fee.
I do like for a parent to send me a text message or email if they are going to drop off later than 9 am or pick up before nap time is over. Most of them a pretty good about doing so—at least the parents this year.
That's how it was my former center. I would open the center at 6:30 but get there at 6:15.

We had a parent who worked down the street but she started at 6:30. She asked me if she could drop off a few mins before 6:30. I was willing but I wanted her to pay instead of a late fee ($5 for the first 5 mins $1 each additional min) an early fee.

Then after I thought about, I didn't want to feel obligated to be at work if she wasn't going to be there. Plus I didn't want a monkey see monkey do situation. So I just told her that the insurance doesn't cover for incidents prior to 6:30.

She wasn't happy but oh well lol
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Tags:early arrival - policy, early arrival fee
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