Do You Allow Parents To "Drop In" Anytime They Want?

[amberrose3dg]

"Yes, you can absolutely drop in to pick up your child anytime! I appreciate a heads up during nap hours, as it allows me to make the pick up as least disturbing to the others as possible, but you may drop in to pick up your child at anytime during the day."

Just to add, I did the one pick up/drop off policy for this reason. Other than parental piece of mind, it is usually disruptive to have them drop in, so in exchange for that disruption, I get one less kid to deal with.

lovethis
If you have time to just drop by I'm assuming you are picking up then. I will not keep a child that the parent has stopped by in the middle of the day to hang out. Go spend that time with your child outside of daycare.

[daycarediva]

Sure they can pop in whenever, but the kid goes with them when they leave.

My state regs say a parent has to have access to their child at any time during care.

I HIGHLY discourage rest time visits though, and it's the one time if it happens repeatedly I will let them go for it.

Happy mom- I wouldn't have let him leave without the kids.

[DaveA]

I allow it but make sure I explain to DCPs about not coming during naptime, the disruption that multiple in/ outs can cause in a child's day, etc. Honestly the only parent I ever had stop by was a DCD who worked from home in the same subdivision as me. We would see him while we were out on a walk or he would stop by if he ran to mail something occasionally. He had a diesel truck with a custom exhaust, so it wasn't like he was going to sneak by DCKs anyway. ::::::::

[Jupadia]

I let parents know they are welcome to come at any time without notice. But will have to pick up their child if they do so, I'll let parents know during interview that their child will not understand why they where here and then left again. I do discourage pickup during nap and ask ahead of time if parents can inform me of these pickups cause they disturbe nap time for all. (So far it's never been a problem with a family coming then). I tell the parents though your welcome to come any time that our schedule is flexible and o want to make sure where not in the middle of something that your child's not going tobwamt to leave so if you can let me know of pick ups outside of regular times.

[HappyEverAfter]

My policy says they can drop in anytime but are greatly discouraged from coming at nap times. If they come at meal time they are not allowed to bring any outside food for the child. I’ve actually only ever had one drop in and it was on an infant’s first day. Dcm didn’t bother the child and didn’t even hold him, just quickly popped in to see how he was doing and then went back to work.

[Mike]

My policy says they can drop in anytime but are greatly discouraged from coming at nap times. If they come at meal time they are not allowed to bring any outside food for the child. I’ve actually only ever had one drop in and it was on an infant’s first day. Dcm didn’t bother the child and didn’t even hold him, just quickly popped in to see how he was doing and then went back to work.

If they have to check up, it would work so much better for everyone if that was what parents did.

[MomBoss]

"Yes, you can absolutely drop in to pick up your child anytime! I appreciate a heads up during nap hours, as it allows me to make the pick up as least disturbing to the others as possible, but you may drop in to pick up your child at anytime during the day."

Just to add, I did the one pick up/drop off policy for this reason. Other than parental piece of mind, it is usually disruptive to have them drop in, so in exchange for that disruption, I get one less kid to deal with.

What does your pick up/drop off policy look like? I need to add one! A parent dropped off at 7:30 called me just now saying she got her child in for a doctor apt and will pick him up at 9:30 and drop him off after. This child has a hard time at drop offs! Great, now if he is dropped off after i put the other kids down for nap, hes going to wake everyone up!
How do i explain only one drop off and pick up in a policy? And why its disturbing to the child and our day to drop off and pick up multiple times.

[Snowmom]

Because of the law change here, I had to rephrase my naptime policy to: Scheduling pick up times during rest time disrupts the entire group’s rest time. Out of respect for the provider and the other families enrolled, please schedule your pick ups before 12:45pm or after 3:15pm.

We'll see how that flies with licensing this year.

I tell prospective families that I encourage family time. Which is why I base my rates on pick up time. I give those families that value their evening time with their child a lesser fee than those that utilize my services to the fullest extent.
I certainly would never keep a child from a parent. However, I also will not keep families that don't respect nap time.

[Snowmom]

What does your pick up/drop off policy look like? I need to add one! A parent dropped off at 7:30 called me just now saying she got her child in for a doctor apt and will pick him up at 9:30 and drop him off after. This child has a hard time at drop offs! Great, now if he is dropped off after i put the other kids down for nap, hes going to wake everyone up!
How do i explain only one drop off and pick up in a policy? And why its disturbing to the child and our day to drop off and pick up multiple times.

Multiple arrivals and departures are very confusing and misleading for children. There is to be only 1 drop off and 1 departure per day, per family. If there are siblings enrolled in care, both must be picked up at the same time to avoid disruption for the entire group.

[Blackcat31]

Because of the law change here, I had to rephrase my naptime policy to: Scheduling pick up times during rest time disrupts the entire group’s rest time. Out of respect for the provider and the other families enrolled, please schedule your pick ups before 12:45pm or after 3:15pm.

We'll see how that flies with licensing this year.

I tell prospective families that I encourage family time. Which is why I base my rates on pick up time. I give those families that value their evening time with their child a lesser fee than those that utilize my services to the fullest extent.
I certainly would never keep a child from a parent. However, I also will not keep families that don't respect nap time.

*sigh* Just completed my re-licensing visit last week.

You can't even say that.

You can't have ANYTHING written about nap time pick up at all but my licensor said we can say it all we want.
We just can't have anything written in our policies about pick up times other than parents can pick up any time they want.

[mommyneedsadayoff]

What does your pick up/drop off policy look like? I need to add one! A parent dropped off at 7:30 called me just now saying she got her child in for a doctor apt and will pick him up at 9:30 and drop him off after. This child has a hard time at drop offs! Great, now if he is dropped off after i put the other kids down for nap, hes going to wake everyone up!
How do i explain only one drop off and pick up in a policy? And why its disturbing to the child and our day to drop off and pick up multiple times.

Mine is under Pick Up/Drop Off Policy section and just says something like, "Pick up and drop offs can be a difficult transition time for children in daycare. Due to this, I allow for one pick up and one drop off per day. You are welcome to arrive anytime during the day to check on your child's care, but you must take your child with you when you leave. Please keep this in mind when scheduling appointments for your child during the day."

In your case, why is the kid going to the doc? If it is a well visit with vaccines, I also have a rule about being out of care a full 24 hours after shots, so I suggest they schedule appointments on fridays. I would probably text mom and let her know that if she plans to bring him back, he needs to be ready for lunch and nap (or whatever is on your schedule), so hopefully she keeps him on track.

[Blackcat31]

What does your pick up/drop off policy look like? I need to add one! A parent dropped off at 7:30 called me just now saying she got her child in for a doctor apt and will pick him up at 9:30 and drop him off after. This child has a hard time at drop offs! Great, now if he is dropped off after i put the other kids down for nap, hes going to wake everyone up!
How do i explain only one drop off and pick up in a policy? And why its disturbing to the child and our day to drop off and pick up multiple times.

Why is he going to the Dr?

I don't allow more than one drop off/pick up but I definitely don't allow kids to come directly from a Dr's appointment unless it was pre-arranged and for non-illness visits.

[LysesKids]

What does your pick up/drop off policy look like? I need to add one! A parent dropped off at 7:30 called me just now saying she got her child in for a doctor apt and will pick him up at 9:30 and drop him off after. This child has a hard time at drop offs! Great, now if he is dropped off after i put the other kids down for nap, hes going to wake everyone up!
How do i explain only one drop off and pick up in a policy? And why its disturbing to the child and our day to drop off and pick up multiple times.

I only allow one drop-off & one pick up per day... they pick up early for any reason, child is gone for they day; and what is the DR appointment for? illness or vaccination, 24 hr exclusion applies

[MomBoss]

Why is he going to the Dr?

I don't allow more than one drop off/pick up but I definitely don't allow kids to come directly from a Dr's appointment unless it was pre-arranged and for non-illness visits.

Wellness check? I think it was because he was sick last week and they are going on vacation in a couple days. There is no scheduled apt, mom was told to come in the morning and they will fit her in when they can. I told her have him fed before he comes back if he wont be here at 11 for our lunch time.

[Snowmom]

*sigh* Just completed my re-licensing visit last week.

You can't even say that.

You can't have ANYTHING written about nap time pick up at all but my licensor said we can say it all we want.
We just can't have anything written in our policies about pick up times other than parents can pick up any time they want.

Oh for heaven's sake.

I have a great licensor, but man, she's going to get an earful from me in May. I'm already PO'd that my middle schooler is going to have to get fingerprinted and get an FBI file created on her just because her mom wants a job in daycare. I'm so fed up with this state.