10/02/2008
The Unbearable Wrongness of Being Late
Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.
Charles R. Swindoll, The Strong Family
The Exchange book, Places for Childhoods: Making Quality Happen in the Real World, includes a collection of Jim Greenman's thought-provoking articles, including, "It Seemed to Make Sense at the Time: Stupid Child Care Tricks." In this article, Greenman talks about responding to parents who are late picking up their children:
"God knows we all hate late parents (except when those late parents happen to be us). In fact, late parents are so frustrating that I would not be surprised to hear about a center charging a $50 late fee or kicking the family out. A not uncommon approach: "Parents will be fined $1 per minute for the first five minutes and $2 per minute thereafter. Parents must pay the caregiver directly."
"Here are some absolutely predictable effects of this policy:
- Increased parent/staff tension in front of the child.
- Arguments over what time it is because each minute counts.
- Inconsistent application of the policy based on the mood and assertiveness of the individual staff member and the parent.
"By instituting a five minute grace period to reduce wrangling over minutes, scheduling staff to work the predictable late times, and billing parents, tension is reduced. You also might want to look at your hours, or offer extended hours for a separate fee."
This week these
two popular books by Jim Greenman are on sale at a 20% discount:
Caring Spaces, Learning Places: Children’s Environments That Work — a book of ideas, observations, problems, solutions, examples, resources, photographs, and poetry. Here you will find best of current thinking about children's environments — 360 pages to challenge you, stimulate you, inspire you.
Places for Childhoods: Making Quality Happen in the Real World — This exceptional book demonstrates how centers can face real-world challenges and make quality care a reality. Special selections authored by recognized child care experts enhance this collection of updated articles written by Jim Greenman.
A New Career Helping Young Children Develop and Learn Learn how to give a young child the very best foundation possible — with a Bachelor of Arts Early Childhood Development at
National University.
For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.
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