Quick poll among you all, inspired by a comment a friend made to me

[Saltire]

Do the parents of your mindees ever pick up early?Like if they finish work early?and how often?

Also how early is an early pick up 30mins, 10 mins?

Yes, often. One particular mindee contracted until 6pm but mostly goes at 4.45pm. Others are more adhoc like another full time (til 6pm) mindee is being picked up from nursery (3.30pm) on Friday so I won't have them from 12.30pm.

What do you ask?

Oh, I wouldn't call 10 mins early exactly, they ARE early but you know what I mean, not like an hour early.

Yes one of my mindees gets picked up early sometimes as his mum goes to Uni on the day I have him, she has been known to pick up anything up to an hour early. Equally she has been known to be late due to traffic. I haven't charged her a late fee as I know how bad the traffic can be, and if she picks up early then she still pays full fee so I feel it balances itself out.

My friend, who many years ago(2000) did her cm training with me, was on the phone last night and she said that her 2 mindees had been picked up early due to tehre being no flying (like me she lives on military base), and that she looked forward to fridays becasue "everyone knows the military knock off early on a friday" and her mindees always get picked up by their dad about 4pm instead of 5pm.
She also said that it's the same with all the CMs who live near her
She was amazed that my mindees are never picked up early, not even 5/10 mins early, the parents always arrived at exactly 5pm, often after.

Oh I should add that my other mindee goes home early 3 out of 5 days I would say, but stupid me said 'ohh it's ok, I'll just bill you for the hours that she's here' when I made the contract, so now I lose well over 20hrs a week - their exact words were 'very occasionally we'd like to pick up early' - 3 out of 5 days is not 'very occasionally' but I don't have the guts to do anything about it, but I will when their contract comes up to review after a year.

I sometimes get a call at lunchtime for a child who is due to leave at 6. Sometimes they don't come at all. Lots come late in the morning. They pay for the whole day, so they can come and go as they please (as long as they are prepared to come and find us).

So it does happen then.

mine come around pick up time, sometimes early but not often; I don't mind

However a CM mate has a family that regularly turn up early (7.50, contracted to start at 8) and they turn up bang on pick up time. The picking up is fine but the early drop offs are doing her head in

Her DS goes out to college at about 7.55 and it's cutting into their time together

I wish , all mine usually are on the doorstep exactly on time, or more usually 5 mins early . As for pick ups. My 3pm went at 3.15pm, my 3.45pm left at 3.55pm (and I have to be gone by this time to get to nursery for 4pm to pick up some other children), my 6pm left at 6.20pm.

I pay until 5.30pm, and I advised that I would more likely be early, most days I get there between 4.30 and 5, but when I'm stuck in office, or traffic heavy I don't have to feel guilty, because even when I arrive at 5.25 I'm still not late.

I pay until 3.45pm but pick up my DS at 3.30pm, just pay the extra 15mins incase I get stuck in traffic or delayed leaving work (almost never happens though).

I have worked as a nanny in the past and know how annoying it is to be kept waiting even just a few mins 'without pay', so try not to ever put my childminder in this position.

The parents are hardly ever late - because they don't want to pay extra. However, likewise they never have an early pick up, even just early by 5 minutes. I told DH I'd done this thread and he said one evening last week he'd seen the mum walking along the street - she lives on the same street as us, and he asked if that was her away to pick up the mindees (it was 4.50) and she replied "good god no, it's not 5pm yet" and was on the doorstep 10 mins later at exactly 5pm

it seems though that most parents will pick up 5/10 minutes early if they can

My worst mindee for pick ups is actually my next door neighbour! I can't remember a time when she got to me on time, or actually, when she last dropped off on time (normally 5mins early!!).

I charge only for hours attended not those contracted as a temptation for mine to pick up early, or at least on time

Late pickups don't worry me (I very occasionally have an early pickup, but most are late and I don't mind at all).

I hate early drop-offs with a passion, though! I like to be ready when the doorbell goes and, if they're early, it can fluster me for the rest of the morning. Had one that got earlier and earlier until I really had to say something and I don't think she ever saw my point, to be honest. DH finally insisted that the door was not answered until the proper contracted time.

Must say I like working on an army base for the early Friday finishes Mostly I have been able to leave work by 1.45 latest on a Friday instead of 5.30!

I remember I hadn't been on MN for long, and I commented about how I felt I was the only person working at 5.30 on a friday night as the entire camp was shut, and I still had mindees as their dad's were in the pub.
Anyway all these pople piled in (as usual) saying that how dare I assume that no one else was working etc etc. I did point out that I meant locally, because all the other Cms were all finished for the weekend.

All Milatry children, and very rare I have them after 3.30 on a Friday (all contracted to 4/5 pm) the one that goes at 4 is often gone a lunchtime, She also often isnt in at all on a Monday or Friday as Mum & Dad are Military Bands so work evenings a lot, so she stays over, I dont charge this Family overnights as she never does her 40 paid hours even with her overnights. Bit of swings and roundabouts.

Others are White Helmet kids, so if Dad is not on the road, often gone by 4 at the latest.