25 Minutes Late!

[daycarediva]

On dcb's first week here, his Dad picked up 25 minutes past my closing (and 55 minutes past contracted hours).

DCM & DCD are divorced and DCM enrolled dcb here. DCD picks up on Wednesdays (was late 10 minutes but he said he had a hard time finding my house...let it go of course) and every other Friday. DCM is very respectful of my policies, and we get along great. DCB is a sweet kiddo who has done fantastic all week. No obvious behavior issues, and seems already adjusted to our routine. He hasn't even cried here and dcm says he gets excited when he gets ready to leave in the morning to go see Miss ***** & his friends. A little behind, he was the oldest in his group at a center & is a laid back kiddo, but nothing major.

I sent her a text when their contracted pick up time came and went and let her know dcd wasn't here. She apologized profusely and told me that SHE would pay the late fee Monday morning (and then correctly quoted my parent handbook in regards to late fees, even nailed the total after I texted her back & told her what time dcb was picked up).

My question is, how do you handle divorced parents? Do you have them BOTH sign forms? DCM is the custodial parent and their custody agreement is 80/20. I feel like DCD is responsible for the fees. I don't want dcm to incur them, but I don't want to let them slide either, and I don't want to get in the middle of their divorce, and I don't want this to be repeated by dcd just to 'get one over' on dcm.

wwyd?

[EchoMom]

IMO there's not really anything you can do about it. You have to enforce your policies and being that late is unacceptable. All you can do is give a copy of the late fee to each parent and it's up to them to figure out who's going to pay it. They will probably fight about it, but since they're divorced, obviously it's not the first thing they will have fought about.

It's not up to you to make sure all is "fair" and the correct person pays it.

So glad you're newbie is working out well! Yay!

[daycare]

On dcb's first week here, his Dad picked up 25 minutes past my closing (and 55 minutes past contracted hours).

DCM & DCD are divorced and DCM enrolled dcb here. DCD picks up on Wednesdays (was late 10 minutes but he said he had a hard time finding my house...let it go of course) and every other Friday. DCM is very respectful of my policies, and we get along great. DCB is a sweet kiddo who has done fantastic all week. No obvious behavior issues, and seems already adjusted to our routine. He hasn't even cried here and dcm says he gets excited when he gets ready to leave in the morning to go see Miss ***** & his friends. A little behind, he was the oldest in his group at a center & is a laid back kiddo, but nothing major.

I sent her a text when their contracted pick up time came and went and let her know dcd wasn't here. She apologized profusely and told me that SHE would pay the late fee Monday morning (and then correctly quoted my parent handbook in regards to late fees, even nailed the total after I texted her back & told her what time dcb was picked up).

My question is, how do you handle divorced parents? Do you have them BOTH sign forms? DCM is the custodial parent and their custody agreement is 80/20. I feel like DCD is responsible for the fees. I don't want dcm to incur them, but I don't want to let them slide either, and I don't want to get in the middle of their divorce, and I don't want this to be repeated by dcd just to 'get one over' on dcm.

wwyd?

I have them both sign contracts for rules but make one sign the tuition contract for daycare fees. Only one person can pay me.

I would take this up with the DCD. she cannot control what he does or does not do, so you need to have him sign a contract and let him know that he will be responsible for any late fees that occur during his pick up time.

Do you make them sign in and out???

[Lucy]

I have them decide who I'm doing business with - mom or dad. My contract is with ONE of them. They are who I go to for late payments, fees for late pickups, bounced checks, etc. etc. The other parent is merely an authorized pick-up person to me. The primary parent is the only one who pays me. If the money originates from the non-primary, then they must give it to the primary and the primary pays me from THEIR checking account. Otherwise it's a 3rd-party check, and I won't accept those just like a grocery store wouldn't. If non-primary is late picking up, then the primary parent can yell at them --- right after they pay me my late fee!

Any communications regarding upcoming closures, trips, etc. go through the primary parent. It's their responsibility to tell the other parent. Yes, I will discuss how our day went today if the non-primary picks the child up. Of course I would. But it's merely chit-chat just like it would be if Grandma picked them up.

Bottom line, I will NOT put myself in a position of dancing between the two of them to make sure things get communicated and payments get made. That's on them to organize between them. I report TO one person, and one person reports to ME. Period.

Makes life a ton easier. Trust me... it's from experience!!

[kitykids3]

I personally make both parents sign the forms if they are both participating in custodial care, esp. if they both will be involved in any contact with the daycare. For me, late fees are paid AT PICKUP, so I would have been asking dad to take care of it. He's the one that's late, he should pay it. Plus, those late fees are to help prevent it happening. If dad doesn't have to pay them, who's to say he's not going to keep being late? Then that causes more issues for you always waiting for him to pick up because he has no direct consequence.

[e.j.]

I have them decide who I'm doing business with - mom or dad. My contract is with ONE of them. They are who I go to for late payments, fees for late pickups, bounced checks, etc. etc. The other parent is merely an authorized pick-up person to me. The primary parent is the only one who pays me. If the money originates from the non-primary, then they must give it to the primary and the primary pays me from THEIR checking account. Otherwise it's a 3rd-party check, and I won't accept those just like a grocery store wouldn't. If non-primary is late picking up, then the primary parent can yell at them --- right after they pay me my late fee!

Any communications regarding upcoming closures, trips, etc. go through the primary parent. It's their responsibility to tell the other parent. Yes, I will discuss how our day went today if the non-primary picks the child up. Of course I would. But it's merely chit-chat just like it would be if Grandma picked them up.

Bottom line, I will NOT put myself in a position of dancing between the two of them to make sure things get communicated and payments get made. That's on them to organize between them. I report TO one person, and one person reports to ME. Period.

Makes life a ton easier. Trust me... it's from experience!!

In all the years I've been doing day care, I've never had to deal with a divorced couple. If I did, though, I would do it this way.

If the dcd continues to pick up late, I would ask that the dcm start doing pick ups as usual. The dcd can then pick the boy up at his mother's house instead of yours.

[bunnyslippers]

I had trouble with this once, too. I would definitely recommend onyl dealing with one of them on a business level. If the dad can't get it together, then it may have to fall to mom to do all the pick-ups, drop-offs.

In my situation, it was all smooth sailing...UNTIL, one day the dcg didn't arrive. I called her mother, and discovered dad was supposed to have dropped her off. It ended with a custody dispute, and the police had to retrieve the dcg from her father. After that, I only allowed mom in and out of my home. I had NO interest in worrying about who was coming, when they were coming, who was paying, etc. Holy mess that turned into!