Wording on hour change letter

I am planning to change my hours once I have one more client (who will come in under the new hours)

I will be giving all my current clients 2 week notice of the change.

Could you please read over the letter I have written and let me now if its ok or if I should change any of the wording.

Thank you for your help


My hours are changing

As of ________, 2013 my new hours of operation will be 7:00am to 5:00pm.

Between _______, 2013 and July 1, 2013 my drop off and pick up times will be as followed:

Drop off between 7:00am and 8:00am, by the daycare clock.

If you will be late do to an appointment I will need in written at least 24 hours before hand. As of 8:00am I will no longer be answering my phone/door. If you are later then 8:00am, without notifying me 24 hours in advance, you will not receive care for that day. But since I am still open you will still have to pay for the day.

I am finding that having children show up at different times to be very disruptive to our schedule. It also confuses the child, making it harder for the child to adjust to daycare.

If there is a winter storm, this policy does not apply.

Pick up between 3:00pm and 5:00pm, by the daycare clock.

If you need to pick up your child before 3:00pm, You must pick up by 11:45am, as quiet time now starts at 12:00pm.

There will be NO pick ups between 12:00pm and 3:00pm. Starting in September 2013, I will be doing a school pick up at 2:20 and may or may not be back before 3:00pm.

As of 5:00pm, by the daycare clock, a late fee will apply to all who are still in the daycare. So if you need to talk to me or need to get your child ready, make sure you are here before 5:00pm. This does not apply to those family's who are with an agency. For all family's constantly being late will result in termination.

Starting July 2, 2013 The following will be the new drop off times:

In order to get the children use to the doing a school drop off each morning, the new drop off time will be:

Drop Off between 7:00am and 7:40am.

As of 7:40am we will be practicing a school drop off. We may or may not be returning to the daycare. If the weather is nice out we might have a picnic snack, so if you are not here by the time we leave you will not have care for the day. Since I am open you will still have to pay for the day.

If there is a winter storm this policy does not apply. In September no matter of the weather, if the schools are open I will be doing a school drop off and pick up. If there is a winter storm, I will be returning right after the drop off, so you can wait in the lobby until I return.


I am aware that the new drop off times mean some of you will have to be at work early. I have been there myself, when my oldest was in daycare. There were days when I would be at work 2 hours early. Children need structure and constancy, so I am putting there needs a head of yours.


I need this sheet signed and returned by _____________, 2013.

If I have not received this signed form by 5:00pm on the due date, I will consider not getting this signed form as your two week notice of termination and will fill our spot with another family.




Parents Signature: ____________________ ________________

Parents Signature: ____________________ ________________

Date Signed: ____________________ ________

All forms not signed and returned by xxxxxx will signify that care is no longer required and your two week notice will be in effect.

I would shorten this making it more to the point. I would also adopt a friendlier tone and not use your personal work experience. I agree with Crayola on her point.
If someone is late at my daycare, we just proceed with our outdoor activity and they may have to come looking for us which I do let the parent know that this is not an acceptable form of drop off.:)

I agree with mimi and crayola, it seems like a lot to take in. Perhaps if it were shortened and more to the point it will be better understood by all parents. I too would remove your comment regarding your work experience and also the comment of putting the kids ahead of the parents, rather word it as "more beneficial for the children".
maybe provide a proposed updated sched for them to view:

7 a.m.- open
(7 am - 7:45 am all drop offs must take place due to travel to school/parks etc.)
care will not be provided for any drop off after 7:45 (payment will be due)
8 am children and I will be en route to school drop offs/park etc.

rest of schedule


5 p.m.- final pick-up
(any pick-up after 5 p.m. will result in __$ late pickup fee, due on arrival)



short and sweet! you dont need to explain much reasoning, just what you expect and add: termination will result in breach of these set times. thakyou

Seems harsh to me.

Maybe re word so it's a little more friendlier. " due to late drop offs... " " in order to maintain consistency in my program for the benefit of all children... "

Just a thought. I know if I was going to a daycare that came out with this memo I would be moving on. It's not the hours that would make me move on, it would be the tone in which it was written. It almost feels like someones done something wrong so you're coming down on everyone.

Thank you all. I have a habit of being wordy.

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Seems harsh to me.

Maybe re word so it's a little more friendlier. " due to late drop offs... " " in order to maintain consistency in my program for the benefit of all children... "

Just a thought. I know if I was going to a daycare that came out with this memo I would be moving on. It's not the hours that would make me move on, it would be the tone in which it was written. It almost feels like someones done something wrong so you're coming down on everyone.

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I was afraid of that. I do have one family that is dropping off whenever they feel like it and tries to pick up during quiet time. The kid is also a screamer. They are with an agency so its not that easy to get rid of them. Was hoping this would push them out the door, but I don't want to lose my other clients. I will reword it.

I'm going to sound like a total snob as I say this, but here goes....

Spell check! Get someone who's good with that kind of thing to go over it and make sure there aren't any boo boos. Your computer's spell check function is fine for spelling, but won't tell you if you've used the wrong word, etc. I'm quite good with that kind of thing and have been cocky in the past, sending something out without a thorough edit. Big mistake! Improper grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc, looks unprofessional. It's much easier to fix it before it's sent out. I spotted a few boo boos in your draft (it's a terrible habit of mine) that you definitely want to fix before firing it off to clients.

I am the worlds worst speller/grammer. I do agree that it should be double checked before sending out, but more important, make sure your tone is professional. I do agree it seems someone has set you off and you can really tell in the wording you use. Just simple and matter of fact is beneficial, this way, once all have signed and agreed, you can take further action IF that specific family continues to push the limits. :)

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Originally Posted by BlueRose

Thank you all. I have a habit of being wordy.


I was afraid of that. I do have one family that is dropping off whenever they feel like it and tries to pick up during quiet time. The kid is also a screamer. They are with an agency so its not that easy to get rid of them. Was hoping this would push them out the door, but I don't want to lose my other clients. I will reword it.

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You could always word it one way for this specific family and another way for the rest. LOL I've done that before. I've sent out a memo and made it look like everyone got it, but really, it was only given to one person as it was only one person that it effected.

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but more important, make sure your tone is professional.

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this is why I am running it past all of you first. When I first wrote it it seemed okay to me. but after i took sometime away from it then reread it I wasn't too sure. My husband said it sounded fine to him, but also said to have someone else like you guys go over it just in case.

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You could always word it one way for this specific family and another way for the rest. LOL I've done that before. I've sent out a memo and made it look like everyone got it, but really, it was only given to one person as it was only one person that it effected.

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good idea. but i will still reword it.

Oh yes I have done that before too... I raised my fees but only for one family cause I wanted them to move on. I found all the different time changes confusing and i agree to take out the personal stuff and make it a little kinder.

I am a little wordy myself but agree with the ladies that I would likely take a softer approach myself ... I'd be more inclined to not be so rigid if you are not hear by X you cannot come at all but still have to pay because well as a client as much as I try to be on time and respectful when you have children into the equation it is hard ~ I was late returning from playgroup today because a child decided to poop right as it was time to leave to come home as a parent I would be PISSED it that resulted in my child not being able to attend daycare but I still had to pay :(

I would likely opt with an approach like this ... a shorter 'practice' because two months is a long time to have to rush to be out of the house by 7:40 if I did not have to be so I would be delaying that as soon as possible ;)

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Re: My hours are changing

Dear Wonderful Clients;

After reflecting on upcoming changes that our going to be needed to our routine with the introduction of 'school age' children to the program this fall I am having to amend my hours of operation to 7:00am to 5:00pm. In an effort to help prepare both clients and children for the changes our new hours of operation will take effective as of August, 1 2013 giving us the summer to get use to the new hours and routines before full implementation is required.
In addition to the new hours a few changes to drop off and pick up policies are going to need to go into effect as well to help ensure that the program runs smoothly for the younger children while incorporating the newly required transition of walks to and from school for the school age children.

Since consistency is key for smooth transitions it is strongly recommended that effective August 1st all children be dropped off to the program prior 7:40 am to ensure time to settle into program before preparing for the transition of school walks occurs. If you cannot arrive before this time there are two options depending on what works best for your child. You are free to either text/call us so you can come find us on our walk in case we choose to carry on to the park or if we are en route back already due to inclement weather or other program plans that require us to be home promptly you are welcome to wait for us in the foyer. Please note there is no guarantee as to how long it will take us to return from the walk as so many things can affect this such as children’s desire to stay and play at the playground or just the doodling speed of walking toddlers this is why it is strongly recommended you arrive prior to 7:40 am as this will ensure no one is left feeling pressured by the time!

As the program is going to also engage in a second school walk at 2:20 both lunch time and sleep routines are going to be adjusted slightly as well with lunch being served a littler earlier to accommodate a quiet time of 12-2 to ensure that the children get adequate rest. For all the same reasons as mentioned above effective August 1st it is required that any pickups of the children occur either before nap time by 11:45 so as not to disrupt the quiet time of the other children or after the return from the school walk at approximately 3:00 ~ once again if we are running late parents are feel free to wait in the lobby we are coming back as fast as we can for snack time.

Also at this time I also wanted to take a moment to remind clients that my family has evening activities and commitments that are often time sensitive therefore if you are arriving near closing time please make sure you are here in time to have any discussions, dress your child for the trip home and exit the program BEFORE our close time of 5:00 . Unfortunately any clients having an issue with being consistently being late will not only have late fees applied to the time they are still in program past 5pm but they risk termination of their service contract entirely. Please not that the hours of operation are based on the clock in the programs kitchen so it is strongly encouraged that you sync your watch or vehicle clock with the programs clock to avoid any issues with missing us at drop off in morning or incurring late fees at the end of the day!

I apologize in advance as to the inconvenience these changes might cause to some of you as I am aware requesting an early drop of may result in you having ‘free time’ between drop off and your arrival to work ... wonderful time to run some errands or grab a nice hot cup of coffee and book uninterrupted by little ones and I firmly believe will truly make the difference in a nice smooth transition into program for your wee one!

This amendment to our current contracts is required to be returned to the program signed prior to February X, 2013. Please remember that if you are not able to accommodate the changes to the contract that X weeks of written notice is required in order to supply your security deposit to your last weeks of care.

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No offense intended but seems very harsh to me as well. I have been lucky to have great families over the years but if I put out a letter like that with so many restrictions i think that everyone will walk away. Its really long and i bet most of them wont fully understand what you need. If you have a family or families who are dropping off whenever they want, you should address them one on one to discuss it. I get that your schedule has to chnge because of school dropp offs. Maybe just a letter saying, dear parents, as of xxxxx, I will be doing drop off and pick ups at school. we need to leave the house at XXXX in order to arrive on time. Therefore your child must be dropped off prior to this time. if you cannot make it on time, you are welcome to wait for us to return. Please note that weather permitting we may not arrive home directly. In such instances, you are welcome to contact me on my cell and arrange to meet us.
Then just add the same thing for pick up.

Just to play devils advocate, if for some reason you had to leave a few minutes early for school drop off for some reason and the parent arrived after you left but before your schedule time to leave. By your rules that parent could deduct your pay for that day because you weren't there when you were supposed to be.

I also think the last bit about putting the kids needs above the parents may not sit well with your clients. Good luck

I'm a true believer in keeping letters and contracts short and sweet. If you want your clients to remember things, make it simple. A college professor gave our class a good tip once and said if a sentence makes sense without a lot of the words then take them out!

Blue Rose, I'm good with grammar and spelling and I'd be happy to help you any time. I've helped lots of people with that little issue.

good thought apples, I have actually gone so far as to type up a reminder on certain issues before and had the stack at the door (for show ;)) and only given it to the "trouble" family to sign. :) Just made it look like a all around note to all, that way the one family didn't feel too singled out, but I still got the point across. :)

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Originally Posted by kidlove

good thought apples, I have actually gone so far as to type up a reminder on certain issues before and had the stack at the door (for show ;)) and only given it to the "trouble" family to sign. :) Just made it look like a all around note to all, that way the one family didn't feel too singled out, but I still got the point across. :)

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HAHAHA, I've done that! I have cubbies for all parents. I've put memos in all cubbies before one specific parent came so it looked liked everyone was getting it. LOL Then I'd take them out and throw them the min they left. Tooooo funny.