Oops this is gonna come back and bite me later!!

**smurfette** · 30-11-2012, 09:15 AM

So schoolie arrives this am as every morning he is here 5 mins early., this drives me mad, my girls are outthe door to school at 8ish and those last five minutes (he is meant to start at 8) are precious as I am usually brushing hair, tying laces etc, you know what its like! Have spoken to mum as she used to drop him at 745 and she has come back from that but it is always about 755 still.

This am hubby was gone on an early flight so it was just me and I have had the girls all off with a nasty flu all week as well as suffering through myself so as u can imagine it was taking a bit of effort! Littlest one was quite teary so we had been trying to jolly her along.

As I am putting toddler car seat in car schoolie and mum pull up and wave, they can see by my face I am not impressed but she throws him out anyways. Its minus 1 here this morning so i said to him get back in the car the girls aren't defer yet.. He goes over to the car to get back in and she doesn't let him so I let him stand beside me in th cold while i do car seat. She doesn't pull out Til I have let him in.

She is a force to be reckoned with wants it all her own way I am very much an employee to her! I have posted about issues with this kid but i do feel sorry for him she is not interested in him at all and god love him he knows it! Was thinking of giving notice to end at christmas but need the money in meantime!

**silvermist** · 30-11-2012, 09:38 AM

Oh how awful for the child, knowing his own Mum cant be doing with him. If it was me I would be saying to her 'If you cant drop your child off at the contracted time I will have no option but to give notice'. If she really does see you as an employee(

) she may decide to end the contract now as 'how dare you say that to me)' sort of thing but Im guessing she wont. If you need the money over Christmas then maybe try to ride it out and give notice in the new year. hth xxx

**smurfette** · 30-11-2012, 09:47 AM

Sorry that should have said 'the girls aren't dressed yet'

Thanks for reply, I guess she
Will think I am nit picking but its just a general attitude of inconsideration. She has it good cos I got talked into no retainer for hols even though he is not gonna be here for most of January and I only charge her by the hour for after school rather than an afternoon rate which most places do..: will see If
She realises that!

Wish I had sucked it up now and said nothing!

Sometimes I wonder about the more experienced minders they seem to put up with a whole lot less than I do and still keep the business, I always worry about rocking the boat too much!!

**silvermist** · 30-11-2012, 09:50 AM

Please dont worry about it. I think more established cms are just more confident as theyve been doing it a while now. Just stand strong, its your business. If she chooses to go then so be it. Someone else will come along. Sending hugs xxx

**eddie** · 30-11-2012, 10:05 AM

I think you're right to make a fuss, she is getting free childcare even if it is a few minutes. I am the same, I am preparing right up to the last minute and have had trouble with this in the past. I sent out newsletters stating that parents should stick to their contracted hours and if anyone wished to change those they were to let me know so I could adjust fees accordingly.

One mom waited outside this morning for 5 mins as she was early. I waved as I took out the recycling and answered the door 5 mins later, dead on time!

**jillplum** · 30-11-2012, 02:48 PM

Everybody does things their way so stick to your rules.
Most of my mindees have been cominh here so long they just knock then open the door and come in lol, with my agreement of course! My kids are still in bed when I start so its just me and if they find me not quite ready well they can find something to do till I am fit to face the world

**chriss** · 30-11-2012, 03:09 PM

Makes wonder if parents would expect a nursery to open the doors a few minutes early. Do we need to be a bit hard faced to be childminding ? Goes against the grain lol but gonna toughen up !!

**smurfette** · 30-11-2012, 05:07 PM

Well she was fine after my worrying! We were both nicey nicey, I felt
I had made my point (maybe it won't make any difference we will
See) and I guess she realises where her bread is buttered. Maybe I should have mentioned it but I chickened out! Thanks for the support .. U r right nurseries wouldn't open early!!

**silvermist** · 30-11-2012, 09:18 PM

Well done you, glad all is well. xxx

**SYLVIA** · 30-11-2012, 10:51 PM

Why not add up al those 5 mins and invoice her at the end of the month. It soon mounts up.

**The Juggler** · 01-12-2012, 11:21 PM

i agree with sylvia. if it starts slipping again, hit her where she'll take notice - charge her - tell her its £5 for every 15 mins early

**harleyrider** · 02-12-2012, 11:43 AM

My 'best' parents came to me from a nusery so they are a dream. See me as a prof childcare provider, pay in advance on time, arrive on time, get in touch if there journey is delayed and pay the extra without quibble... I wish all my parents had spent 3months prior to coming to me at a nursery..
If you were clocking in and working 5mins extra each day you would look to being paid.
I love my job, it's the parents that make it difficult :-)

**mushpea** · 02-12-2012, 04:19 PM

one of my parents started dropping of 5 mins or 10mins early as he starts at 8.15am but she realised there were others arriving at 8am so she started coming up just after they arrived, then she started being 5mins late on collection so I charged her an extra half hour each day, when she got the bill her face was a picture but as i said to her the others pay from 8am so as shes been arriving at about the same time she needs to pay the same fees to be fair to all parents.
prehaps you need to have chat and say you notice shes arriving early and would she like to change the contracted time to suit or just pay for the extra half hour each day she's early, I charge by the half hour if htey are late or early but some people have a set charge like £5 per 15mins.

**smurfette** · 05-12-2012, 05:26 PM

Well what do you know?!! Bang on 8 this morning not a minute early!!

**eddie** · 05-12-2012, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by murphf

Well what do you know?!! Bang on 8 this morning not a minute early!!

Looks they they actually listened to you!

**jackie 7** · 05-12-2012, 06:21 PM

£5 for 15 mins early, nurseries charge by the minute if early or late.£20 for 15 mins. with me it depends on the parents. just told by 1 mum that i had been under charging her for 3 weeks after a change in hours.

**Schnakes** · 05-12-2012, 11:44 PM

Originally Posted by eddie

I think you're right to make a fuss, she is getting free childcare even if it is a few minutes. I am the same, I am preparing right up to the last minute and have had trouble with this in the past. I sent out newsletters stating that parents should stick to their contracted hours and if anyone wished to change those they were to let me know so I could adjust fees accordingly.

One mom waited outside this morning for 5 mins as she was early. I waved as I took out the recycling and answered the door 5 mins later, dead on time!

Im the same - Im NOT a morning person - I will sleep in as late as possible, so once I get up in the morning, every minute counts. Its not even about the money - its about - I plan my morning to run to a specific timescale. YOU (the parent) are upsetting my plans.....therefore YOU can wait. My OH hates it - esp when they are knocking on the door etc....works the other way too - if they are running late for drop off... although to be fair, it is quite nice when you have an early morning starter you can pretty much guarantee will be late!!

Anyway! Enough about me - that poor child....I would have probably opened up the mums car door and said "go on and hop in while you wait".....and then had a chat with mum about changing contract times......

**bunyip** · 06-12-2012, 09:12 AM

I think my 'normal' response with a 'normal' client would be to treat this as a communication matter: have a chat about our reasons and expectations.

For every CM annoyed by early arrivals, there's another who is frustrated by late ones who muck up the routine.

Maybe mum's journey is difficult to judge, and she may have found she gets stuck in traffic if she sets off just 5 minutes later? Maybe she thinks she's being courteous by arriving early rather than risk running late? Personally I'm one of those slightly paranoid people who'd rather be early than late, and consequently spend a lot of my life in waiting rooms and departure lounges.

That's what I'd do in 'normal' circumstances.

However, the impression I get from the OP is this is not a 'normal' client. It sounds like this is just the latest in a string of difficulties and frustrations. Personally, I'd still consider asking the mum why she's doing it. Otherwise, a difficult client may perceive any other response in a negative way. But it needs to be done in a firm-but-polite way, so it isn't just an opportunity for mum to walk over you.

Good luck, and I hope you find a more affable client soon.

**fluff1975** · 07-12-2012, 09:51 PM

I have one parent who occasionally likes to try to drop off 10-15 mins early. I'm not ready at 7.45 which is why I only 'open' at 8! I let them both in but tell her she has to wait with her child until 8 when I'll be ready to start my working day! She's happy to do this so and its so rare now that I don't actually mind. Still make her do it though.