What do you expect to see at pick up time?

[GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat]

Calm, quiet and tidy, reading books, watching tv wind down time? Full throws of playing, excitable and organised choas? Dinner finished and ready to go home? Evening meal still in progress so you can stay for a bit?

My days seem to end one of two ways, I wonder what parents think. I have asked mine, I just wonder what others thinks from a larger survey of people.

Hmm, yes I always wonder about this too. Mine go home any time between 4.30 and the last ones at 5. Generally the 4.30 ones go and then at 4.45 we tidy up and then depending how long it takes, I put the tv on or sit them down and do some singing with them. But sometimes the tidying up takes ages and then the parents arrive just as we finish which is preferable really as it saves putting another activity in.

I find it’s far easier to get the children to go home if they are not really interested in whatever they are doing. If they are in the middle of colouring, jigsaws or playing, it can be really hard to cajole them out of the door and I really don’t want parents here for longer than necessary, I tend to find the child whose parent is here and intent on finishing whatever they are doing takes longer doing it, while everyone else, spies their opportunity for emptying the whole toy box/running around like mad things or doing something els they know they shouldn’t be doing. So I’d rather everything be away and us all sitting doing something that finishes as I get up, like singing to make home time easier and quicker, for both parents and me.

I do dinner at the same time every evening to suit the current pick up times. We tidy, eat and then either put the tv on for a little bit or read books. The tv works a bit better because the other get wild if I’m seeing a child home mid story.

The chaos ensues when a parent arrives early during dinner, the child wants to leave mid meal (fine) but then all the other play up because they think they can get down/ wonder why their parents aren’t here yet etc. My dinner is then cold or I feel self conscious if a parent wants to come in and join us at the table.

Help!

Do you have to eat with the children? Can you not wait till they’ve all gone home and eat a bit later? (Or do they go home quite late?). I’d be waiting to eat with dh (or on my own if no dp) rather than with the children. I know it’s good for them to eat socially but if you are getting a cold dinner, it’s not working. I stopped eating lunch with the children as I found it to stressful, trying to feed children, wipe up spills, refill drinks, fetch puddings etc, so I wouldn’t be starting this for tea as well.
I think this is part of the reason why I stopped doing an evening meal, if parents are arriving half way through, I figured the child could wait and have tea when they got home and that seems to fit far better. I give them a hot lunch and parents can give a cold/snack tea. Mine have all gone by 5 though and would all be home with the potential for a sandwich to be on the table by 5.20, so not too late to be fed.

And I know exactly what you mean about a story at the end of the day. Once you get up, chaos ensues because the entertainment has gone. At least with the tv, it stays while you deal with child at the door.

I don’t have to eat with them but Dh is a shift worker and if our own kids or I have evening plans it just makes logistical sense.

Thankfully they’ve all usually gone by half 5.

Erm thanks! But no advertising here

Bit of a weird post there Gemma!

I do handovers at the door - I take the child into the hallway and handover there - so no disruption to the other children and no parents coming in.

When I collect DD (8, only there before and after school, but used to be there full time) she's busy playing. That's always been the way it's worked. Our cm is happy for parents to come in and wait for the children to be ready to go home, which is fine. Sometimes there are 2 or 3 parents there collecting their children when I arrive. She doesn't do evening meal though, they have a small snack at about 4 then we give dinner at home. Nobody collects any later than 5:30.

When I first met with my first CM, when dc1 was tiny, she said to me that she always gets them ready to hand over if she knows I can be there at a set time. She said, you won't think it now (ds was about 2 months old) but they get to an age when that handover time can turn into a nightmare. You have the CMer not wanting to appear too strict or be telling off a child in front of the parent, and the parents being exactly the same and the child picks up on that instantly and plays up and the whole handover thing gets messy.
She was 100% right. I'm so glad she taught me good ways.
In all honestly, I wouldn't use a CMer who wanted me to come in and wait while the child finished a meal or finished what they were doing. It is the worst time of day after a long day at work then battling traffic then knowing once you get in you have to get the evening meal on, get everything sorted around the house, and with child's bag etc in a short amount of time. 10 - 15mins standing around in the CMers hallway or kitchen might have killed me off.
A home / CMer diary for all messages and quick in and out is what I needed.

Easier to have tea finished and quiet time :tv

Then take child to door - rather then parents in as then you cant get them out

Exp of a nanny when parents collect a friend who came round for tea

Once in the house they take forever to leave 😂😂

When I picked up DS, he was brought to the door, shoes and coat on, bag handed over, quick chat about what he'd been up to and so on then we were off. I wouldn't personally expect to be going in for dinner, I'd just want to collect DS and leave (and have a set pickup time to facilitate that).

I've only ever used one CM though so don't know if that's usual or not. But it worked for us.