missing activities

[Second Home]

What does everyone do when a child is late ( yes, the parent call to let me know) . Do you still begin your daily routine or wait until that child arrives .

I feel bad when a child misses circle time or our craft because they show up late , but then again it can throw off the whole day if I wait for everyone to arrive . I know it is not the child's fault and they are sad because they missed out on something that the other children did .

I try to plan big activities for the days where every child will be here , but get frustrated when I have to shift things around because someone is not here .

[spud912]

I just do it without them . It makes your job next to impossible to cater to all schedules.

[littleblossoms]

I have a cut off time for parents to drop off which is 9am. I donot answer my door after 9am and they are consideted absent and fees are still due.

So yes 9am is when snack and activities start and I continue with my day

[Play Care]

We go about our schedule. I do not wait nor do we usually have the time for the child to do whatever craft everyone else did. We do something artsy every day, so if a child expresses disappointment that they missed out on something I remind them that they'll have an opportunity to do a craft another day. All my dcks understand that.

[BumbleBee]

No, I don't wait. I go on with the schedule as usual. It stinks because the kids get upset when they miss out & I, too, feel guilty. But it's group care not individual care.

[Maria2013]

I have a cut off time for parents to drop off which is 9am.

same here!
It is something I started enforcing this year and It has made my days much, much easier, I regret not having thought about doing this sooner

[Play Care]

I also have a cutoff for drop off but occasionally have had parents ask for a later drop off due to appointments. Thankfully it's not often but it does happen. If they needed later drops offs daily then I wouldn't take them on.

[Leigh]

I would not wait. I don't even wait if we are leaving for the park or zoo or whatever. If the parents have not called to tell me that they are running late, I just leave. I won't give another parent the power to disrupt the day for all of us.

[daycare]

My door does not open after 9 am unless you have arranged with me in advance that you will arrive later. I don't allow arrivals after 9am.

I have 17 kids enrolled in my care, many of them are part time, so I could never hold out or not do a project because someone was not here.

I send out a calendar of what we will be doing for the month, parents know what is planned and if their child misses it that is on them. They are always welcome to do the project at home with their own supplies etc.