Picking up children from nursery at finish time

[Crowtooyo]

I saw a video on tik tok. It's a jokey account from a lady who works in a nursery (or used to... can't quite remember!)
Anyway, she made a video about parents turning up in the car park but then sitting there for 45 mins to collect their child on the dot at 6pm and then expecting a 10 minute handover.
I wondered what people's opinions are on this?

I'll start by saying I work in childcare and am paid X- X and I feel that if a parent wants a full blown handover then they need to have that within the time frame that they pay for.

I am not bothered about parents waiting outside, they probably have work calls, etc... to catch up on. And they are paying for their child to be in the nursery. So that isn't the question.

The question is specifically about whether the parent should collect at closing time and then expect a 10-15 min handover.

Voting:

YABU - a handover should not be paid for
YANBU - parent should collect within time frame and handover included in that.

I can link the tik tok if people want. Not sure whether allowed?

When I worked in a shop we’d often serve customers till in at closing but shut the door so no-one else could come in. We didn’t turf someone out at closing.

I see it that I pay until 6 and can collect up until that time. I normally try and get there by 5.45. Generally when I’ve been closer to the 6, my daughter is there ready to go so no faffing really and then we’ll have a quick chat and get out quickly. I have two pick ups in different locations so need to be efficient. I try to vary which child is picked up first so not always cutting it fine for one setting.

There is one v irritating parent at our nursery who does seem to expect 10 min handovers every day. She is completely oblivious to the fact she’s holding up staff as well as parents in the queue behind her. I always dread it if I come at the same time as she does.

I guess a lot of parents see it as because they pay until six, they can come at six. The way I see it is that you pay for a service up until 6pm, with the handover being part of that service, and so should also be done before 6pm. Maybe just a difference of understanding.

I'm a childminder and this often drives me mad. They leave pick up until their actual pick up time so if there's a little bit of traffic they're actually late (only a minute or two) because they've left at the last possible minute. I also had one dad that would come on public transport but would wait in the street until 5pm if he was at all early but because he was getting public transport with the idea of being as close to 5pm as possible he was frequently late when the trains inevitably were missing or running late. I always aim to be places ten mins at least before I have to be there; I hate lateness.

I had the opposite issue.

I had a carer for my children at home. I'd get in from work and want to do a 5 mins max handover. She'd want to chat chat chat. Have a coffee etc.

Meanwhile my boys got frustrated that I wasn't giving them my full attention and started acting out.

I had to say something in the end but it was awkward!

@BlueSurfer

Surely nobody wants a 10-15 minute handover unless there is a particular issue? Don’t most parents just want to pick up their kid, hear they are happy and had a good day, and go home?

You'd be surprised. Some parents think their kids are the 'favourite' at nursery and want a long chat.

@Looneytune253

I'm a childminder and this often drives me mad. They leave pick up until their actual pick up time so if there's a little bit of traffic they're actually late (only a minute or two) because they've left at the last possible minute. I also had one dad that would come on public transport but would wait in the street until 5pm if he was at all early but because he was getting public transport with the idea of being as close to 5pm as possible he was frequently late when the trains inevitably were missing or running late. I always aim to be places ten mins at least before I have to be there; I hate lateness.

Yes this sort of thing annoys me too!

I used to have a parent who would cycle / walk so they knew exactly how long the commute would take. There really was no excuse. I used to have to let them know on days I needed to leave on time. That shouldn't be the case.

I'm a childminder and will only do a longer handover for children whose parents arrive before my closing time. Over the years you learn to get tougher as some parents take the piss..I used to have a parent who turned up a few minutes past 6 then would walk in, sit herself on the sofa and immediately breastfeed. Then her child would want to show mum all the toys that had been tidied away. Even go into the kitchen and ask for a banana! All of that could take around an extra 20 minutes! It doesn't happen now, I wouldn't allow it. Covid too has meant doorstep handovers which will be staying. No more kids charging round like lunatics while parents don't take control. It's a quick handover and bye as the child runs off instead!
For parents who do respect my closure times it's still lovely to chat to them of course.

I think it’s unreasonable to expect workers to work outside their normal hours as they have a family too.

The sitting in the car until closing time I’ve never heard of but I know plenty of people leave it until the last few minutes to collect and use childcare when not working so no different I suppose. We always collected from wrap around care as soon as we could, both because we wanted the time before bed time and so the children were at home rather than with others with their own things and comforts.