What Grace Period Do You Allow For Drop Off??

[jenn]

I am open from 7:15-6:00pm. They are all welcome at any time during these hours. I charge a flat daily rate, so it doesn't matter to me if you are here 4 hours or the whole time, you pay the same. That might not sound fair, but it's just easier for me to keep track of.

[pandamom]

Does anyone know how the centers do it? I have a child here with divorced parents and he arrives anywhere from between 7:30-10:30. It drives me nuts, as he is my only one on MWF. They do not tell me in advance.

The reason I ask about centers is b/c he was in a center up until 2 months ago, and I'm curious if they are just taking advantage of me, or if they were doing it there too.

I don't mean to highjack this tread, but it doesn't seem to warrant a second post.

I work at a center. Children can arrive any time of the day. I have some of my kids dropped off during lunch or even the middle of nap sometimes

[solarismoon]

Communicate with Parents from the Beginning

On my website and in my communications via email, parents learn up front during the enrollment process that the schedule they give me needs to be accurate, and if they need changes, which I am happy to accommodate, they need to notify me at least the day before during business hours, i.e. not calling me at 9pm or sending an email after I've gone to bed that they'll be there a half hour earlier in the morning.

My door stays unlocked when I am expecting parents for drop-off and pick-up, and my front blinds stay closed until I am open and during nap time. I let parents know if they arrive earlier than scheduled to please wait patiently in their car until the blinds are open and I am ready to welcome them.

The door is locked otherwise so there is no chance they will be in my house while I'm still in the shower, asleep or otherwise engaged.

I have had parents, very rarely, who felt they were the exception. One parent told me they thought they should be able to arrive 15 minutes early and not have to wait outside. They would knock and ring the bell and call until I came to the door, even if it meant I had to not finish in the bathroom (you know what I'm saying) to deal with their rude arrival. They didn't feel they needed to call ahead or arrange an earlier drop-off the day before, or even pay for late pick-up for that matter. In their mind that was unreasonable on my part. That family was soon dismissed. I tried to work with them for a couple of months, but they were determined I would provide care on their terms, rather than my own written policies.

My feeling is if we don't have a mutually respectful partnership, and if you do not value my time, I am not the right provider for you, and you should look for someone who can accommodate your needs better. Sometimes parents just need gentle reminders and sometimes they need a little firmer nudge, but most do adjust their habits so it doesn't adversely affect your scheduled day.

As for a final drop-off time, in the past, when we ran just a preschool, I did have a final drop-off time when we 'closed' our doors so to speak after 10am. If they arrived after then they would find a locked door, and if I did open it I would explain they were late and we had already started our day, and I hoped to see them at the regular time the next day. It was very hard to turn a parent away, and we did a couple of times, but those families NEVER came late again, and they didn't leave, so I would say it was very effective.

I am open now as a home childcare, and only available for the hours parents schedule their child to be in care. If they schedule a regular 8am drop-off, and show up randomly at 8:30am, 9am, 8:45am, I speak with them, let them know I've noticed they are coming later than originally discussed, and ask if they would like to adjust their drop-off schedule. Like you guys, I HATE waiting for parents, too, especially when they are my first drop-off, and I could have slept longer or taken care of personal needs rather than waiting uncomfortably for them to arrive. I have found that sometimes parents are unaware they are coming as late as they are, and just bringing it up often makes them more mindful of their times and solves the issue. Otherwise they are usually OK adjusting their arrival time to be later, with an understanding that if they need an occasional earlier drop-off, they can let me know the day before at pick-up or call before I close to arrange it.

We don't currently have an end time for arrivals, though. If we have plans to be at the library story-time for example, and a parent asks for a later drop-off at the last minute, I let them know they can bring their child to the library, or meet us wherever we are, rather than us cancelling or being late. I DO ask parents not to pick-up or drop-off at nap time, and if they must, to wait for me outside, and I will bring their child to them when they specify. That way the napping children aren't disturbed as much, and dropping off I do the same thing only in the reverse, I'll meet them outside and bring their child inside for them.

My parents pay based on # of hours in care. Part-time is up to 4 hours in a day, full-time rates go to 9 hours, and then over that is additional charges. If a family arrives early or late and they go into the next rate they are responsible for that difference. If not there is no additional charge. I also charge additional daily rates for arrivals before 7:30am and pick-ups after 4:30pm. So that would factor in as well.

[MarinaVanessa]

I voted "I don't care". Let me explain ...

I don't answer my door before business hours ... this is my only exception.

If I open at 7am and someone shows up earlier than their drop off time and I don't already have kids in care (unannounced drop-off) then I can decide whether or not I'm ready or not to take on a child. If I'm busy or had plans for the morning then I'll say no and ask them to come back later. If I'm not busy and it's not an inconvenience then I'll accept the child but charge a penalty fee well over their usual rate (way more than my drop-in rate).

If I a parent wants to drop off their child early unannounced and I already have kids in care then I'll accept them and charge the penalty fee.

If they drop off late without telling me, I don't really care. My clients pay a flat weekly fee so they are paying for their spot. If they use their time or not doesn't really bother me. I go about my day like normal. If they miss activities or if I'm away from my home etc. then it's their inconvenience, not mine. If they are not here at the time or before meals, snacks, activities, outings etc. then they don't participate. I don't call my clients to find out if they are coming or not, I do not go out of my way to feed a child that was not here on time for meals or snacks, I do not open my door at nap time, I do not come back if I am out of my house with the other kids etc. I do have it in my policies that if they are more than 15 minutes late without notice I assume that they will not be coming, which I do ... if they arrive after that however (and if I have room and haven't filled it with a drop-in child) they can stay. No penalty fees.

[AnneCordelia]

I dont ever want to see anyone before 7am. Otherwise they can arrive anywhere from 7-8am. We leave for our school walk at 8am sharp so they must be here and ready to go. I oftwn head to playgroup or the park after the school drop so they cant drop after. So my cutoff is 8am.

Of course Im not unreasonable and can be back by 9am if previously arranged for a late arrival. I wont do it often though...just once in a very long while.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I turn on the porch light EXACTLY at 8:00 AM to signal that I am open. I will not open the door before then (UNLESS you scheduled an early arrival with me, and at that point you have to show up between 7:00 AM-7:20 AM in order to be let in).

I then leave the door unlocked for 1 hour for any stragglers to come in. For all families that are interviewing now, I stress to them that arrival time is between 8:00-8:30 as we have a busy schedule. I haven't had any issues with new clients. I only have one that consistently comes anywhere from 8:20-9:15 AM every single morning that has been enrolled for a year. I will wave hello and continue on with what I'm doing with the children and pay no mind.

I don't like late arrivals, which is why I have made it a big point to tell new families that they must arrive between 8:00-8:30 (the children eat breakfast and then we do math during this time).

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Almost all my parents have a contracted drop off time of 7:30am - so that's technically when I "open". I do not unlock my door a moment sooner.

I do not allow drop offs after 9am, unless child has a doctor appointment.

As long as a parent drops off between 7:30-9:00am it's fine. Though, I serve breakfast at 8am - if a child isn't here by 8:01am they miss out!

I have a 10 minute drop off window for breakfast. If you arrive later than 8:10 AM then breakfast will not be served.

[earlystart]

I don't exactly have contracted times, they can come and go any time between my operating hours of 7:30 am - 5:30 pm. I have a section in my handbook with a strong suggestion of drop off before 9 am so they can have breakfast and be here early enough to get their energy out so they will be ready for nap by 12:30.

[earlystart]

Does anyone know how the centers do it? I have a child here with divorced parents and he arrives anywhere from between 7:30-10:30. It drives me nuts, as he is my only one on MWF. They do not tell me in advance.

The reason I ask about centers is b/c he was in a center up until 2 months ago, and I'm curious if they are just taking advantage of me, or if they were doing it there too.

I don't mean to highjack this tread, but it doesn't seem to warrant a second post.

Most centers allow parents to drop off at any time, it's just a suggestion that they arrive in the morning to participate in circle time and activities, and avoid nap time pick ups/drop offs. They can also pick up at any time.

[nanglgrl]

My clients can drop off at their contracted time, they can drop off up to 15 minutes late once in a while without notice, if they are going to be over 15 minutes late they need to call me before hand. They can't drop off between 9 am and 3 pm (I close at 3:30). I don't let people drop off a child after 9 because the child has usually slept in (most often because they don't feel 100%) so they throw the rest of the kids off when they won't nap and aren't hungry for lunch because they just ate breakfast. I also don't allow it because I've found that when a child sleeps in its a good indicator they are coming down with something.