Gotta Love No Call/No Shows...Not

[PitterPatter]

First for an interview this weekend, now one of my dcfamilies.

*sigh*

I am too young to actually remember the days when common courtesy was actually common, and people actually RSVP'd to invitations and called when they were going to be late, etc, but still--I read, I know those days once existed.

As for the dcfamily that are over one hour late with no notice...I'm half tempted to pretend not to be here if/when they do finally show up. And I'm wondering whether they WILL actually show up or if they're gone for good.

Hiding in the house, I can see it telling the kids "shhh" ::

I had that prob a couple yr ago and put a fee in my contract after a parent who knew we were to leave for the zoo at 10:00am chose to take her time getting here and didn't show up until NOON! Of course the kids missed the zoo trip all due to her so I now have this is my contract:

If your child will be arriving late for any reason, please inform me as soon as possible so the day’s activities won't be held up waiting for your child to arrive. It is not fair to the other children in daycare to sit and wait for late arrivals or a child that may not even show up at all. If your child arrives more than 30 minutes late, a $5 fee will be applied. We have schedules to keep.
Also I do not accept any drop offs or pick ups during meal times as it would require me to leave the children unattended at the table.

[PitterPatter]

I have it specifically stated in the contract that daycare families pay for the day regardless of attendance and if a 1 hour notice isn't provided that DCK won't be coming, I charge a $10 convenience fee on top of it. It also states that 3 days of NCNS terms the contract and they will be liable for their normal rate, convenience fees, any applicable late charges, notice (since it wasn't given), etc.

I would play "mother hen" and call them saying you are worried, ask if everything is okay and if DCK's are attending today.

Becareful how often u use that though. I use to do that "mother hen" phone call, and after a while it became expected. I was barked at by a parent when I didn't call to see if she was coming. She had overslept. She finally got here and told me "You should have called me. Now I am late for work and I may be fired and u will lose a child from your daycare if I don't have a job." I asked her where in our contract does it state that I am required to provide a wake up call service? She apologized later that day.