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Post by shamrock on Aug 2, 2014 14:59:55 GMT
Waiting in the office for you on a daily basis would not be an option at the schools where I taught or at my boys' school. And, honestly, I don't think it is very respectful of the office staff. They have a job to do that does not involve watching kids. The after school program is available for exactly that purpose. I know a lot of my boys' friends who go to after school care are picked up within 20 minutes. Also, at our school you can't use after school care on an as needed, last minute option. You have to sign up for the program. Our pick up line takes 10-15 minutes. If you think you will be later than that, I'd sign up for the after school program. Yes, it's a bit of money! But it will give you the piece of mind you want.
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Post by coaliesquirrel on Aug 2, 2014 16:31:38 GMT
This is me exactly. On days when DH is at work, (1-2/wk), I have to meet DD, and I get home at 3:40 *if* all is right with the world - no traffic, no weather issues, no construction. School gets out at 3:35 and is on my way home, so on a perfect day, I'd make it, but it doesn't allow for any problems at all. The bus arrives at our house between 3:55-4:05, though, and that extra 15 minutes or more is just enough to be able to make it except in the absolute worst case scenario. It effectively gets me 20-30 minutes of "free" child care.
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Post by fruitysuet on Aug 2, 2014 16:57:31 GMT
At our local village primary school I could call and speak to the school secretary to let her know for the kids to wait back for me.
Before the school had an after school club they would just wait outside of the secretary's office. The teachers were never out on the dot and this would suffice for being late by say 15 minutes.
Any longer I had the ex babysitter on standby and she would grab the kids on my behalf and take them up to her house for a little longer. I just had to call her then call the school.
Once the after school club started the kids were held back in there. Again I would ring out of courtesy. Upto around 15 minutes I was never charged, after that it was just the charge for the normal after school for the day only (ie no weekly charge).
I have to stress that this village school was very small (85 kids max) and had a very laid back, community feel and attitude. I didn't work but sometimes got stuck in traffic on the way back from carrying out errands or visiting sick relatives in hospital (limited visiting hours).
One of the reasons that I used a baby sitter one day a week before the kids started school even though I didn't work is so that I had a contact in the village I could call upon in an emergency and who my kids were familiar with. The lady was more than willing to help out on those rare occasions I needed her and I certainly never abused the situation.
ETA oops no my kids only had phones once they started high school and had to use the bus to get there. This is a public service bus that extends the route for the one trip to and one trip back from school, so if they missed it, it broke down or whatever they would be stranded. I couldn't have trusted them with a cell phone any younger (11). Also, even now, the high school does not allow the phone to be switched on except at lunch time and after school.
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Post by scrappychick on Aug 2, 2014 17:46:18 GMT
You're overthinking things. You've never been late during your practice runs, so I'd feel comfortable just telling him to go to the car line every day. In the event that you do hit traffic, you might be 5 minutes late or so? Tell him to sit on the steps and wait for you. If you run into a day where you've got some last minute meeting, call the office, and have them tell you son to go to the after school program.
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Post by Basket1lady on Aug 2, 2014 17:56:23 GMT
You're overthinking things. You've never been late during your practice runs, so I'd feel comfortable just telling him to go to the car line every day. In the event that you do hit traffic, you might be 5 minutes late or so? Tell him to sit on the steps and wait for you. If you run into a day where you've got some last minute meeting, call the office, and have them tell you son to go to the after school program. If you've done this 20 times and have never had a problem, I would say just call the office and tell them you are stuck in traffic. If traffic is the issue, there are likely other parents in the same situation. We live in northern Virginia where traffic is a huge issue. In the 4 years I had kids in elementary school, I had problems twice. One time, I was in the ER and called about 5-6 friends to pick up the kids, but no one was home so I left messages. Once I was in the ER, they couldn't reach me, as I had no cell phone connection. EVERY ONE of them showed up to get my kids. LOL. And I was worried that my babies would be stuck in school for hours! The one other time it happened, I was about 10 minutes late and the office just kept them. It's a school with almost 600 kids. Parents are human; stuff happens. They know it. And I was a frequent volunteer there, so they knew I wasn't a dirt bag.
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Post by chaosisapony on Aug 2, 2014 19:49:32 GMT
When I was a kid this would have been solved by my mom telling me to wait until 2:55 wherever the pick up is and if I don't see her car to go to the after school program.
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Post by SallyPA on Aug 3, 2014 1:48:16 GMT
I understand that. In my case, it was an emergency back up plan. As I said, the one year I had a conflict, they never had to bother the staff one time. It was much less confusing for all parties - my kids AND the school - to have a consistent back up plan. Our secretaries were totally fine with it. There is no after school care program provided and there's always a handful of kids waiting in and around the office.
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