I have learned that I am not up for negotiation, on pretty much all points in my contract. When I first started, I was a bit of a doormat. Pretty quickly I found out that if you allow one thing to slide, or make allowances for one point, too many families will push for more.
My hours are NOT negotiable. I allowed a family to come 1/2 an hour earlier than I opened, for free! Wouldn't you know it, the same family was always late picking up (until I served them a written notice), had no regard for our policies, and didn't bother to tell me that their child had ADHD (and was on medication as such). Couldn't wait to say goodbye to them, and it was absolutely a lesson learned.
I will bend a bit for parents that genuinely end up running late, once in a while. You can usually tell if it's a real scenario, or if they just wanted to get to the grocery store before coming to pick up. It also depends on how they approach the situation. No phone call, or you really don't seem to care that it's a terrible inconvenience, and my family is all loaded up in the van because we have hockey in 20 min? LATE FEE!! But a sincere apology can go a long way, as well as a call to let me know.
I'm not flexible on fees. I have them set as they are for a reason, and I know for a fact that I am not over-priced.
I find the sick policies tough sometimes. It can be hard to learn where to draw the line, and when to call parents. Vomit, or diarreah, is a no brainer for me. When it comes to colds, ear infections, etc I have it worded in my contract that if I feel that the child is in discomfort and unable to participate in our normal activities, they do not belong at daycare. I know that logically, yes, I could put on a movie and get them to lay on the couch all day. But what kid wants to be at daycare feeling like that? And some kids don't lay down and relax when sick, they just get miserable, and therefore so do I!!
I will work with parents, within reason, on food issues. I had one child that was being watched for celiac/gluten issues. So for a period of time, we cut back on breads, etc. Not a big deal.
Quiet time is also non-negotiable. I had a set of parents ask me not to nap their not-even-2-year-old. No freakin' way!! I put her down for a sleep, but I did make sure she wasn't sleeping the day away, at the same time.