you really have to pick your battles. i used to operate the same way with contracted times but i found that it ended up just being a source of aggravation when parent who were supposed to pick up at 4:30 came at 4:45 or something. The problem is that i was open till 5:30. I charged everyone the same rate unless they needed later than 5:30 or earlier than my open hours so I decided to continue with one standard rate but no "contracted" hours. most parents stay on the same schedule but it gives them a bit of flexibilty to do what they need as long as they are here by closing time. If you charge by the hour then they should abide by what they have signed up for or have a raise in their fees.

I think in this case you should have clarified that you are charging based on the hours used and if they need more hours, they have to pay for it.

Parents seem to get their back up as soon as we want more money. Most probably feel that they are overpaying to begin with but in my experience something so small as 5$ a day shouldnt be cause to leave without at least having a discussion about it. you may have been able to come to a compromise.Maybe there was something else going on that you weren't aware of.

to be honest I would be happy with 5 pm pick ups but I totally get your point, its the principle. Sadly the child suffers being moved from daycare to daycare and chances are this will happen again.