Can you tell me what your policies are for time of pick up when calling parents for pickup? What about if your child is sick. I had a parent who didn't return my call for 30 min and didn't pick up for 55 min and thinks that it wasn't excessive. She is asking for my specific policy and exactly how many minutes she has to pick up after I call. I have never had a set policy because all of my parents usually pick up so quickly. In this case, it was my son who was sick. But I'm not sure if that should matter.

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My policy is if I need them to pick up for any reason they need to be here within 45 minutes. I'll give them a few minutes extra if I know they have a job that's hard to walk away from or they work out of town. I don't tell them that though.

I expect parents to contact me within 10 minutes of me calling/texting. I start with the parent that I think can be pulled away from work easier. I call their cell then if they don't answer I call their work and leave amessageif I need to. If no contact within 10 minutes then I do the same for the other parent. If no contact from either after ten more minutes then I start calling emergency contacts. If I can't get ahold of anyone, then we have a problem.

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My own kids are now grown and moved out… I give daycare families a max of 60 minutes to pick up for illness, After 60 minutes is a charge of $10 per 15 minutes sick childcare fee. Never had to charge extra fee

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No offense , but 10 minutes is expecting a lot… my parents can't always check except every 20-30 minutes… I give 60 minutes to show up. Never had a parent taken over 30 minutes to text/call me when a kid is ill

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I call both their cell AND work. So they at least get a message that I need a call back ASAP. I've never had a problem... they just sneak to the side and either text me or call me real fast to see what's going on. It takes about a minute for them to do that. I'm also not just sitting there counting down the minutes. It also depends on the situation. If their child is just mildly ill but still needs to go home I'm not as eager to get a call back... but if it's urgent then I pay closer attention to how long it's been.

I don't expect them to be here right away... I just want an acknowledgment of some sort that they know there's a situation. I also always start with the parent that I KNOW can sneak away and call me back.

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Thanks, that helps. I had tried her cell, husband's cell, both work numbers and had to track down a number for her main office where they said she was out of the office and nobody knew where she was. I was more frustrated by making so many phone calls to track her down. If I would have gotten a I'm on my way, it probably would have been less of an issue.

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I give 60 minutes and then it is $1/minute late charge.

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I have 2 policies:

1. I must be able to contact a parent or guardian while their child is in care. If I call and leave a message I expect a return call within 10 minutes. If no return call, I will go down the list of emergency contacts in order.

2. Once I have spoken with a parent/guardian/emergency contact, that person has 60 minutes to arrive at my house and pick up the child.

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I give 15 minutes to reply to initial contact and 45 minutes to pickup.

We live in a smaller community where 45 minutes is PLENTY.

If no one replies after 15 minutes, I call the numbers on their contact lists.

If child is still here after 60 minutes, I start billing extra

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See because of where I live & because of parents jobs, 60 minutes is the least I can ask for pick-up… everyone of my parents has a minimum 20-30 minute commute to me and then another 20-30 to work. Some work in cell phone "dead zones" too, so I have to give a few extra minutes for a return call/text.

I have moms that are acting as single parents due to hubby being out of town (2 Army and one is a pilot… she's my drop-in mom), so I had to make a few adjustments for illness

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Love your user name.

I can't keep kids who don't have a parent immediately accessible by phone. It's not safe. I would tell her that she MUST take your calls and be available immediately when her child is in your house. In this day and age it is ridiculous that a responsible adult isn't seconds away by phone.

Once they are called I give them 15 min plus travel time.

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I just had a long talk with her in reply to the email I sent her. She explained that she doesn't always have her phone and sometimes she goes to the bathroom, gets a drink, has a conversation and doesn't take her phone so it might be 20 min. When my son is at daycare my phone is right next to me all the time so I really don't get that but once I explained that if there were an emergency that required me to call 911, her child would already at the hospital by himself because I would be here with the other children. And if my child were hurt he would be there until someone got there. I think she got it a little more. I am hoping she got it. We will see. Thanks for your input, it was really helpful.

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