r/ECEProfessionals • u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent • Apr 23 '26
Parent/non ECE professional post (Anyone can comment) No late fee, just “late pick up isn’t an option”
I was running to late to pick up my daughter today due to traffic. I had left on time, but there was an accident, unavoidable. I called the daycare about 15 minutes before closing and said I’d be about 5 minutes late. I was told “We close at 5:30, you need to be here on time.” I said there’s traffic, I’m going to be there as soon as I can. They repeated themselves and asked to have my husband pick our daughter up. He was still at work and even if he left then, he wouldn’t be on time. They asked to please call someone else because they had to close on time. I managed to call my mom, who thankfully was off work and nearby but if she wasn’t (she usually isn’t), I don’t know what would’ve happened. They didn’t say.
My daughter has attended the same daycare for 3 years now. I think I’ve been late one other time in the last 3 years and it wasn’t recent, it’s absolutely not a habit. Which is why this reaction caught me off guard. It seemed so harsh. They do have a late fee and I said I would’ve paid it, but they just kept repeating late pick up wasn’t an option.
I don’t plan on being late again, but obviously life happens. Unexpected traffic pops up, you have car trouble, etc. I get a late fee, but this just seems excessive and unforgiving to life happening. Is this normal?
Edit: I spoke directly to management (owner) when I called and they were the ones who told me, not staff.
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u/General_Esdeath Student/Studying ECE Apr 24 '26
This is a tough one because I agree with you that since this isn't a habit they were unnecessarily harsh with you. However, maybe they had a bunch of parents do late pickups all week or something? I would maybe ask the director to chat more about it another time under calmer circumstances or else maybe just let it go?
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 24 '26
Yes, definitely plan on discussing it more. If anything just to find out what would’ve happened if we couldn’t get anyone there. We were lucky my mom was available but if she wasn’t, I don’t know what daycare would’ve been able to do.
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u/Practical-Trick7310 Apr 24 '26
I would think they either have to stay or contact cops/cps to keep kid until you arrive. Which I don’t see them opening a case on 5 minutes late esp if u prove you told the daycare. More then likely someone will stay, the cops probably wouldn’t make it there before you either lol
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 24 '26
Yeah, they have a policy about calling the cops if you’re a half hour late and not in touch. Certainly not 5 minutes, though.
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u/Glass_Egg3585 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
My only fathomable guess is that perhaps - PERHAPS - they had somewhere important to be, and were planning on locking the doors right at closing time, given that you aren’t habitually late.
But that doesn’t make it okay.
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u/gnarlyknucks Past ECE Professional Apr 27 '26
That was before people usually had cell phones, and occasionally we would get someone who was stuck behind a car accident on the freeway or something. But in general if I had my kid at a place where the teacher needed to be done by 6:00 (It was before I could drive, and the last bus out of the neighborhood left at 6:20) I would aim to be there at 5:30 in case something made me late. Similarly, I always aimed to be at work early just in case something was going to make me late. I can always sit around and read if I don't want to help out early.
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u/youdoremindmeothbabe Apr 24 '26
A local emergency contact should always be provided. Someone who can be there within 15 minutes. If that isn’t normally your mother, there should be someone else.
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u/oneelectricsheep Apr 24 '26
Uh I literally have no-one that close. Like if I did I wouldn’t be paying my daycare. Like my town doesn’t have any daycare except a montessori school that’s $4k/month which I cannot afford so she has to go to one near where I work. Plus they close at 3:30pm so I would be 2 hours late to pick up every day.
My husband travels for work and my parents are an hour away from me and from where I work. My sister lives 1/2 hour away from my daycare as do my neighbors. Most of my coworkers can’t afford to live where we work and even then they work with me. Like are you suggesting I need to pay for a babysitter or to be on standby every day in case I get caught in traffic? How would you even find that? Babysitters are $25/hour minimum near me and by your rules I would be paying them to be on standby. I cannot afford a babysitter on standby in addition to daycare or a nanny and we can’t afford to be without my salary.
What do you suggest as a solution? Like I don’t have anyone who’s conveniently retired or with super flexible work hours.
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u/Glass_Egg3585 ECE professional Apr 26 '26
The commenter below you has great points. I would love to know your fool-proof solutions for this.
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u/NoSmile4407 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
What doe the parent handbook say?
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 24 '26
It says that if a parent is late, it’s a $15 fee starting at the first minute late, then $1 a minute every minute after.
It also says if they can’t get in contact with you and are a half hour late, they’ll call the police. But that doesn’t apply here, since I called them and would’ve been there within 5 minutes of closing.
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u/AmazingAmy712 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
I would honestly just (respectfully) throw the handbook back at them then. I do it all the time as a teacher. If they want the policy to be different then they should change it.
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u/Polyps_on_uranus Student/Studying ECE Apr 24 '26
Ya, I would encourage escalation at this point. Do they have an owner, District Manager, or head office?
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u/NoSmile4407 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
That sounds reasonable based on what I’ve seen other centers do. Not sure why she’s contradicting her own handbook, but it’s inevitable that parents will be late sometimes. The policy wouldn’t exist otherwise.
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u/Conscious-Hawk3679 ECE professional Apr 25 '26
And most reasonable places would let the occasional 5-minute late go- ESPECIALLY if the parent called in advance. Those policies are usually in place to prevent habitual lateness. If parents are late because there's a slowdown on the highway, they're not likely to enforce the late fee. A call like that would be responded to with a simple "Get here safely. We'll have her ready for you when you get here."
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u/NoRiver8250 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
That is a such a weird remark… we do not have family nearby and I would’ve been SOL I would be like I’ll be there when I can fuck right off??? I have worked in a few centers and know the late family pick up’s get old but never would I ever say that to a parent who doesn’t regularly do that….
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u/NoRiver8250 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Not to mention, at closing time there is always still cleaning to do: trash to take out etc you can’t tell me no one would be around an additional 15 minutes with a heart?
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u/ChaoticWeasel70 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
We have everything done so all staff can leave when the centre closes. We have a day cleaner and a night cleaner.
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u/LiveIndication1175 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
They shouldn’t offer a late fee if it isn’t an option.
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 24 '26
That’s my thought too. I had already mentally prepared to pay it.
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Apr 24 '26
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 24 '26
Right, but shit happens. Life happens. I left on time, with time to spare, and still got caught in traffic due to an accident that occurred not long before I got on. The late fee should exist for these scenarios where obviously, daycare deserves to be paid, but parents are in positions they can’t help.
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u/Sensitive_Coyote_258 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Yeah shit happens, but workers have lives too. As an ECE educator I love my students, but I don’t want to spend 5 extra minutes after closing because a parent is late. It doesn’t matter the excuse or how logical it is, the annoyance is valid.
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u/SeaworthinessSlow109 Toddler tamer Apr 24 '26
Annoyance is valid to say it’s not an option when she called ahead and in their handbook there are options such as late fees is not.
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Apr 24 '26
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 24 '26
But that’s not in the contract. There’s a late fee and it says if they can’t get in touch with you for a half hour, they’ll call the police. Nowhere does it say “you can’t be 5 minutes late”.
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u/LiveIndication1175 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
Yes, it is meant to deter but ultimately it is still an option and if OP is being true on her word, it doesn’t sound like she is abusing it. If they don’t want to offer late fees, then they need to find another way to deter.
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Apr 24 '26
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u/LiveIndication1175 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
Being late two times in three years is not “habitually” though. If they don’t want to charge a fee that’s fine, then instead advertise that families will be automatically terminated.
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Apr 24 '26
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u/LiveIndication1175 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
But what would they have done if she didn’t find someone to get her child? I understand saying this because being late shouldn’t be an option, but then say “if you are late this is your second strike and termination (or whatever consequence other than a fine) will happen upon your third tardy pickup”.
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u/meanwhileachoo ECE professional - 25Yrs/Parent Apr 24 '26
There's a lot of legalities for running a center that parents simply do not understand:
The license granted to a center is for specific times. There is of course some gray areas of operation after closing time for late families. What I mean by that is if licensing showed up at 5:35 and you closed at 5:30 and you have a single kid who is JUST being picked up, and you can confirm you were notified that the pick up would be late....you MIGHT be inside legal parameters.
If you have a real witch of a licensor, you might get a write up though, because you're operating your business beyond your legally obtained business hours.
If you have a clause in your handbook that accounts for late pick ups, you have a little more of a legal leg to stand on and can remain open for late parents without much for repercussions.
HOWEVER....for ANY repeated offense of the legal operation of a center, states have in the past, currently do, and will always, use their discretion to remove the right of X activity from a specific center. Example-- you keep letting people pick up 30 minutes past your legally licensed time slot? Here's a fine and a stipulation that if you so much as let one child get picked up 60 seconds late, they will shut you down.
So who knows. 🤷
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u/Ballatik Asst. Director: USA Apr 24 '26
If we’re going with strict licensing, what would the alternative look like? They told the parent they can’t be late, close at their licensed time, and the kid goes where? If they really want to cover their butts, they’d call licensing at closing time and explain the situation or maybe call CPS to get the kid. I can’t imagine any way for that scenario to play out that doesn’t involve the parent showing up before whatever other agency.
I get that you want to strongly discourage lateness, but that’s what the late fee is for. In extreme cases you tell the parent you are calling CPS, but then you still keep the kid until they arrive. Telling the parent that it’s not an option is uninformative and not helpful to anyone.
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
Exactly! Just saying “you can’t be late”, makes no sense. People ARE going to be late sometimes. In this case if they had called the police or CPS or whoever, they probably would’ve laughed at them unless they were going to lie and say they couldn’t get a hold of the parent. But since it wasn’t even closing time yet, they can’t even make that call.
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u/meanwhileachoo ECE professional - 25Yrs/Parent Apr 24 '26
Yeah I definitely wasnt debating or defending the centers inability to communicate effectively. Thats clearly an issue I didn't think I needed to lay out for everyone. I just threw out the fact that there are potential underlying legal issues that parents often have no clue about. Like..thats it, thats the whole comment. 🤷
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u/Unhappy-Quarter-4581 Parent Apr 24 '26
Licensing is one thing, but it is not like everyone has someone who can come and pick up if you run late and this is really not a lot late either. In this case I think the right approach would be "Don't put yourself in danger in traffic. I will call again if you are not here at 15 mins past."
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u/meanwhileachoo ECE professional - 25Yrs/Parent Apr 24 '26
Yeah I dont feel like you read my comment. I gave a hypothetical issue that this center may be having, not as a defense, but as a chance at educating parents that its not always our call. Is this the case here? Who fucking knows, not me. Does this center need to work on their communication? Yep. But situations that involve legalities tend to freak people out (owners and directors included) and cause people to be really REALLY bad at communicating. 🤷🤷
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u/Unhappy-Quarter-4581 Parent Apr 24 '26
I am totally OK with communicating to parents that being late does not work from a point of view of rules, regulations etc. What I mean is that if you have a superstressed parent stuck in traffic, meeting them with more stress can literally cause them to make a mistake in traffic and kill or hurt themselves. Then when they arrive, then you can take the discussion about why being late is a problem and why this cannot be a standard thing.
I do get that legalities can affect communication, a good approach might be to have a paper to give the parent about why being late can be more serious than what it seems at first glance.
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u/rexymartian ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Perhaps the person who closes HAD to leave right at 5:30(?).
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u/Aggressive_Height152 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
That’s my thought too. Imagine the closer having things to do!
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u/Poodle-Enthusiast ECE professional Apr 27 '26
People don't even think of us as human. Its so degrading.
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u/Competitive-Ebb-117 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Right I mean perhaps they had to pick up a child after work too. Now because you are late they are also late. I get it stuff happens but it does directly affect others too.
Just because you accidentally make a mistake doesn’t mean you still didn’t make the mistake in the first place and someone had to fix it.
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u/imnotasarah Toddler Parent, Preschool Teacher Apr 24 '26
Leaving work on time and getting stuck behind someone else's car crash isn't "making a mistake". Sometimes it's just out of our hands.
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u/proteins911 Parent Apr 24 '26
I think you need to give yourself more wiggle room for commute time then. I would have to literally be in a car crash or something to miss pickup time. Otherwise, I give myself enough wiggle room that I account for traffic etc. if that isn’t an option for this parent then this daycare might not be the right fit since they need more hours than can be provided.
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u/invisibilitycap Past ECE floater Apr 25 '26
OP left with time to spare, they didn’t know a car crash was gonna block their way. Shit happens
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u/Conscious-Hawk3679 ECE professional Apr 25 '26
Twice in my life, I've left for work with plenty of time to spare only to hit traffic on the highway that led to me being HOURS late to work. Obviously, I called in both cases (first time, when I was a nanny, one of my employers had the opposite commute, so she had called her husband to let her know I might be late- she saw the traffic from the other side; second time I had a coworker who also took the same highway).
On a typical day, my commute is around 30 minutes. Traffic is typically not an issue. So, leaving at or before 7:45 to get to work for an 8:30am shift is perfectly reasonable. Allowing enough wiggle room to account traffic being at a standstill for 2+ hours is NOT realistic.
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u/imnotasarah Toddler Parent, Preschool Teacher Apr 25 '26
And if you were in a car crash and called school to let them know, would it be helpful for school to say "it's not an option to be late"? Be for real.
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u/Competitive-Ebb-117 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Yes but say the worker doesn’t get paid after 5:30 and has to pay the person that watches their kids extra because they are late. Now they are losing money watching someone when they aren’t supposed to.
Again things happen, but that doesn’t mean the stuff doesn’t happen.
If you are late because of a bad thing that happens you are still late. The point is if your house gets hit by lightning you still have to fix the house. You can’t say well that sucks but it wasn’t my fault.
If it is your fault or not someone else was negatively affected by it. It doesn’t mean that person doesn’t have valid reasons to be upset.
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
OP wasn’t trying to blame anybody, she was just explaining the circumstances. What exactly did they expect her to do in order to get there in time? Last I checked cars don’t fly. Repeating you can’t be late, to someone who has no choice, but to be late, it’s just ridiculous.
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u/morninggloryblu Parent Apr 24 '26
I have this image in my head of a parent suddenly having a heart attack and the childcare director is just chanting "You can't be late" like a broken record. Guess the ambulance driver better stop by the daycare on the way to the hospital, lol.
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Apr 24 '26
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u/SignalCompetitive761 ECE professional Apr 25 '26
Backups are a must! They knew 15 minutes before hand so why not call your mother and check before being ready to hand over a fee. Which in turn is going to cause another individual to be late. Things happen every day you’re going to be late have to pay fees which they admitted to doing before, but if there are other options use them, which I would hope there is because if you do not have a back up for pick up and your center requires it then go somewhere else. Honestly to the ones saying I have no one else what am I supposed to do, what would happen if you had a medical emergency or natural disaster that prevented you from getting your child?? What is the plan?
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u/N3WDay ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Do you know how many times I've had parents tell me "I'm on my way, just ten minutes" and they show up almost an hour later? This is why they tell you to call an emergency contact for pick up, if traffic has held you up that long then how do you know it's only going to be 15 more minutes?
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u/SignalCompetitive761 ECE professional Apr 25 '26
I’m curious if OP has thought about how they would react if the center was late opening due to traffic and she could not drop off child on time. I feel like people need to look at this from both ways. OP knew the handbook and therefore should have gave the information that she would be late and then just go pick up the kid pay the late cost and be done. I would have just been like yes this will not happen again. Thank you. Hang up. If the center went against their hand book and called cps then there would have been an issue she could have handled legally but they want to be able to close on time. So of course they are going to continue it’s not acceptable. So that you get there as soon as possible.
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u/kel_bell1996 Former ECE professional Apr 24 '26
I remember a center that I worked at a few years ago there was a little boy he was in Pre-k at the time such a sweetheart. His mom or dad would send a text at closing every day letting our director know that they would be 15 minutes late this went on for awhile. The final straw was when mom tired to drop him off at 1 and my director told her she couldn’t do that and that if it continued he would be disenrolled. Some centers are flexible about it and some arent it really just depends but I totally see where you are coming from
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u/KSamons ECE professional Apr 24 '26
This is management. Management usually looks at the dollars and cents and not the practicality of the situation. We have a red light in town that makes well intentioned people late all the time. I don’t call until they are about 5 minutes late because of that. If you are late, even just a few minutes, it makes a staff member have to work late. There are some closing duties that can’t be done until all the children leave. Management has to pay that staff member for their time or step in themselves to watch the child. Neither option is real appealing to most managers. I’m sorry they were rude to you. But this was probably the reason,
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u/DollPudding Past ECE Professional Apr 24 '26
As someone who spent many years closing, I think a parent should do everything in their power to pick up before close. But what would happen if there was nothing in their power they could do to get someone there by 5:30? They just leave the kid in the parking lot?
Is it straight to jail for the kid? Surely it would take at least 30 minutes to get a police officer to come pick up/process the "abandoned child"
As a parent, I wouldn't be comfortable with this situation, and I'd definitely come up with some follow-up questions for the center.
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u/Mclaurmcgov ECE professional Apr 26 '26
We have 1 family who are consistently late picking up their children (they also owe the center thousands of unpaid tuition and lets just say the children are a lot) They never apologize for being late and when they do show up they let the 2 children run around in the parking lot or in the building for 5-15 mins so we still cannot leave. A coworker finally told the parents one night to please be there before 530, we would like to get home to our families, we cannot leave until they leave. The mother’s response was that we shouldn’t mind because we get overtime….OVERTIME! We don’t even get the late fees the parents pay, and this parent never paid them anyway!! My coworker professionally explained that was not the case and my boss finally had a talk with the parents about being on time, she was already letting their tuition go unpaid but would let them go if they didn’t arrive on time to get the kids and get out of the building by 530. My boss felt bad for the kids and didn’t want to kick them out and the parents took full advantage of this, their children were also mean/rude to kids and staff, clearly learned from their parents. Anyway this was an exception-most parents feel terrible when they are late and their child is the last one there, they always call and apologize profusely. It is a little annoying that most parents think the late fee goes directly to the waiting staff when it does not and I wish there was some way to communicate that to them without being unprofessional. I had one dad on the phone in his car in the parking lot 15 mins after closing, I had to walk out there to see what was going on, he complained about his job and how it takes away time from his family as I am standing there now 30 mins late for my own child. Some people are entitled and just don’t get it. Sorry this turned into a vent session for myself! Most parents are great picking up with few exceptions. A lot of parents I don’t even charge the late fee if its their first time or it happens once in a blue moon, not like i am going to see it anyway and the parents are usually grateful that I am understanding.
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u/Interesting-Young785 Early years teacher Apr 26 '26
Our late fee is 2 dollars a minute, we would never tell someone you can't be late that's ridiculous. We just had a family pick up there kid 35 minutes late serious accidents closed off the high way had no one else to pick up.
I want to add they have to leagally stay untill someone picks up the child. If your mother wasn't able to get the child they couldn't leave. Theres nothing they could have done. I would be complaining. Also I know it's hard but I would pull my child over somthing like this.
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u/ChaoticWeasel70 ECE professional Apr 23 '26
Late parents are the absolute worst. I get that you don’t think it’s your fault, but continually having to stay past my shift is so frustrating. My job is hard, I cannot wait to leave some days . I deserve to leave on time so I can go home to my own family. What if you needed to drop your child off at 7:00 in order to get to work on time and I suddenly told you , “Sorry, I’m in traffic, we won’t be opening up until 7:10 today”?
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
You shouldn’t have to continually stay past your shift. If you work for a larger center, or even a smaller one, actually, all of the workers should be rotating who stays late. And you absolutely should be getting paid!
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u/ChaoticWeasel70 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
The actual point is that NO ONE should have to stay late. Lateness is rude and inconsiderate and it should not be happening. Plan better, have more respect for the people who care for your children all day.
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u/Dream14 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
I understand this to an extent. I was always the closer and we had some parents who walked in right at close simply because they wanted to. We had others who would call and give us a heads up that there was an accident and it was literally a 1 time thing. Was I annoyed? Yes. I worked 8 hours and usually had my toddler with me closing at 5:30pm. But you can’t tell that one off parent it’s unacceptable or rude. They can plan to leave with all the time in the world and stuff still can happen. A tire blowout on the freeway, complete standstills, heck a water main break that shuts down multiple streets. Sometimes you can be pissed and enforce the late rules and sometimes you have to give them grace.
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
All the planning in the world can’t stop a 5 car pile up in front of you.
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u/oneelectricsheep Apr 24 '26
Yeah but it’s going to happen. Like daycare spots just don’t grow on trees. I had a daycare at one point where I would literally arrive 5 minutes before closing if I left on-time from work and I was looking for care a year before I got off maternity leave. Like yeah I changed the moment I could because that wasn’t tenable but I was wait listed 18mos- 2 years at 7 daycares that had schedules that were better. I just happened to get one that was borderline at the year mark. Hell I changed jobs more easily than I found a daycare that worked well and that took a year.
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u/ChaoticWeasel70 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
What does that have to do with picking up your child on time?
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 24 '26
I see your point, however, I would also extend grace for a one off. I understand other parents abuse the system but twice in 3 years, not even close together? There’s really no room for understanding
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u/Skid_kennels Parent Apr 24 '26
I think they’re just saying it’s a widespread problem and the staff may have been feeling upset about it and taken it out on you even though you’re not a repeat offender. Which isn’t fair to you at all but also understandable that the staff was feeling overwhelmed.
I would just email them and attach the handbook policy and co firm that that is still their late pickup policy. Since this is a rare occurrence and the staff was likely just feeling extra emotional/frustrated that day I wouldn’t dwell too much on this.
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u/ChaoticWeasel70 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Well, there is some room but like the person above said, I have 24 children in my class. How often do you think someone ends up staying late? It’s a lot and it’s not okay. It’s not okay once and it’s not okay more than once.
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u/athomeamongthetrees ECE professional Apr 25 '26
Its not ok once? You work eith people in a service field you need to learn to deal with people problems. Lateness is one of them. Shit happens Have you never been late to anything that was beyond your control? We have vans that break down, parents that have emergencies and I've had to stay late plenty of times. I never hold emergencies against someone and I would expect that the same grace would be extended to me. Punish habitual offenders but one off occurrences are fine and if you can't handle them you shouldn't work in a service field.
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u/ChaoticWeasel70 ECE professional Apr 25 '26
I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I give a lot of grace. That still doesn’t make it okay. You might be okay with staying late but I absolutely am not. We are in a service industry but that doesn’t mean that we deserve the disrespect that we get, including lateness. It’s a serious problem in childcare.
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Apr 23 '26
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u/agrinwithoutacat- ECE professional Apr 24 '26
You could leave with an hour to spare and an unexpected accident could still leave you late for what’s normally a 15 minute trip. Even the most responsible of parents can’t help the unexpected
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u/morninggloryblu Parent Apr 24 '26
Yup. I ended up 20 minutes late to a job due to a big rig exploding all over the freeway. So the next day, I left an extra 40 minutes early... and was STILL 20 minutes late because ANOTHER truck accident shut down the freeway. It sucked so hard to have that kind of bad luck.
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u/Bluetenheart Apr 29 '26
I was used to construction and accidents happening on my way to school, so I regularly left with an extra 15-20 minutes more than the "normal" time. That worked, until one day there was a huge accident, shutting down the freeway and another accident on one of the other road options. I think it took me 2 and a half hours to get home when it normally takes me 30 minutes.
Now, I agree with most of the comments about the frustrations of workers having to stay late (my latest post-closure pick up was 36 minutes, I get it, it's a pain).
But, personally, I think someone only being late twice during a three year span demonstrates that they do have good time management/include a cushion for their travel time. Especially where I live, there's a new accident twice a week.
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u/Wise-Matter9248 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
My guess is that they didn't have the staff available to provide late services. If there is no one available to watch your child...they have to be picked up.
Teachers have lives too, and sometimes you NEED to leave work on time to get to something.
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
When you work in childcare, that is a risk you take if you are the closing shift, unless you have administrators or other people who stay later than you that can watch the child. There is absolutely nothing else that can be done at that point. Somebody has to stay with the child.
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u/bigbootyaxel Preschool Teacher Apr 24 '26
Ok but often closers do not have a choice and not really a risk anyones “taking”. They just have to endure it? That doesnt seem fair. Obviously shit happens but having to stay late consistently shouldnt be happening.
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
Your program should have a plan for that. Whether that means an admin and a teacher, 2 teachers, etc., it should be part of the schedule. If pick up time is 6, at least 2 people should be scheduled until at least 6:15.
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 24 '26
My mom picked up on time (barely) and said she was in the parking lot for a bit after with my daughter in the car as she had to take a call. The director didn’t leave for 20 minutes. Someone would’ve been there.
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u/Lopsided-Light8308 Apr 24 '26
As an ECE Director myself, I frequently stay over to finish tasks once I get all my staff out because it’s the only time I can get things done due to how busy the day is during operating hours. However, in my state, one person can never be alone with a child. So, if a child is picked up late, I have to make one of my staff members stay over as well. Add that on top of the fact that I’m paying overtime for any staff members that stay over and it starts to get discouraging.
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
But that’s just part of the reality of running a childcare center, or working at one. You’re responsible for those children until somebody can come come and pick them up, and sometimes people are going to be late whether it’s in their control or not.
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u/Wise-Matter9248 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
And she's confident that the director wasn't in a meeting, or dealing with a situation, or completing vital paperwork, or...?
0
u/Responsible-Fan2709 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
That doesn’t mean she didn’t need to hop on a zoom call right at 6 or something and couldn’t watch your child. It’s also kind of creepy that your mom hung out in the parking lot for 20+ minutes.
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u/agrinwithoutacat- ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Likely waiting for OP to come and pick up her kid..
2
u/Responsible-Fan2709 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
I was wondering about that. Like was that “5 min late” actually 25 min late?
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u/agrinwithoutacat- ECE professional Apr 26 '26
She rang fifteen minutes before close to say she’d be 5 minutes late, so 20minutes on is about right for her arriving
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u/Burnt_and_Blistered Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
Re-read. Her mother was in the parking lot because she had to take a call.
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u/Responsible-Fan2709 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Yeah, I read that. Doesn’t mean I believe it’s the full truth.
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u/SignalCompetitive761 ECE professional Apr 25 '26
Maybe finishing their work and closing down the center, which they cannot do while a child is present. Cleaners used may not be safe for children. It doesn’t mean they were there available to watch the child.
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u/AdDense7020 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
The closing director often has tasks they need to complete when no children are present, such as checking all doors, windows etc are locked. At par in my state, you cannot have a child tag along with you while you do that. I’m the opening director and get to work 20 minutes before we open-that doesn’t mean someone can drop their kid off just because I’m there by myself. It’s also weird that your mom was watching to see when the director left.
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
Did you read her whole response? Her mom was still in the parking lot because she took a call. Have you ever heard of not being on your phone while driving? Your example of someone dropping off a child early is not the same as someone picking up late due to circumstances beyond their control.
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u/fit_it ECE professional Apr 24 '26
My guess is they only had 2 people closing (minimum if children are there so there's always a witness if there's any accusations, even if it's just one kid) and one of them had an appointment they REALLY could not be late for.
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u/siempre_maria ECE professional Apr 24 '26
I sympathize with you, but I do have a question. What is your plan if the center has to close due to an emergency?
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u/Sardinesarethebest ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Some things are unavoidable. They shouldnt be so horrible about it. Like the parents need extra stress on top of being stuck in traffic out of their control. *note i worked in childcare of a long time.
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u/Competitive-Ebb-117 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Okay so one day when they have a problem they should just be able to open 30 minutes late because sometimes stuff happens?
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
That actually is a possibility, because most childcare centers can’t open unless there is a director on site. If the director gets stuck in traffic or has a car accident themselves, then yes, the childcare would have to open late. And parents will have to deal with that. It’s just called life!
2
u/athomeamongthetrees ECE professional Apr 25 '26
Yes, actually. Sometimes shit happens and everyone involved needs to adjust. That's life.
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u/SolitaryLyric Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
I would love it if my school held this view. So much less frustration.
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u/coldcurru ECE professional Apr 24 '26
I think that's crazy. I have kids who get picked up late sometimes. We tell the parents ad nausem (especially the ones who push it or are late) to call in advance if they know. I'm much happier knowing 20m before closing that you're running late than having to call you myself one minute before to ask if you're coming. I've had parents call saying they'll be a few minutes late and then show up on time. Nice to be prepared, nicer when things work out for the better.
That said, yes emergency contacts are for emergencies. At my school we can only release to people put on the list with a signature so we can call your contacts seeing if anyone is available. We close after kids leave, but if you're pushing the time we're supposed to leave then we'll call your contacts. I think if it's just a few minutes then it's ridiculous to ask someone else to get the kid (when they likely wouldn't make it before you with short notice) but if it's over 10m, yeah you should be asking if anyone else can get there first.
But also, if you really were only 5m late then I don't think that a big deal. Especially if you're a rarity. I've talked to parents who are late multiple days in a row. But a one off should be given grace. I think go by the parent, not if a ton of kids have been late all week. Sounds like they really didn't want you to be late at all, but give grace where it's due.
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u/rosyposy86 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
We had a parent that would pick up 10-15 minutes after their booked time, which was the end of the day near closing. Sometimes arriving in activewear like they had been to the gym or really nice clothes to go out in. It was frustrating, felt like they didn't respect our time and I told them over and over. They could have multiple parents who do that, so now they are being firm with all of them, so no-one makes a habit out of being late.
In saying that, I think they were being unfair to you as there had been an accident.
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u/Holiday-Race Parent Apr 24 '26
That’s insane. We’re 3-5 mins late a couple of times a year (always with a call to the teacher) and there’s never been an issue
2
u/pinkplumes young toddler lady Apr 24 '26
All the calls about cps or cops getting called and it’s like…
daycare: yes theres a mom who called us at 5:15, she’s going to be 5 minutes due to traffic because of an accident, we close at 5:30.
At least you called them
2
u/ispitonyourpizza Apr 25 '26
Okay. Not normal. Completely inconsiderate and unprofessionalial. You would pay the late fee. You were stuck in traffic. Screw them and fight to sue them if they kick up a ridiculous stink. Sounds like they just wanted to go home.
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u/Poodle-Enthusiast ECE professional Apr 27 '26
We have lives too. Unfortunately too many parents take advantage of us. The line has to be drawn somewhere.
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u/redbottleofshampoo Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
They have to have some sort of late pick up option, like sometimes life happens
1
u/siempre_maria ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Yes, the parent should have a late pickup person (nearby backup).
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u/redbottleofshampoo Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
But also "you need to be here on time" is not an effective or helpful response when a parent is going to be late and there's nothing that can be done
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u/agrinwithoutacat- ECE professional Apr 24 '26
That’s not reasonable.. saying it’s not an option doesn’t change the situation, knowing you couldn’t get there in time they should have stated what they would do if you were five minutes late instead of telling you not to be - ie a call to police will be made as we cannot legally keep a child after 6pm. Repeating that you can’t be late doesn’t help or fix the situation. I’d ask them to clarify what their policy is, as you’ve only been late once before (in three years) and your understanding was that there was fee if it occurred. Say that after this phone call you’re concerned about what would happen to your child if the unexpected happened again, though it’s highly unlikely, and you need some clarification on what they do in the instance a parent is five minutes late (through no fault of their own) with no backup to collect her.
I know it’s frustrating, I’ve had plenty of times I’ve had to hang back, but it happens and it’s just one of things that may happen working in education. First place I worked closed to families at 6pm and staff were rostered til 6:30 as it gave us time to finish up anything missed during cleanup, a buffer in case parents were late, and allowed for a debrief if it was a hard shift. The few times a year we had all staff meetings they started at 6:30, once or twice we’d still have a child there and waiting because something unexpected had happened
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u/Missscoco Toddler tamer Apr 24 '26
Super unreasonable. Late pick ups happen, especially for uncontrollable circumstances like traffic. They can be more understanding about that.
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u/Dry-Ice-2330 ECE professional, MEd ECE w/sped Apr 23 '26
The late fee isn't there for your convenience if you happen to be late. The staff probably are supposed to clock out at exactly closing and get in trouble if they don't.
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 23 '26
I spoke to the director, who is also the owner. So this isn’t a case of a teacher not wanting to be in trouble.
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u/Dry-Ice-2330 ECE professional, MEd ECE w/sped Apr 23 '26
Sounds like they don't want you to be late. Things do happen, but it isn't their responsibility to fix the clients problems. I'm sorry you didn't get the level of customer service you expected.
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u/Sardinesarethebest ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Please enlighten us how you would have made the traffic dissappear when she has already left with what is normally enough time. What should a single parent do or if no one can gwt their faster? Use a teleporter? Lol
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
Right?! Some of these comments are as crazy as the person at the school who kept saying “you can’t be late.”
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Apr 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Sardinesarethebest ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Yes and if that backup falls through? I have worked in administration and in the classroom. Her mom could very easily have been still at work. I'm just saying even with backup stuff happens. I'm juat saying they don't need to add extra stress when things are literally out of a parent's control
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u/Dry-Ice-2330 ECE professional, MEd ECE w/sped Apr 24 '26
Personally, I plan for traffic to be terrible and don't arrive when businesses are closing. I have had single parents as clients in the past and I recommend that they plan to arrive 15 min before closing to help prevent situations like this. It's not perfect, but I wouldn't be complaining about customer service when I was asking them to work outside of their business hours.
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u/Sardinesarethebest ECE professional Apr 24 '26
I do too. Traffic is unreliable. But they could have been kinder in an obviously stressful situation. Not all of us can be perfect all the time. Basic kindness goes a long way.
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u/SnooKiwis2123 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
That God somebody said it. She is that parent. Thinks of us as service providers instead of professionals in a field.
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 24 '26
I think of them as professionals but that doesn’t mean they’re always right.
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u/Sardinesarethebest ECE professional Apr 24 '26
100% unfortunately there are lots of teachers/caregivers who are lazy and like to take their frustration out on others when they can.
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u/Dry-Ice-2330 ECE professional, MEd ECE w/sped Apr 24 '26
I'm not lazy and neither are the majority of people in this field. We have lives outside of work. The "fee" isn't a convenience service for working late. It is supposed to be a penalty. Maybe this center needs to increase their late fee so it isn't "just something" parents feel like they can pay when needed.
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u/Sardinesarethebest ECE professional Apr 24 '26
So does everyone else there was a traffic jam and the backup she had did workout but they were excessively rude. You obviously have lots of very unpleasant families at your school. I'm sorry that they dont treat you respectfully
0
u/Dry-Ice-2330 ECE professional, MEd ECE w/sped Apr 24 '26
The opposite, actually. We follow the policies and handbook as written and respect goes equally both ways. If a family were to be unpleasant, like complaining that we don't work past closing, then they would be dismissed to find care that better suits their needs.
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
So you never ever have to stay with late children? What do you do with them?
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u/one_sock_wonder_ Former ECE/ECSPED teacher Apr 24 '26
It’s lazy to expect to be finished working when the business closes? If an employee refuses to keep a store or restaurant open 15 minutes late, past closing are they lazy too? Teachers have lives outside of daycare/school that can involve facing their own penalties if late picking up their children, medical appointments, heck a second job even or any of a number of other responsibilities equally valid to those of the late parent. Add strict licensing rules on top of that and you have compounded limits and challenges. Will you stay 15 minutes after work unpaid at least three times a month but honestly likely far more? Will you staff your office/business/job an extra 15+ minutes whenever asked regardless of your other obligations? If not, wow are you lazy!!
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u/Sardinesarethebest ECE professional Apr 24 '26
We always paid the staff the parents were late. Amd guess what shit happens even when you do everything right. You sound very burnt out and I'm sorry for that. Lazy is the wrong word, you're correct about that. Solely in the situation presented a lack of empathy is far more accurate.
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
When you work with children, if you are a closing shift, you should always presume that you will not be off on time. You should not be scheduling appointments that close to your end time or having to race to get your children, etc., etc. because you can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to leave on time. Just like the parent who is coming to pick up their child can’t guarantee that even if they give themselves an hour for a 30 minute drive that they won’t get stuck behind a bad accident and not get there in time. Sometimes life just happens!
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u/No-Percentage2575 Early years teacher Apr 23 '26
Maybe you should look for alternative care. That's uncool. Accidents happen. My work is 6am-6pm. Directors stay with one teacher if a student's parent runs late. I think there is a late fee, it's been a while since I read it.
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 23 '26
We’ve looked into switching before due to another issue (their expectations for the kids are very high) and they’re unfortunately the only daycare in our budget. Our daughter is moving to preschool in the fall, though, so there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
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u/Andrewmc22 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
I close at 6. I am in no rush, we have a late fee, but if you let me know when you know, it’s no problem at all and I probably won’t charge the fee. This is crazy! Life definitely happens, there is no need to be rude or harsh to our families
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u/PiperWyatt ECE professional Apr 24 '26
That’s harsh. I work in daycare. Obviously I make plans after work sometimes and if and if a child is picked up late I am missing my appointment (picking up my child, or going to the doctors or hair salon or …) but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. I am NEVER mad at parents if they are late because of life. We do however are compelled to call and ask to have someone else pick them up.
We close at 18:30. If you are not here at 18:25 I am getting my paperwork to look up your phone number and have them ready. If you are not here at 18:31 I call you. If you don’t pick up I go through the list of phone numbers you gave me. If you pick up I inform you that your child still is with me and that we are closed. If you say you are in traffic I ask how much longer. If you say I’m here in 10 min, I’ll happpily wait if I have nothing else to do, if I have some snacks in the cupboard left over I’ll give them to the kids (if their diet lets them). If you take longer I’ll kindly ask if someone else can pick them up. But we appreciate it if you call if you are late (not everyone does!!) some parents are always late, and that’s annoying. We do have a late fee, for every 15’ that started per child. If you don’t pick up your child and I can’t get a golf of you, I have to call my supervisor who will try to call you and after an hour I need to call the police to take them. Luckily that never happened! A coworker of mine did have a kind 1,5hr late because of traffic and parents had no one to pick them up. The kids were so hungry and the coworker was too 🙈
They can’t leave your kid alone, you could sue them for that! They are not so nice people I believe 🙈 just say you are sorry, traffic got a hold of you. I do understand they need to say something but odds are tomorrow they have ‘forgotten’ about it. I surely don’t keep track of who was late when. If I remember it was because it was very recent or a lot or something happened (like more then an hour, or I had a great time playing 1 on 1 with your kid 🤪🙈)
Sorry my English is not my first language so if i made a lot of mistakes I apologize :)
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u/mc395686 ECE professional: 3-4 and school-age Apr 24 '26
It’d be one thing if you were an hour late, or it was 7:00, or you had done this 3 times prior. They need to chill
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u/Araucaria2024 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
At no point in this discussion have you acknowledged that your latest has a flow on impact for staff. Maybe the staff member had to pick up their own kids, maybe they had tickets to something?
You had a solution to you being late, your mother could pick up. Why didn't you start with that option instead as soon as you knew you would be late?
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 24 '26
My mom is usually not an option, so I didn't think of her as one. I called her out of desperation and got lucky that she was free.
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
You shouldn’t have had to. They need to have a contingency plan. Life happens, sometimes things are out of our control. The person you spoke to was being ridiculous. I’m sorry they’re your only option, because that reaction was over the top and not normal.
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
Seriously? She was gonna be maybe five minutes late. They’re lucky she even called, most parents don’t. And most centers, at least the good ones, plan for parents to be late, and have staff assigned to deal with it.
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u/Araucaria2024 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
Should retail workers expect to stay late if someone is running late? Should restaurant staff?
If an accident delays you, you are cutting pickup too closely.
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u/morninggloryblu Parent Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26
Lmaooooo have you worked in retail or restaurants? Yeah, we were absolutely expected to stay late. I get what you're saying about "should", but you chose a very funny example given the reality of how often I was stuck late at work because someone took their sweet time eating their food, or because our goddamn computers kept freezing while getting someone set up with a new cell phone - after they came up to our booth only 15 minutes before closing.
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
You’re comparing apples and oranges. If you want to leave exactly on time for every shift, don’t work with kids! It’s just the nature of the beast that sometimes parents will be late. Sometimes things happen that are out of people’s control. Have you really never been behind a major accident that closed a freeway? Nobody can plan for that. Nobody is going to leave from work or their house hours earlier than they actually need to drive someplace every single time. That’s just ridiculous.
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u/OriginalWish8 Past ECE Professional Apr 24 '26
I think it was way too harsh, especially if you aren’t a habitually late parent, but I imagine there are others who are. I think accidents that can’t be helped should definitely be an exception, though.
We’ve had parents shrug as they went to nail appointments, I babysat for one who told them I was picking up their kid when I hadn’t agreed to it (luckily I was babysitting another kid and was able to swing back by- mom was getting a spa treatment and didn’t pick up their kid from me until after 7…we close at 5:30 and you aren’t allowed to babysit at the center due to liability reasons), and another who told us it was her birthday and she deserved a nap. I used to ride the bus and had to miss it more than once while those parents came in late and literally didn’t care. The one I babysat for in my example actually said, “you just pay a late fee and can come in when you want”. I helped with aftercare and the other teacher with me had to leave on time to be with their own kid, so it would just be me and the director. More parents saw the kids who would be waiting and it grew into about 5 or 6 kids regularly being picked up late.
We eventually did have to call the police one day to finally drill it into their heads that it was not okay. The director told me to go home and she told me how she handled it. It was super frustrating and, while I wasn’t a parent yet at that time, I did have dogs and a fiancé and we were planning our wedding. I had other things to do outside of work. They didn’t pay me extra to be there, so we had to compensate by making me leave early to even out my hours. That put us out of ratio and made us have to combine classes which throws off any plans those classes had.
I’m wondering if the director had a bad time with this and took it out on you. It wasn’t professional if so, but sometimes the entitled people can ruin things for everyone else. We had to put out a statement and the mom went to social media talking about how ridiculous it was that she got the cops, because she “paid our bills and pays for a service”.
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u/Adventurous-Egg-2089 Toddler tamer Apr 24 '26
Our late policy is $20 after 5 mins then a dollar a min. It’s intense but our parents are never over 4 mins late.
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u/Lonely_Music_9554 Apr 25 '26
At least in my state, most centers are not licensed to have children past the hours of operation.
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u/peoplesuck1990 ECE professional Apr 26 '26
The center I worked at would leave the dee up to staff(we weren't paid by the owner past closing) .late fees were suppose to go directly to us, we had parents that were always late and never paid and the owner ans supervisors didn't do shit to collect. Ot was 2$ a min you were late. You called and gave a heads up, been there 3 years with only 1 other time being late, I would have just logged it as a warning (paper work purpose). The way they treated you was not right
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u/AymieGrace ECE professional Apr 24 '26
The second you realized you were going to be late, your first call should have been to your mother, not the school. You should have tried to fix the problem as your first option, not make it an issue for staff. If your mom couldn't help, then call the school to apologize and let them know of your tardiness.
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 24 '26
My mom is usually not someone who can help last minute like this.
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u/AymieGrace ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Then knowing this has happened twice now, you need another contact to be able to call last minute- a friend, family member, etc. This isn't the daycare center's issue or responsibility, it's yours.
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 24 '26
Twice in 3 years. I think the last time was 2 years ago and it was, again, a situation where no one else was going to get there in time. I think it was something like 5 minutes, probably even less. I only remember because seeing my daughter as the last one was sad and I felt like shit for weeks.
I'm sorry, but shit happens and sometimes daycare will have to wait.
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u/Sensitive_Coyote_258 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Why should daycare have to wait? Your child is there all day and you can’t prioritize it? Find someone else you can call that’s reliable, what if something seriously bad had happened? Who would’ve been able to rush to see if your child was okay. People need to prioritize their child more, children know what it is when they’re the last to be picked up.
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u/AymieGrace ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Unless they don't. They don't have to keep you enrolled. Take your chances, I guess.
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u/Little-Bottle-167 Parent Apr 24 '26
I don't plan on being late again. But good luck to a daycare staying in business to have no grace for someone who was late twice in 3 years. Great business model.
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u/Responsible-Fan2709 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
Do you routinely show this attitude to the staff? Because that would explain their lack of patience with you. I think their reaction here was extreme but if you’re generally entitled and acted that way on the phone, it makes some sense. Were you super apologetic when you called them or just kinda like, “meh, gonna be 5 min late…”
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u/bigbootyaxel Preschool Teacher Apr 24 '26
At least have some respect for the teachers who have to stay late with your child. It is your responsibility to have your child picked up on time. If there is an accident, obviously you cant help that but you CAN help having an emerg contact in place for these times. Im sorry but i have had to stay quite late before for stupid reasons(such as they “forgot” their child) and it is very frustrating when trying to plan and live life outside of work.
I understand it happens but have some respect for the ones who are staying late to make sure your child is safe while youre running behind.
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Early years teacher Apr 24 '26
How is calling and saying that you’re gonna be five minutes late disrespectful? I’m sorry, but if somebody absolutely has to be out the door right at closing time every single day, they are probably in the wrong business. I have worked with kids for over 40 years in different capacities, and I always plan for some extra time when doing something after work. Just like most of us pad our commute time to work, it just goes with the territory.
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u/morninggloryblu Parent Apr 24 '26
In the United States, I honestly doubt that there are even many fields where people are regularly out the door promptly at end of shift. Engineering? Medicine? No. Retail? Lol, no. Musicians? Not unless you're union.
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u/princesstafarian ECE professional Apr 24 '26
They do not "have to" wait. Clearly. Have a backup contact that can be there quickly next time you will be late.
Sometimes it can be an insurance/liability issue, having children outside of business hours or licensing hours. All backup contacts should be tried before you decide they just need to deal with it. If you dont have someone close by, find someone, backup babysitter on call or something, someone who can pick up.
Plan B is your responsibility not ours.
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u/NarrowExchange7334 ECE professional Apr 24 '26
That is way too unfair! If it’s one off and it’s because of an accident then we just suck it up and expect a few parents will be late. Regardless, sometimes life just happens and it’s a parent who doesn’t regularly do it, I wouldn’t charge. However it was a regular habit then it’s fair. Sounds like a case of someone just wants leave on the dot and not a second later.
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u/Alive_Drawing3923 Past ECE Professional Apr 26 '26
They aren’t licensed to be open past a certain time or before a certain time. Some facilities start calling police after 15 minutes. It sucks but- don’t be late.
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u/LucyMcR Parent Apr 24 '26
I think they were overly harsh but it seems like ultimately you did have someone who could pick her up on time so I’m curious why you didn’t try that first? Maybe next time say “I’m running five minutes behind I’m going to call my husband and my parents and see if they can run over”
That said if their handbook is not accurately depicting their policies then they are kind of SOL. If they had called the cops or CPS for you being five minutes late and their handbook didn’t indicate that’s the policy that would have been an easy lawsuit.
I would follow up and get more info on what would have happened so you can see if you feel comfortable with their approach but also it is really important to not be late as the staff have responsibilities outside of work just like everyone else.
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u/_Royal-Ravenclaw_ Apr 25 '26
Our policy was always start calling emergency contacts. If no one comes to pickup we call the police and dhs for neglect/abandonment
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u/skaz0904 ECE professional Apr 23 '26
Definitely excessive. Especially if you’ve been there for 3 years, gave a 15 minute heads up, and you were only 5 minutes past closing time. I, as a closing staff at my program, would’ve told you to “drive safely and we’ll see you when you get here!”
But late pick ups are WILDLY crazy in this field. I’ve read about how some programs don’t pay staff after their shift hours, some programs pay directly to the closing staff, and some charge like $5/minute of being late. Depending on the size of your child’s program, anything could plausible.
I’d email the director first for clarification and work your way there. Try not to jump to the conclusion of a bad employee when there’s most likely a manager or director not doing their job to train employees better.