Extended hours- what would you do?

[mom-in-alberta]

Agreed, momof4....
I would give them a notice in writing stating that hours of operation are.... and that you are no longer able to accomodate such late pick ups. You may lose them, so I suppose this is where you decide what is more important.
Personally, there is no way that I would work a 12 hour day like that. I am surprised that they don't have one parent drop off and one parent pick up. That is the common solution around here to this type of problem.

[wolfpup]

If you DO want to keep them then send out a letter stating that if children are not picked up at the agreed upon time in the contract that there will be an extra $1/minute charge per child for anytime after that... at least then you make it worth your while to have them that late. If you DONT want to keep them due to the grumpiness then just send out a letter saying that you have the opportunity to fill the positions with full time children and need to do what is best for your family financially. I had to do that in the past and it worked great. Or say that you are no longer offering part time care and only full time... I had 2 girls til 7pm sometimes 7:30... pick up was sapossed to be 6:30... needless to say, I no longer have them!!
Plus if they make your life more difficult ie: your kids grumpy, etc. then they need to go anyway. I found that it just escalates overtime. The number ones are your own children and if they are not happy, then mommy and daddy wont be either. I found kids that my kids love to play with and although there are the occasional little squables (they spend everyday together so expected) they love having them here. I used to have some that my kids had nightmares about... they were given notice. We do this for the money and love of kids, but if our family isnt happy then to me it isnt worth it!!
GOOD LUCK