Please Help

[Liliya]

May you please help me to write a note about late pick ups,for my newsletter. I am mad,my next door neighbor came 15 minutes late,I close at 5:30,he was here at 5:45 said:"sorry about that!" plus he put a 5:30 on my sing in/out paper. I checked after he left and could not believe it.
My late fees are $1/minute if they did not call to tell me that they are late.
Please help me to make it sound nice.

[kidkair]

I wouldn't put a reminder in the newsletter because of one parent. I would talk to the dad especially about incorrectly listing the time. I would say something like "Yesterday when you signed out you put the wrong time. I have corrected it for you. Please be sure to keep better track of the time in the future and call if you know you are going to be late." If he writes his checks before coming I would also add "With yesterday's late fee, your total this week is $***." Be sure that no other parents are around though as you talk to him. I had a client get very angry when I demanded a late payment before allowing care because I brought up the payment issue while another parent was in the house (she was in the coat room 10 ft away and talking to her kid).

[Liliya]

I want to put it in the newsletter,because I have another parent coming 5-10 minutes late often and I never in my 4 years doing child care charged somebody late fee and I do not want to charge them,All I want that to be off on time. I will tell him in the morning,,Thanks!

[kidkair]

I'm always right on top of my clients the first time they are late. It helps make sure that they are not late again. Here's how I would phrase something in a newsletter:
Reminders: It's getting cold so make sure your kids are dressed appropriately for outdoor play in the morning. Payments are due on Friday by 5pm. I close at 5:30pm and will enforce late charges for even one minute. Please be sure to sign in and out using exact times as mandated by the state. All of this helps me run the day smoothly and with less stress. Thank you for your help.

I'd add the extra reminders as fluff to cover the severity of the message and make it so that it fits all the parents not just the ones in the wrong.

[Liliya]

Super!!! Thank you so much!

[Liliya]

I do not mind much,when they are late like 5-10 minutes,but that one made me mad,because he was home,he is next door neighdor.

[MyAngels]

I want to put it in the newsletter,because I have another parent coming 5-10 minutes late often and I never in my 4 years doing child care charged somebody late fee and I do not want to charge them,All I want that to be off on time. I will tell him in the morning,,Thanks!

I feel the same way and I handle this a bit differently than many other providers. I put this in my contract:

"Please provide advance notice if your child will not be arriving or departing on your normal schedule. If an emergency arises and you must be late, I have to request that you call me promptly so I can make any adjustments to my schedule that may be necessary. It makes it very difficult for me to schedule appointments and activities if I cannot count on families picking up at their scheduled times. I do not charge a late fee to encourage prompt pick up within a reasonable time after work, usually within 15 to 30 minutes, so please be considerate.

I am open from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. I require that all children be picked up no later than 5:00 p.m."

This works very well for me, and I can't remember the last time anyone was here past about 4:45. You could put something like this in a reminder as well.