Parenting is a whirlwind of responsibilities, with time management often becoming a daunting challenge. The issue of parents sometimes picking up their children late from school is not uncommon. However, a school’s decision to address this concern through a $116 late pick-up fee has ignited a significant debate.
The cost of tardiness
he issue of parents sometimes picking up their kids from school late isn’t new, but one school has decided to fight against it. A fee of $2 per minute for being late is being imposed on parents who fail to pick up their children on time.
The fine is paid to the teacher who waited.
When parents are late, it is the teachers who have to put in extra hours and stay with the kids. To remunerate them for their work, the school is making sure that 100% of the late fee collected is transferred to the teacher who waited until the parents arrived.
A teacher shared her experience.
Kristin Evans, who is a preschool educator, documented the issue on her TikTok which has now gone viral. “The director of my school just walked up to me and handed me $116. She said it was because one of my half-day students was picked up almost an hour late, and we get paid $2 a minute for every minute that they’re late,” she revealed.
“So this parent was charged $2 a minute for being late, and it goes directly to my pocket… This also is not the first or second or third time they’ve been 20+ mins late without notice or communication, but this was the first time they were charged the late pick-up fee,” she added further.
Parents’ reactions are divided.
In reactions to Kristin’s video, several parents revealed that the concept isn’t entirely new, and several schools have started fining parents for being late. “My son’s school charges $20/min,” a parent commented on the video. “Our preschool is $5 a minute after 10 minutes past pick-up time,” added another.
Others supported the school’s initiative, “Yes!! This is in the paperwork for my daughter’s daycare and honestly, I’d happily pay if I was ever late. I’d feel horrible!” commented a mom. “As it should be… I absolutely remember being a single parent making it my business to get to my son’s school on time every single day!” supported another.
Some parents aren’t for it — “I purposely pick my kids up 5 minutes late to avoid the traffic at the school,” revealed a mother. “This is good for you, but like, what if the family straight up cannot afford and has no way to get to the child on time,” commented a concerned parent.
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