I agree with all of the good advice above. I close my doors at 5 just so that if a family is running late, everyone is still out of my house and I can still make it to my own evening committments. i.e. daughter's swimming classes, my own classes, etc. If after you have this conversation with them, they are continuing to not respect your pick up time you may have to get a little more hard core with them. Are you willing to terminate the family/find a replacement family over this ? I'm not sure what the demand for care is like in your area, and the fact that they are friends certainly does make it more difficult to end the relationship. If it were me, I would tell the family that they MUST pick up their child no later than 5:30. If they require care beyond that point in time, your services are available, but you move from a daily rate of "X" to an hourly rate of "Y" - with a minimum two hour charge. =) I imagine that will encourage them to leave work a few minutes early.