familyschoolcare 05:46 PM 01-09-2013
DMy contact says that in addition to paying a late fee if a child is here 1 minute psst their contacted pick up time then I could either leave them with adult or take them with me if I had plans for myself or my family. If I take your child with me somewhere then the parent must pick them up wherever I am and are responsible for late fee charges until child is picked up. I have never had to do either of these. Starting next week on Wednesday I will need to, I have two families whose contract time is until 6:15 I will need to leave at 6:16 both of these families often push the time limit. Do you think I should mention this at pick up or send a letter?
Michael 05:49 PM 01-09-2013
daycare 06:31 PM 01-09-2013
Originally Posted by familyschoolcare:
DMy contact says that in addition to paying a late fee if a child is here 1 minute psst their contacted pick up time then I could either leave them with adult or take them with me if I had plans for myself or my family. If I take your child with me somewhere then the parent must pick them up wherever I am and are responsible for late fee charges until child is picked up. I have never had to do either of these. Starting next week on Wednesday I will need to, I have two families whose contract time is until 6:15 I will need to leave at 6:16 both of these families often push the time limit. Do you think I should mention this at pick up or send a letter?
I would talk face to face so that you know there was no way they did not get the info.
I would even post it on the door hours of operation are x to x. Late fees will apply after x.
bunnyslippers 07:56 AM 01-10-2013
I would make it a point to tell them face to face, and let them know that late pick up is not an option. Explain to them that you have to leave at 6:16. So they must be there and be out of your door by 6:15, no later. No exceptions or wiggle-room.
I also would take the "I am taking your child with me" possibility off of the table, or charge even more of a fee if you have to take the child with you (a really high amount). To me, that seems to leave them the opportunity to not arrive on time, b/c you will just cover for them.
I have no tolerance for late - it drives me bonkers!
MarinaVanessa 11:34 AM 01-10-2013
Sometimes you only have two choices when a DCP is late to pick up their child and you already have plans for the evening. You can either a) simply take the child with you and have it be the parent's responsibility to come to your location to get their child so that you can still make it to your planned appointment or you can b) not leave and wait until your DCP arrives for their child which can possibly make you late or completely miss your appointment.
Personally I would rather take the child along with me so that I can be where I was supposed to be on time. I personally won't call a DCP to warn them that I am leaving although I do remind them in advance and in person that I have an appointment or plans just to make sure that they are on time. If they aren't on time I simply start packing the child up in my car ... in most situation (when the DCP was only running a few minutes late) the DCP showed up as I was strapping a child in my car or as I was backing out of my driveway which in of itself will prove to the DCP that I'm not messing around. Be here on time because I'm not waiting for you.
If they are more than a few minutes late and I do leave with the DCK I don't call the parent or leave a note. They didn't have the courtesy of arriving on time so I won't have the courtesy of explaining where I am and I leave it up to them to call me when they finally arrive at my home and realize that I am not there and neither is their child. I've even left with a DCK and my husband was still home ... It is not my DH's responsibility to care for my client's children. When I do get that call I will tell them where I am and they now have to come and get their child. Once I tell them where I am I intentionally do not answer my phone. They must arrive, get out of their car and come and look for us. At the point that we are found by the parent that is the time that I stop counting their late fees.
If I run to Wal-Mart in the next time over it could take the DCP an additional 30-45 minutes to drive there, find parking, go inside and find us in addition to the time that they are already late ... yes I'm inconvenienced by having to take the child with me however it's all enough to prove the point that you are not messing around. Believe me this method works. I do not have any problems with people being late to pick their children up anymore because I do exactly this followed by the blank, unblinking and long uncomfortable silent stare when a parent finally finds me. I will simply look at the time, mention it to the parent and tell them that I'll give them their late fee total in the morning.
familyschoolcare 10:07 AM 01-11-2013
Told one family last night dad said he would take a shorter lunch on Wednesdays to insure no being late because he didn't want to go to other side of town to get his boys. Was going to mention it to the other family but mom called 20 minutes before closing saying she would be late because someone rearended her on the freeway.
FYI when I said these two families push the closing time what I ment was in close at6:15 and they get here between 6:10 and 6:15, last night was the first time either one of them has actually been late. I just know that the schedule doesn't leave room for life to happen.
blandino 10:19 AM 01-11-2013
Originally Posted by MarinaVanessa:
Sometimes you only have two choices when a DCP is late to pick up their child and you already have plans for the evening. You can either a) simply take the child with you and have it be the parent's responsibility to come to your location to get their child so that you can still make it to your planned appointment or you can b) not leave and wait until your DCP arrives for their child which can possibly make you late or completely miss your appointment.
Personally I would rather take the child along with me so that I can be where I was supposed to be on time. I personally won't call a DCP to warn them that I am leaving although I do remind them in advance and in person that I have an appointment or plans just to make sure that they are on time. If they aren't on time I simply start packing the child up in my car ... in most situation (when the DCP was only running a few minutes late) the DCP showed up as I was strapping a child in my car or as I was backing out of my driveway which in of itself will prove to the DCP that I'm not messing around. Be here on time because I'm not waiting for you.
If they are more than a few minutes late and I do leave with the DCK I don't call the parent or leave a note. They didn't have the courtesy of arriving on time so I won't have the courtesy of explaining where I am and I leave it up to them to call me when they finally arrive at my home and realize that I am not there and neither is their child. I've even left with a DCK and my husband was still home ... It is not my DH's responsibility to care for my client's children. When I do get that call I will tell them where I am and they now have to come and get their child. Once I tell them where I am I intentionally do not answer my phone. They must arrive, get out of their car and come and look for us. At the point that we are found by the parent that is the time that I stop counting their late fees.
If I run to Wal-Mart in the next time over it could take the DCP an additional 30-45 minutes to drive there, find parking, go inside and find us in addition to the time that they are already late ... yes I'm inconvenienced by having to take the child with me however it's all enough to prove the point that you are not messing around. Believe me this method works. I do not have any problems with people being late to pick their children up anymore because I do exactly this followed by the blank, unblinking and long uncomfortable silent stare when a parent finally finds me. I will simply look at the time, mention it to the parent and tell them that I'll give them their late fee total in the morning.
Good for you !! Really, that's how it should be done. I always love your straightforward approach. It's never mean it over-the-top, just rational and to the point.