Pick up / drop offs

[crafty]

Hi there guys,

I have this mom whom I know is at home a few times a week either because she finishes at 3h00pm, because she did not have a shift and sends him over anyway or worked over night. Still she comes to pick him at 5h25pm when I close at 5h30pm. Ofcourse we had agreed pick/up and drop off but she had a few situations where her hours had been different and always made me aware of those. So I never made a fuss over it. It's not so much the inconsistency that bothers me. The problem I have now is that I know she is HOME and able to CARE for her child ... why is she waitting until the very last minute to pick up ? The way I see it is I provide a service to care for her chid during time where she is unable to. I get that once in a while parents will need those extra hours for whatever but now that I see it happenning a few times a week every week... Kinda irritates me. She will end up paying for the whole day even if she does pick him up an hour early so I get that but come on ... Am I so wrong to be bothered by this ? All I know is that when my firstborn was in daycare, I could not wait to pick her up after a long day at work and just play with her.

So thanks in advance for your comments !!

[sunnydays]

I have a similar situation...a family who never actually needs to have their kids in care until 5:30, but since those are the hours on our contract, they pick them up at around 5:20 every day. Mom cooks dinner before kids are picked up...even now that she is home for the summer (she's a teacher) the kids are here until close to 5:30. It was starting to irritate me as well since the other kids are all gone by 5pm. I decided I really didn't have the right to be irritated as I had caused the problem myself by setting my hours as I did...so in order to fix the problem, I told the family that as of September, they will have to pick up at 5pm. They agreed although they weren't happy about it. Basically, many parents will use the hours they are paying for, thinking that since they are paying for it they had better use it. They also get used to having that time to get things done like errands or cooking. I was like you when my sons were in daycare...always rushing to get there an pick him up as early as possible to spend a little time with them...but not everyone is like that! I have learned to set my hours according to what I can handle and then I won't care what the parents do with that time as long as kids are picked up on time

[michellesmunchkins]

Most of my families do this and it drives me nuts too. Especially when they know my kids have activities booked for 6pm, yet they don't pick up until 5:45 leaving us late arriving every night. My daughter has actually driven by one of their houses on the way to run an errand for me and there they were sitting on the porch enjoying their alone time.

Effective in Sept I am changing my contracts to say 9-10 hours of care. Anything more than that and you are required to pay extra. Too many of them are using the full 12 hours and taking advantage which makes for very long days for me! Part of being a parent is having to grocery shop and cook dinner and clean the house WHILE your child is home. These parents spend NO time whatsoever with their child. She goes home, eats and goes to bed.

[sunnydays]

Michelle...I so agree! If the parents do all the errands without the kids, the kids have a very warped idea that when they are with their parents, the focus is 100% on them. I think kids need to learn that sometimes mom is busy cooking dinner or cleaning etc. I have had daycare parents ask me in wonderment "How do you manage to get anything done with your kids there?"...ummmm..the y play while I clean, cook etc. They know how to entertain themselves and each other...I am not their entertainment! and yes, even young ones learn that (mine are 2 and 4). Kids whose parents never cook or clean in front of them are missing out on a valuable lesson...that they can entertain themselves and that the universe does not revolve around them!

[treeholm]

I was a SAHM, so I can't comment on what I would have been like, but I expect I would have rushed to get my children as soon as I could. My daughter was in daycare for about 3 months, and I missed her like crazy.
That said, it didn't occur to me to be annoyed if parents took some free time while I was caring for their child. A friend who is a care provider told me it annoyed her when Dad took the day off work to go golfing, and then went home and showered and mowed the lawn before picking up this child. My response to her was that if a parent pays for care, it isn't really any of our business whether they are at work or shopping or golfing... it just surprised me that my friend would have an opinion on this. What I have found surprising is the number of women I know who have daycare for their older child while on maternity leave with a baby. I'm not judgemental, I just assumed if you were home on mat leave, you would want both your children around...

[Momof4]

There is a Dad in my daycare who always drops off his son in his suit and comes back to pick him up in casual clothes and I know he's been home. I don't know how long he's been home but, YES it BOTHERS me! Why on earth can't he pick up his son first and then go home. However, they are only using an 8 hour day so I can't complain or say a word about it.

[Other Mummy]

Yes...this annoys me to no end. I KNOW parents pay us regardless if they are working or getting a pedicure or worse NAPPING! I get it. However, I too have caught parents grocery shopping or getting a pedicure if they finish work early (I know this cause the plaza behind my house has a grocery store/spa etc....my backyard faces the plaza. Often we are playing in the yard and I can SEE the parents loading groceries or one mum in particular coming out of the spa).

I have one mom who has been on extended leave from work (they are going thru structural changes) for two months...yet she drops her kids off every single day from 8:00-5:30 Poor babies. I mean come on...one day of the month you can't stay home and play with your kids...why do some people bother having kids??? Often she'll ring my door bell out of breath and gives me a weak "sorry, I was at the pool swimming and lost track of time....or she'll drop them off with her friend in tow all dolled up to go where at 8:00am??? Or she will mention how she soooo needs a nap when she gets home cause the kids kept her up the night before

When I was working outside the home when my son was little, I could not wait to get to his daycare and pick him up if I was early getting off work.

Her loss. Either way I get paid to watch her beautiful childrenf. She's missing out. Guess she wants to squeeze every last dime out of her daycare fees.

[jazmic]

It doesn't bother me what they choose to do with their time while their child is in my care. They've paid for x amount of time, so they are allowed to use it up. I don't care if they're at work or at home so far as they pick up on time.

[Toregone]

I agree with jazmic. I have actually told one parent in particular to go and get her errands done on some days before she comes to get her son. I understand as a parent that some things are easier without a toddler in tow and as she goes the extra mile for me (birthday gifts, paying me for holiday days even when she'd not supposed to) I am more than happy to go the extra mile for her. None of my parents even have thier kids here for a full 10 hours so I have no complaints. As long as by 5pm all children are picked up I care very little about what they do with thier time.

[Inspired by Reggio]

It doesn't bother me what they choose to do with their time while their child is in my care. They've paid for x amount of time, so they are allowed to use it up. I don't care if they're at work or at home so far as they pick up on time.

This is me as well with the added requirement that in an emergency I know HOW to to reach them ~ I do not want to waste precious time on hold at work only to find out 'oh they are off today' or what not

I will admit as a newbie it bothered me because I could not imagine the 'motivation' behind doing this value .... I struggled so hard to have kids if I had been blessed I would have wanted to spend every possible moment with them ~ as it is I dedicated my life to 'working with other peoples ids' because I am so passionate about giving kids the best foot forward in life ~ however as I became seasoned I learned there are many varied reasons 'why' a parent might decide their child is better off in childcare than home and I just have to trust that the parent knows 'best' when it comes to their skills and abilities in regards to this and that they truly feel this is 'best' for their child even if I do not agree and as long I am being paid and they are following the 'rules' it is not worth my energy to be all hot under the collar about it!

Not to mention if every parent shared our passion for wanting to be home with their children above all else ~ we would all be out of a job cause they would figure out a way to 'make it work' to not put their kids in the care of anyone else