Drop offs and pick ups.

[Happiness]

Ok so how do you lovely people do it? Do you let the parents inside your house when they drop off or collect their child? Please feel free to share your experiences :)
TIA x

[loocyloo]

:-) generally parents drop off and collect from my porch... But sometimes might come into the sitting room or kitchen or playroom depending where we are and what we are doing at collection time. Sometimes the children want to show parents something they have done etc.
I usually try to have children with shoes on and ready to go home when parents knock on door. Quick chat and off they go.
Equally though I think most of my parents have also sat in the kitchen whilst children finish tea at some point.
I also meet and deliver some of my children at school :-)
I ask parents of my EY children to write messages in diary and/or to text me so that we're not hanging around chatting in the morning as I need to get on.

It does depend on the parents though. I'm lucky that I have a good set of parents. I'm usually quite strict on brief/prompt handovers to start with, so then they don't expect to come in and chat. I have had parents who would never leave and I used to have to say "bye mindee, I need to go and xyz now"

[tulip0803]

I live on a busy road and do not have a porch.

Parents come into my hallway on drop off and pick up. If it is a quick handover of an older child they may drop on doorstep and walk off.

I try to have children ready to go but I cannot leave the door open for long because of other children and my indoor cats.

I have one child that I deliver back to the school and tend to either collect from nursery or from a local family centre in the morning.

[loocyloo]

Was going to edit mine to say I have an internal porch so parents knock, I let them in and shut door behind them. Children's bags etc all stored in porch. X

[amyp]

Parents come in and we chat for ages but I have most of mine under 18 months so I expect it. The older ones go quicker!

[amyp]

I just think if I took my daughter to a childminder I would want to go in and see her interact as well as the environment and activities out etc. also the hygiene of the place daily.

[natlou82]

I do, as I want to build relationships with the parents as well as the children and I don't mind having a natter, but I'm a total chatterbox lol! I have recently sent out a newsletter though stating not to pick up over Dinner time as it is far too disruptive for all! I think you have to have your set routines and boundaries that work for you.

[Happiness]

Gosh sometimes I feel like I run a group for breastfeeding mums haha. I like having people around but sometimes it's hard to get rid of them. They stay for an hour or so just chatting to each other. Definitely need to make some changes lol :)

[Koala]

Oh my word - I am glad the day is finished by 5.30pm - so I try and keep it short and sweet:
- Get the child to come into kitchen from playroom to meet their parent and off they go.
- I don't encourage any parent or sibling to come in any further than the kitchen because of dirty shoes and hygiene, when I first started I was VERY accommodating and some parents walked in through the kitchen into carpeted areas with wet dirty boots on - :panic: I couldn't believe it :panic:
- I don't want to hear how hard they have been working :angry: with their regular coffee breaks and lunch hour :angry:
- I don't want to hear how they find it hard to make ends meet on their quadruple salary that they pay me.
- And I have found that too much familiarity breeds contempt - so I like to keep business at a comfy distance. :D

You sound lovely, just be careful about people getting their feet under the table too much - some folk will take a mile if you give an inch. :D

[trickiedickie]

oh you are all lovely people. The first policy on my document of policies I email out once the contract is signed is my "no shoes policy". This has prevented parents coming past my front mat. I don't have a porch.

I had about 24 sets of parents through my door in the space of 5 weeks before my first proper mindee started. All trudging through with grans, siblings children in their shoes. No more. The parents I have at the moment sometimes come to pick up with a sibling in toe. So I have parent plus extra child and minded child in my house. No, I don't want sibling in playing etc. Tonight I actually bent down and started putting mindee's socks and shoes on to go even though Mum hadn't :o

Anyhow the no shoes policy being the first policy they see has so far stopped the parent coming into my house. I have new mindee's starting in August. I hope this parent doesn't want to come in. If parent turns up early enough and takes shoes off I don't mind. :o

[natlou82]

Oh yes those who do come in take their shoes off ;-)

[Happiness]

I think mine are death or something. It doesn't matter how often I say 'please take off your shoes' they look at me like I am some kind of freak asking them for god knows what. Definitely sending a letter out over the weekend. I feel like no one respects the fact that this is our home. My oh has already stopped having breakfast at home with me and our daughter. No one even bothers to say morning to him. Rude.

[Happiness]

Deaf not death lol :)

[Koala]

I do agree some people have no manners at all - some of my parents don't even knock before they open my kitchen door! I am expecting them and if they knocked I would say come in, but even so, I would always knock before entering a house, a room anywhere with a door, it is just polite :littleangel: . But No one gets passed me with shoes on!! :angry:

[Maza]

Yes, you need to start as you mean to go with the no shoes policy. :angry:

I don't mind having 'little' chats about the child but one dad starts playing chase, or hide and seek with his son (I hand over at the doorstep) in my garden while I stand on the doorstep - well, I am a doormat after all! I can't really leave them to it because I don't trust him to not jump in the communal flowerbeds - his dad finds it impossible to tell him off after not seeing him all day and doesn't want to look like the bad guy.

[tess1981]

I have seen parents chasing children round my yard trying to get them into car I now leave them to it saying I must get back to others or if they last to collect I say right see you later need to get on :)

[Nogin]

Ours collect from the kitchen, however I have had a few who feel the need to roam around out house but thankfully they are long gone.