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newbie
19-01-2015, 08:41 AM
This is one of my biggest bug bears! And sometimes I feel so petty over it :(. I have got a mum that doesn't stick to her contract drop off time and gets visibly annoyed if I don't answer the door to her when she first rings but she is always early. The other week she was 25 mins early!!!! This wound me up and I was stupid enough to answer the door and let them in! Since then I have ignored the early door bell.

The other day my first child was on holiday so I took advantage of this and took my dogs out for a walk (so much nicer without a buggy and hang ons lol). I got back dead on time for the next lot of arrivals and mum was standing on my doorstop visibly upset. She said she had been standing there for 10 mins so I explained that she was early and I was on time!

This morning she's 15 mins early so I carry on with preparing for the day and don't go to the door until their contracted start time......she is not amused! I have written about this in countless newsletters and don't see why I should be made to feel so guilty :(

cookiesncream
19-01-2015, 09:28 AM
That is very annoying, I don't mind them being 5 minutes early now and again (this allows for differences in people's clocks). But she's taking the mick. Perhaps ask her if she would like to alter her contract for the child to start earlier and stress that as this is out of normal opening hours she will have to pay your out of hours rate.

QualityCare
19-01-2015, 09:43 AM
Stick to your guns and don't answer the door until contracted time it doesn't work writing things down, actions speak louder than words, make a poster and put on the door saying l have heard the door please do not ring/knock again l will open the door at xx time.

Mouse
19-01-2015, 09:59 AM
I had one parent who was persistently early. I'd tried hints, not answering the door, general notes in a newsletter etc, but none of it worked. I decided I had to be direct, so I wrote her a letter saying that her child's start time was 8am and that this was the earliest time he could be on the premises. I said that I would not open the door until our contracted start time, so please don't be offended if they were left standing outside. I also said please don't keep knocking as this disturbs my family. I suggested that if they arrived early they would probably be more comfortable doing what other parents do & waiting in their car until 8am.

Mum didn't ever mention the letter, but she did stop turning up early :thumbsup:

lollipop kid
19-01-2015, 10:31 AM
I had one parent who was persistently early. I'd tried hints, not answering the door, general notes in a newsletter etc, but none of it worked. I decided I had to be direct, so I wrote her a letter saying that her child's start time was 8am and that this was the earliest time he could be on the premises. I said that I would not open the door until our contracted start time, so please don't be offended if they were left standing outside. I also said please don't keep knocking as this disturbs my family. I suggested that if they arrived early they would probably be more comfortable doing what other parents do & waiting in their car until 8am.

Mum didn't ever mention the letter, but she did stop turning up early :thumbsup:

I like this. I have also put a clause in my contracts to cover Early Arrival/Late Arrival/Late Collection. "Before xxx am and after xxx pm (insert contracted start/finish times), overtime rate will be £10 per 15 minutes (or part thereof) to cover unsocial hours, payable in cash on each occurrence. Please note that the childminder may not be present if you arrive late without a phone call/text. It will then be the parent's responsibility to find and finance alternative childcare that day. Late arrival does not allow late pick-up, so please be on time daily. If early or late arrival (at drop-off or pick-up times) happens on more than 2 occasions, we may need to discuss changing your contracted hours."

I have also toyed with the idea of putting up a poster on the door with the same info, but haven't needed to so far - I just read this clause out to parents at their signing up visit (when we do the contracts), and it seems to work for me. Feel free to use the above if it helps. :)

rickysmiths
20-01-2015, 10:15 AM
This is one of my biggest bug bears! And sometimes I feel so petty over it :(. I have got a mum that doesn't stick to her contract drop off time and gets visibly annoyed if I don't answer the door to her when she first rings but she is always early. The other week she was 25 mins early!!!! This wound me up and I was stupid enough to answer the door and let them in! Since then I have ignored the early door bell.

The other day my first child was on holiday so I took advantage of this and took my dogs out for a walk (so much nicer without a buggy and hang ons lol). I got back dead on time for the next lot of arrivals and mum was standing on my doorstop visibly upset. She said she had been standing there for 10 mins so I explained that she was early and I was on time!

This morning she's 15 mins early so I carry on with preparing for the day and don't go to the door until their contracted start time......she is not amused! I have written about this in countless newsletters and don't see why I should be made to feel so guilty :(



I would be having the parent in for a chat, and asking if they need to change their hours. If she is consistently early then maybe she has to get to work earlier, maybe her boss is causing problems or she has a difficult project on at the moment or maybe her journey to work has got harder or train timetables have changed? Yes she should have spoken to you but maybe with the way you have been she feels you wouldn't be open to a change?

Maza
20-01-2015, 11:31 AM
As tempting as it is to leave her standing on the doorstep or put up a note or drop hints, I think that the best way is as Mouse said, be direct. I'm a fine one to talk because I'm rubbish at it! You'll only continue to get frustrated if she doesn't get your hints, and let's face it, she isn't. As easy as it is for us to say leave her there, I don't think it is realistic to have someone on your doorstep for 15/25 minutes without them causing a scene - you need to be respectful and mature, even though she clearly isn't. If you don't want to accommodate her early arrival with a change of contract then you just have to say so. I would do it sooner rather than later because otherwise you may snap and lose your professional head and regret it later. I've done that and then could have kicked myself for not addressing it sooner when I was still relatively calm. How many times in our lives have we said to someone "Well why didn't you tell me/say something before?"

I now need to go and practice what I preach and sort out my parents!

k1rstie
20-01-2015, 02:24 PM
This is a thread we have encountered several times. many childminder get annoyed by this

Are you charging her for her early arrivals?

You need to speak to her about her early arrivals as you are being annoyed by this, whereas she is probably being annoyed that you are not letting her do what she wants.


From a professional point of view, other people seeing a family standing on your doorstep for 15 minutes in the morning, tutting and stamping their feet, may not look professional to neighbours, or people they give your details too. Onlookers do not know that they are persistently early, and a pain in the bum

tess1981
20-01-2015, 03:03 PM
I would be charging for the extra time.... either per half hour or quarter hour... at a higher rate maybe ... that might help get the message across .. I remember doing this once....

bunyip
21-01-2015, 10:41 AM
Different CMs feel differently about this. Some seem to expect parents to arrive at the appointed time to the second which is clearly not practical if you've ever encountered traffic or public transport at any level.

I'm fairly relaxed and find I have to encourage some of my clients to relax a bit too. Today's parents were all surprised that I called them yesterday to ask if they needed to arrive early today to give them more time to get through the snow we are currently supposed to be under (but which never arrived.) I also had a new starter this week, whose dad said, "I don't know if it's taking the Mickey to get here early or rude to arrive late." :huh:

I had a enquiry just before Christmas who was amazed at my approach. Her current CM charges her a full hour as soon as the second hand passes her contracted pick-up time. She admitted she felt unhappy about the pressure to drive too fast some days, even at the end of a tiring day. IMHO nobody should be made to feel they have to take such risks. :(

OTOH, I've had a client who did keep arriving early by a few minutes. I challenged her and she'd simply miscalculated the driving time to her new job. She was happy to change the contracted hours and pay for an extra 15 minutes. She'd not raised the matter because she felt that changing the contract so soon was "messing me about". Modern manners strikes again. :p

In the OP's case, I'd have already made a note of actual arrival times over 2-4 weeks. Hints are OK at times, but nothing beats good hard evidence. It's also worth checking how bad the problem is - or isn't: we do sometimes exaggerate these things in our own minds (I know I do. The last collection might only be five minutes late but, if it's pub night and I want to be on my way, I can very easily tell myself those 5 minutes were really 1/2 an hour.) I'd have then presented mum with the figures, together with an on-paper calculation of what this would cost her if I were to charge her my early/late fee; point out I am entitled to do so; but offer to waive the fee to date - on condition we both address the issue now.

Then ask the direct question: "Mum, do you need to arrive earlier?" Giving the client the choice makes them take responsibility and gives them less room to blame the CM for "being mean/petty" or whatever nonsense words pass for modern manners these days.

If she says, "yes" then redraw the contract with the new times and the appropriate increased fee. If she says, "no" then make it clear (again) that she needs to stop arriving early or do so in accordance with your policy (ie. give you fair warning, pay the higher rate for non-contracted hours, etc. etc. ) :thumbsup:

shortstuff
21-01-2015, 12:06 PM
As Bunyip says it does depend on the situation.

I have 2 families who dont need to drop their darlings to me until 8.30, which is when I leave for the school run. I have asked them to be 5/10 minutes early and dont charge.

I also get parents frantically texting to say they are caught in traffic. my reply to that is please just drive carefully and arrive safely.

It could be as simple as one parent has set a clock indoors early to ensure they are never late and not mentioned it to the other? I know the clock in my car is set 5 minutes early on purpose as I hate to be late for anything.

KatieFS
21-01-2015, 01:05 PM
Me too I feel the same feeling petty but an employer would not expect you to work early unless you had agreed, then had time in lieu or overtime.
Either talk to her directly, give rationale eg I'm not ready, previous time with my children, also not paid for that time. Then fee and always charge!!!
Once they've had a few strokes, I mention to them, but after that line us crossed-I always charge for that time, anything over 5 mins and lateness same anything over 5.

fluff1975
17-03-2015, 12:39 PM
When this happened to me I made the parent sit and wait with her child in my living room until it was my opening time. I didn't get anything out for her to play with on purpose - I'm such a meanie! I also pointed out the my contracted hours were FROM 8am and therefore to leave the child with me earlier would be a breach of contract and should anything happen to her I would probably get into lots of trouble and wouldn't be able to care for her again. Some slight dramatic license there but for the sake of 15 minutes, it worked as t didn't happen again - there was nothing for mum to gain by waiting with a grumpy child in someone else's house

bunyip
17-03-2015, 06:57 PM
A bit unfair to charge CM fees if they just sit in your living room.


But have you considered charging rent? :rolleyes:

Jelly Baby
18-03-2015, 12:50 PM
Personally I find it frustrating and have had it in the past. You can tell the ones who just turn up early to get rid and the ones who just happen to be early.

I never charged with mine I simply said it was clear they needed extra time and added it on to their contract. This isn't always practical or even something most want to do but its an option. Its started in the eves now which I find more annoying at the end of a long day.

say you will start charging?
Good luck!

SYLVIA
20-03-2015, 03:55 PM
I had a family that always arrived 10/15 mins early, so they could find a parking space for the car. It did annoy me as sometimes I wasn't ready for them . The crunch came one morning when I came in from the garden, and hearing the bell I answered the door only for the 7yr old mindee to glare at me saying, We have been ringing for ages!". To which I replied, " That's because you're 10 mins as usual! If you arrived on time I would be ready to answer the door". Funnnily it hasn't happened since

Simona
21-03-2015, 07:54 AM
This is one of my biggest bug bears! And sometimes I feel so petty over it :(. I have got a mum that doesn't stick to her contract drop off time and gets visibly annoyed if I don't answer the door to her when she first rings but she is always early. The other week she was 25 mins early!!!! This wound me up and I was stupid enough to answer the door and let them in! Since then I have ignored the early door bell.

The other day my first child was on holiday so I took advantage of this and took my dogs out for a walk (so much nicer without a buggy and hang ons lol). I got back dead on time for the next lot of arrivals and mum was standing on my doorstop visibly upset. She said she had been standing there for 10 mins so I explained that she was early and I was on time!

This morning she's 15 mins early so I carry on with preparing for the day and don't go to the door until their contracted start time......she is not amused! I have written about this in countless newsletters and don't see why I should be made to feel so guilty :(

Lots of help and support on this 'ever present' issue with parents.
Do we leave them at the door...the children included who are not at fault for the early arrival?
do we tell them we need to review our contract?
do we put up with it and get mad?

As we have to record arrival and departure time...for parents constantly late... it is worth 'showing them' the additional hours worked without pay...say over a month...and ask them how they would like to sort this out: change the hours to suit their needs?...or be charged in addition at end of the month for extra hours?

The odd 5-10 min early drop off is not a problem...with a text to warn any cm who may be out for other reasons...but if it is constant it is different....it is actually 'free childcare'!!