How I dealt with parents who didn’t stick to contract times as a child minder

January 9, 2021 Karen 29 comments
Posted by Karen on

When I was a registered child minder I always wrote out a contract keeping my business professional.

Most parents were really good at sticking to the times stated in the contract; however, sometimes life gets in the way and it was not always possible to honour those times: I understood that and as long as I received a text or a call telling me then that wasn’t usually a problem.

I did have a few parents who made a habit of not sticking to the agreed times. One father would always arrive half an hour early, then come to collect late also; in fact I saw him, on a number of occasions from my window, look at his watch then disappear for 30 minutes.

I solved this issue by telling him that I would have to charge him for the extra hour and add it onto the contract when it was reviewed: Strangely he started to be more aware of the time after that!

A grandparent was always incredibly late in bringing her grandchild in the mornings, This was annoying if we were going out as the other children would be ready and got fed up with waiting. I started to leave a note on my door telling her to meet us at the place we had gone to, to be fair she did this, but when the contract was due to be reviewed( I did this every 6 months) she asked if I would change the arrival time from 9am to 10 am. I did this, but then she arrived even later than previously ( I can only presume that she took her time thinking that she had an extra hour).

A mother who seemed to have the opinion that it didn’t matter when she collected her son, as I was at home waiting for her, gave me a real problem when she made me late for a dentist appointment that I was charged a £10 fine for, I told her this and she paid the fine and was never late again.

Keeping contracts watertight here

As I have already mentioned the majority of parents respected my contract rules, if you are a parent using early years provisions please do the same.

As always questions and comments are welcome.

Until next time.

Karen

x

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29 Comments on “How I dealt with parents who didn’t stick to contract times as a child minder”

  1. I’ve noticed that you seem to be struggling to pick up by…. Would it be more convenient for you to collect at (add 15mins to time). Not always do able but worked for me.
    Another parent offer to pay for an extra 15 mins and said she was dropping off 15 mins late too so I’d change her hours to start and finish 15 mins later.

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  3. Oh gosh I can’t imagine ever being that late to pick my kids up from nursery! I wonder if people feel like they can take the mickey more with a childminder 🙁 #KCACOLS

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  4. This could be a nightmare especially if the child minder had an appointment herself that she needed to atend .as you mention most parents stuck to the proper times which is the correct thing to do. Another interesting blog Karen .

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  6. Time keeping is so important. I think you need to set boundaries for adults as well as children so that the relationship works. Well done for solving these tricky issues in a way that worked for everyone. #MischiefAndMemories

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  8. I used to have this issue throughout my childcare career. I feel so sorry for the kids too as they miss out on their routine within the childcare setting. And it’s always the same kids waiting with two members of staff after everyone else had gone home bless them xx #MischiefAndMemories

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  9. That sounds super disruptive! I wonder if the parents who pick up too late will be the same that leave their little ones sitting in the school office after school. It’s not really fair on anyone. Though from a parents point of view things do sometimes go wrong with trains/traffic … But surely not every day. Thank you for joining us for #MischiefAndMemories

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  10. I get soooo wound up by lateness! I feel very sorry for the kids that arrive late at school as it is frustrating for us but also embarrassing for the child. Having a contract is such a good idea and should definitely include late fees. Thanks for linking up with #MischiefAndMemories

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  11. People should respect people in business whatever the business. My brother has such issues with parents of the children he teaches piano and singing to. And yes seen as lesser somehow when working from home. #MischiefandMemories

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  13. I never thought about the dropping off late in the mornings, to be fair though my child minder would collect our son if she was going somewhere with him around the normal drop off time, it was easier for her.
    Thanks for linking with #pocolo and hope to see you back later this week

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    1. Yes, child minders can be more flexible than other settings, I sometimes collected a child during the school run, thanks for sharing this

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  14. It seems your ways of dealing with this were always very reasonable. As you say, life sometimes gets in the way, but some people just don’t think of how their actions affect others, and then it’s necessary to make them aware of the issues. Thank you for linking up with #KCACOLS, I hope you come back next time, too! x

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