Parents 2 hours and 15 minutes late at pick up

[mlle.coccinelle]

I am SO SUPER FREAKING UPSET!
First it took them 1hour and 15 minutes before reaching me... ( I was trying to call after 15 minutes and no one was answering at home/work/cellphone) the dad said oh, worry about this, my wife was suppose to pick her up i don't understand what happen! I'll be there in 30 minutes ( he works across town so its understandable) ......45 minutes later, I call back he said sorry I stopped at the house, i'm almost there...

they allready have ( get ready to have your mind BLOWNED) 112$ in late fees this month. How freaking unbelivable is this. My husband and I had a nice diner and movie date night planned, we even managed to get a babysitter for our son ( and that is really hard for me do to since I don't trust anyone)

I told the Dad that this is their last chance, Also gave them a written notice... I just want to scream!

Am I being too nice?

[gcj]

yes you are being too nice! I would say that all late fees must be paid before you resume care.....IF you resume care.

[Momof4]

Oh my goodness, I'm sorry because I hate to say this but you are not only being waaay too nice but you are being a doormat that these people are wiping their feet upon. What exactly did your 'written notice' say to them. I would not have any problem giving this family a letter of warning on Monday telling them that you will not tolerate any more late days and that if they are ever late again they are done. Are you advertising to replace them?

[mimi]

Stopped by the house????? Get your late fees and have a very serious chat with this couple. They should not be allowed to be late ever again or it means termination.
Sorry to hear to hear your date night was ruined. Be strong. Be firm.

[KingstonMom]

omg, I dont think I would resume care until ALL of their late fees were paid in full..This is incredibly rude of them to show up this late.. Regardless of the reasoning.

[crafty]

Yup as KingstonMom said. They must pay all their late fees before you can take in their child again ... an NO MORE LATE PICK or BYE BYE. That is very very wrong. You have a life and their child should be their priority not YOURS.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Lateness is NOT an option here ... late fees of $1/minute are paid the DAY they are incurred, a reminder that issues with 'lateness' will result in termination of the contract and forfeiting of their security deposit is a part of their signed contract AND my handbook also indicate that if a child is still in my care 60 minutes after 'closing' that Children's Aid Society will be called because that is and issue of 'neglect and abandonment' not being LATE ;)

Seriously that is UNACCEPTABLE ... how do you not notice that for 1 hour and 15 minutes y our child is essentially MISSING from where they are suppose to be? And when your provider calls to inform you that you DID FORGET YOUR KID you do not stop at HOME first before rushing to get to them!

[mom-in-alberta]

I am speechless.... :blink:
Honestly, that would be it for me. After incurring over $100 in late fees, and then showing up over 2 hours late?? I would be DONE. Notice of termination would have been ready when they (finally) showed up to pick up the child.
Bless your heart, but yes, you are being too nice. I would not allow any more lateness. Stop charging late fees, because they obviously don't care. I would let them know on Monday that the current late fees are due immediately, or care will not be provided on Tuesday.
Good heavens, how inconsiderate this family is.

[apples and bananas]

That would be the end of it for me. I'd be super nice until I recieved payment then ... here's you letter... bu bye!

You are going to feel so much better when they are gone.

[Momof4]

...........You are going to feel so much better when they are gone.
YES! I'm about to terminate a family and I've been so torn about it. I've been asking people I trust for advice because I feel like I should keep trying and trying but I received the best advice and it is exactly what apples and bananas just said. Envision your life without the problem family and how much brighter your days will be after they are gone.

[ladyjbug]

Umm, wow. My jaw dropped reading this.

There is no way I could ever accept people who would be fine leaving their kid 2 hours and 15 minutes late. They would be gone. If I couldn't reach them within 15 minutes, then emergency contacts would be called. If I couldn't reach the contacts, then children's services would be called. What if it was an emergency? They need to pick up your calls! Wow. Wow. Wow.

If you want to keep them, I would be charging a late fee of AT LEAST a dollar a minute, PLUS an inconvenience fee of whatever your fun evening would have cost (the cost of a movie/treats, your dinner and what you were paying your babysitter). If they balk at all, BUH-BYE. My time is precious to me. It is worth more than any late fee. If they are okay racking up the late fees, then it is not high enough. If they are late even 30 seconds after this, BUH BYE. Wow, just wow. That poor kid.

[Bugaboo]

I heard of something similar happening to a provider in my area so I added to my contract that if a parent is more than one hour late and I have tried all their contact methods I will consider it an emergency and contact Child Services and/or the police.

I think you will have to seriously consider terming this family. I agree with PP your late fees need to be collected immediately.

Good luck with everything...what a disrespectful thing to do- not just to you but to their child.

[DeeDee]

Oh my yes! Get your money and just terminate! No more chances!!

[monkeymama]

As others have mentioned, I am just speechless! This borders on neglect for me, tbh...they didnt even notice he wasnt there and then took their sweet time to get him?!?! How sad....I had a dcm be 30 mins late once and her daughter was devestated, poor thing thought mommy wasnt coming to get her ( she was 4 and could tell time so knew every day when mom was suppose to pick up) I cant imagine how this boy felt....I would have made it very clear how unacceptable that was, how disrespectful, I would have collected my late fees and said dont let the door hit you on the way out!!!!!! I really hope you made it clear how ridiculous this is and that they are on very thin ice.

[dodge__driver11]

Umm no...Dear... that's just horrible :( in my parent handbook it states that if you are more than 1 hour late for your child it is considered abandonment, and I call social services to intervene.

[gravy_train]

I can't believe this! My pick-up time is not negotiable. I am very clear on this during the interview process. I have obligations with my family outside of my work day and that is not something I am willing to compromise. My contract states that I charge a late fee of $20 per 5 minutes and that late pick-up is grounds for termination.
I understand that once in a while there may be an incident that is truly out of the parents hands (ie. a snow storm or traffic), but personally I know that I would feel very resentful if I had parents disrespect me and my family (not to mention their child) like this. I wouldn't be able to get over it and would terminate care with them.

[Fearlessbaby]

I'm changing my policy right now and being VERY specific as to paying Late Fees and the consequences of not paying,,,, I think it's great to know before the problems happen how to handle them- and parents then have firm consequences for being late like that- that is so disrespectful and they need to learn that they can't behave like that- I also feel sorry for the kid, poor thing waiting for his tardy parents!:ohmy:

[kidlove]

oh, I had a family like this once....it didn't end well! my advice to you. start looking to replace. Given this isn;t the first time...it wont be the last! Do your self a favor and move on. I had the very same thing happen a few years back, this family was so screwed up, I was the ONLY stable thing in this little guys life, so I put up with so much more than I would have with anyone else and held on to him a lot longer than I should have. One night same as you, my hubby and I were going out to the movies, and had arranged for the kids to go to my parents for the night.....we waited until just before the movie for the mother to show up, no answers on her cell ,no answers at their home, so we drove our kids to gramma and grampas, by that time we had missed the movie but figured we still have the night together, drove around town with her kid in the backseat, looking for her...found her at a subway....SUBWAY? 8pm at night, she was supposed to pick up before 6....I was MAD:cursing:...bring him into the subway to her...she is standing in line on her cell phone....looks at him, looks at me, says "thanks" doesn't get off her phone, doesn't say sorry, doesn't even give her kid a hug.......aaaahhhh! I turned and walked away.......about two weeks later, I reached my boiling point, while exercising in my basement 45 minutes after closeing, with her son on the couch down there watching cartoons...she comes to the door....."sorry I'm late" :huh:.....I say. "me too" and I'm sorry you are a negligent Mother AND I am sorry but I have to let you go! she yelled, I yelled, she yelled, I yelled! she left, thank God! moral of the story? Don't let this be you, end it before it gets ugly! ;)

[sunnydays]

The only excuse I can think of remotely accepting for this kind of lateness would be if the parents had been in a terrible accident and were practically dying! This is totally unacceptable and short of teh dying on the side of the road scenario...any lame excuses would be met with a termination letter from me! Terrible as I would feel for the child, I could not have someone's negligence affecting me and my family in that way.