I'm sure most of you are familiar with my half-day kid. I'm at my wits end. After giving them the letter that you all helped me write, saying that he is expected no later than 12:30 on his half days. His first day, he brought his son at 12:30 the next time and then again today, didn't show up until 1:05. Not only was my son in his high chair for 35 minutes waiting to be fed (I kept giving him little peices so he wouldn't cry the whole time) but then he had to wait for the boy to finish his lunch. I'm fed up! It's not even an issue of him being on time anymore and interrupting our schedule, it's about feeling totally disrespetedl. It's like he doesn't even notice - he never apologizes when he comes late, so he's obviously not concerned. I'm really frustrated that he's not taking me seriously, and they even paid a day late and never mentioned it or apologized until I mentioned it at pick up yesterday.

So far, I've explained our schedule and why dropping him off at 12:30 is so important. I've mentioned he won't be able to eat lunch if he comes later, and I've mentioned that not only is it bad for Asher, but it's bad for Caelan and myself. Still, he's not taking it seriously.

So, what DO YOU DO? What is your experience with this? I'm thinking about implementing a "lock the door" policy. If you're 20 minutes late, without letting me know in advance, the door will be locked and you will still have to pay for the whole day. I was thinking about going 30 minutes, but he's always 30 minutes, never more. If he let me know at like - noon that he was going to be a little late, then I could plan accordingly - feed my son lunch, have the boy's lunch ready to eat when he arrives - that would be ok. Well, it would be better. WHAT DO YOU THINK? If I made them sign a form agreeing that if they show up 20 minutes late, the door will be locked and they will have to go home. It's not like they live super far. They're a three minute walk from my house.

I just feel totally disrespected and taken advantage of. Like they don't take me seriously and don't care about the way I run my daycare.

HELP