What Is Your Late Policy?

[coolconfidentme]

EVERYONE is late or called in at the last minute. I could be thankful, but I get up at 5am to drive to my daycare & could have slept in until 8am.

With that said, I want to revisit my policies & tardiness is one of them. I'm tired of the no call/no show. I should not have to text & ask, "Is jonny coming to daycare today?"

I currently have Be courteous and arrive on time. Late arrival does not justify late departure. What is your policy & how do you enforce it?

[Blackcat31]

I drive in 7 miles each day as well. My policy is that parents are required to notify me a minimum 30 minutes PRIOR to their scheduled arrival time if they are going to be late OR not in attendance for the day.

Failure to notify me results in me marking the child absent for the day and recording it as a NO Show/NO Call.

After 3 No Shows/No Call's I reserve the right to terminate care.


In this day and age of cell phones and electronic communication there really is NO valid excuse.

I enforce it by making sure my families know I AM serious and WILL follow through.

[Unregistered]

Mine are all tied to $$$$. If parents are paying for the time, their kids are generally here.

When they felt they were paying for all of my open hours, they came when they wanted. But they pared their contracted hours down to what they actually need when I tied my rate schedule to specific times.

It makes rates a bit more complicated, but I usually only need to calculate it all once a year, which gives them their normal rate, and then we are all set. I love knowing that I don't have to get up early once or twice a week because nobody contracted for the early hours.

[coolconfidentme]

I drive in 7 miles each day as well. My policy is that parents are required to notify me a minimum 30 minutes PRIOR to their scheduled arrival time if they are going to be late OR not in attendance for the day.

Failure to notify me results in me marking the child absent for the day and recording it as a NO Show/NO Call.

After 3 No Shows/No Call's I reserve the right to terminate care.


In this day and age of cell phones and electronic communication there really is NO valid excuse.

I enforce it by making sure my families know I AM serious and WILL follow through.

Mine are contracted hours. Two of parents contacted me this morning telling me their child had spent the night elsewhere & will not be in today. This info could have been giving to me yesterday..., not at the time I expected them here. They are still paying for not being here so they really don't care.

What policy can I put into effect for this situation?

[Blackcat31]

Mine are contracted hours. Two of parents contacted me this morning telling me their child had spent the night elsewhere & will not be in today. This info could have been giving to me yesterday..., not at the time I expected them here. They are still paying for not being here so they really don't care.

What policy can I put into effect for this situation?

I have contracted times too...

In reality, it sounds like it doesn't have anything to do with your policies or lack of but has more to do with simple lack of "thinking" on the parents part....

If they KNEW the child was not coming the night before but didn't tell you until this morning, I would address it DIRECTLY with them. (phone call, e-mail text...whatever works..)

"You know Sue, I understand when your child wakes up ill and you need to let me know last minute that he will be absent but when you KNOW the night before but don't bother mentioning it to me until right before drop off, I feel very disrespected. I would appreciate it if you could be more considerate in the future and try and let me know as far in advance as possible as I do juggle MULTIPLE schedules/families on a daily basis."

Then I would just leave it at that.....hanging.....so the parent feels put on the spot. Because they SHOULD.

In cases of simple lack of respect, I DIRECTLY address it so the parents knows and FEELS my unhappiness about it.

You could also apply the same policy I mentioned above and require notification the morning of, for unplanned illness but require 24 hours notice or the night before notice for other occasions such as staying at grandmas or stuff like that.

So if they call this morning and tell you something they could have and should have told you the night before, make that Strike 1...

[DaisyMamma]

EVERYONE is late or called in at the last minute. I could be thankful, but I get up at 5am to drive to my daycare & could have slept in until 8am.

With that said, I want to revisit my policies & tardiness is one of them. I'm tired of the no call/no show. I should not have to text & ask, "Is jonny coming to daycare today?"

I currently have Be courteous and arrive on time. Late arrival does not justify late departure. What is your policy & how do you enforce it?

OMG!
5am! and 3 hours! NOT OK.......I have no idea, but looking for the responses, as I have a measly 1/2 early arrival who rarely shows that early.

[DaisyMamma]

I have contracted times too...

In reality, it sounds like it doesn't have anything to do with your policies or lack of but has more to do with simple lack of "thinking" on the parents part....

If they KNEW the child was not coming the night before but didn't tell you until this morning, I would address it DIRECTLY with them. (phone call, e-mail text...whatever works..)

"You know Sue, I understand when your child wakes up ill and you need to let me know last minute that he will be absent but when you KNOW the night before but don't bother mentioning it to me until right before drop off, I feel very disrespected. I would appreciate it if you could be more considerate in the future and try and let me know as far in advance as possible as I do juggle MULTIPLE schedules/families on a daily basis."

Then I would just leave it at that.....hanging.....so the parent feels put on the spot. Because they SHOULD.

In cases of simple lack of respect, I DIRECTLY address it so the parents knows and FEELS my unhappiness about it.

You could also apply the same policy I mentioned above and require notification the morning of, for unplanned illness but require 24 hours notice or the night before notice for other occasions such as staying at grandmas or stuff like that.

So if they call this morning and tell you something they could have and should have told you the night before, make that Strike 1...

But in reality people can be dishonest if it benefits them. They would simply call and say that the kid is sick eventhough they stayed with grandma or whatever, just to avoid the strike.

[Blackcat31]

But in reality people can be dishonest if it benefits them. They would simply call and say that the kid is sick eventhough they stayed with grandma or whatever, just to avoid the strike.

Yeah, but deliberate dishonesty is grounds for IMMEDIATE termination so if they want to risk that...then that is their choice.

I am not going to follow grown people around begging for maturity...kwim?

Plus, unless their child is under a yr old, they talk.

[DaisyMamma]

Plus, unless their child is under a yr old, they talk.

::::::::
so true

[coolconfidentme]

It is a total lack of respect. I'm sorry doesn't cut it when it is repetitive. I'm sure they would not want me to wait until the last minute to say I wasn't going to be here.

I could implement the 24 hour notice for non sickness issues with a 3 strikes rule. If they use the child is sick again, could I require a note from a doctor stating the child is well enough to attend daycare? Maybe if they are sick X amount of times in a calendar year? idk...

[Blackcat31]

It is a total lack of respect. I'm sorry doesn't cut it when it is repetitive. I'm sure they would not want me to wait until the last minute to say I wasn't going to be here.

I could implement the 24 hour notice for non sickness issues with a 3 strikes rule. If they use the child is sick again, could I require a note from a doctor stating the child is well enough to attend daycare? Maybe if they are sick X amount of times in a calendar year? idk...

....That's a good idea! You could definitely go that route...

I'd like to say all parents would be honest but we know that is not the case with some.

And yes, I'm sorry doesn't necessarily make it better.

[coolconfidentme]

Crazy how they say their child is sick, but other times they send them in knowing they are NOT well enough for daycare, .