How Do You Handle The First No Call No Show?

[SunshineMama]

I have never had a no-call no show before, and, since I am still relatively new, I of course, have not addresed this in my handbook, other than to say that I need to be notified if the child will be more than 10 minutes late.

Do I call/text the parents and ask if the child is coming?

How should I handle this to ensure it does not happen again?

This is the dcb I sent home yesterday for diaharrea.

Thanks.

[countrymom]

hmmm I don't call, but I do charge for no shows. Its in my contract. Its their responsibility to call me, not me to chase them down. If it was an emergency and they called me later on, well then I would wave the fee, but otherwise they get charged.

[SunshineMama]

It's not in my contract though (another change I am making right now to it) to charge.

Should I charge them anyway? Give them a warning?

[MN Day Mom]

Myself, if I sent the child home sick the day before I wouldn't expect them the next day.

Other no shows, I will call or text just to make sure everything is okay... simply because I worry Otherwise my policy is I get paid whether or not the child is at care.

[dEHmom]

Just a tip, if you are adding the policy of no call/no show and say you will waive the fee if there is a valid reason ie. emergency, they will pull the emergency card everytime.

I have a no call no show policy of 3 times and you're out. I do not charge them for the no call/no show, but I am paid regardless of attendance.

First day I do not call and track them down. Second day if it's the same thing, I will contact and ask them if they were still needing their spot, and if they are I advise that they've used up 2 nc/ns and 1 more they will be let go. If they don't answer their phone I will leave a message nicely stating that I have not heard from them, and if they are not attending they must let me know BEFORE their scheduled drop off time. I hate it when parents think they can phone halfway through the day to tell me kids not coming!


I also was thinking the same as MN Day Mom regarding illness. IF I send a kid home, I advise parents they may not return for at least 24 hours. Which would be an agreement that they would not be in the following day. But I do ask them to keep in touch so I know how the child is feeling.

[DaisyMamma]

I get paid if the child comes or not. In this case it sounds like he is sick. You could call to see how he's feeling.

[Blackcat31]

I charge a flat weekly rate so they are charged for the day regardless but I would perhaps call or text to see if all is well.

When I used to charge by the day and allow for absences, I would have charged the family for a "No Show". In order to take the day and use a credit, they were required to let me know 30 minutes PRIOR to their scheduled drop off time. If they failed to call by then or called after their scheduled drop off time, they were still billed for the day.

I find it hard to believe that a parent doesn't already know 30 minutes prior to drop off that they weren't coming so I always felt comfortable with that time frame. Worked well for years.

This is another example of 3 written warnings too. If they didn't inform you of thier absence and simply "No Showed" you, then I would give them written warning and after 3 written warnings, it was grounds for termination. Failing to notify your provider is another example of disrespectful behavior.

[CheekyChick]

If the child went home sick and you require him to be well for 24 hours prior to returning to daycare, then I'm guessing they assume you would know the child is home sick. I would just e-mail them to check in on the child and make sure he's okay.

[SunshineMama]

The Classic Teething Excuse

I ended up sending a text message to DCM and asked if everything was okay, and she said he had a loose stool yesterday but she wouldnt call it diaharrea, and thought it was teething.

This is the same family who thought his Hand Foot and Mouth sores were from teething too.

[MarinaVanessa]

I would really consider changing to charging a weekly flat fee. I've found that when parents have to pay for the spot instead of for attending they're less likely to not show up period (try to get their money's worth).

I do this for both full and part-time clients. If my pt client wants M-W-F then they pay for 3 days a week (at a higher rate than FT) whether they come or not. Attendance is based on enrollment, not attendance. I also have in my handbook that clients need to call by 8am if their child is not going to attend or wil be late. If they don't call by 8am and they don't arrive at their scheduled drop-off time then I can assume that they are not coming and I can fill their spot with a drop-in child or I may leave my home and take the DC kids out and I may not be here should they just be running late and then just show up. You may want to think about adding somthing like this to your contract.

If your clients want to continue to pay-as-you-go then they should be considered as drop-in clients and their spot is not guaranteed. They should also be charged a slightly higher hourly rate than FT/PT. The less time they spend in DC the higher your rate should be. This will encourage clients to have a set and regular schedule.

[thatdivalady]

Wow, this just happened to me! Is there something in the water? No call no show and we called to find out how the child was. Finally received a text from the parents stating that the daughter was sick. *Ummm so why didn't we get a call that day?* Then she did not show up today and we did call again just to check and see if she was coming tomorrow. Around 3 hours later we got a text saying that she was but never answered the question about why she was seen.

Aside from determining that they were okay, I really had no issues aside from the lack of respect to actually call and let us know. I charge per week and as long as I am open and the children are able to be watched, I do not offer any credits for unused time. Especially when there was no courtesy call on the part of the parent.

When I start to feel bad for the parent I remember that private schools do not offer refunds, landlords don't give you credits, etc. It helps me stay strong