Ali Condon
A mum found herself £100 out of pocket when she arrived at her kid's school gate an hour after home time and was forced to fork over cash for the teacher's lost time.
Teacher Kristin Evans documented the moment after her boss put the mum's cash in her hand, admitting that she felt 'weird' about it.
It's no secret that teachers are severely underpaid for their incredible work, so you can only imagine how frustrating it is when they're forced to stay after hours to look after kids whose parents don't show up on time.
That's why some schools started enforcing fines, threatening parents who are late for pick up with a fee for minding their children.
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At Kristen's school, it was decided that parents would have to pay $2 (£1.60) for every minute that they were late.
Sitting in her car after the school day wrapped, Kristen told her TikTok followers: "The director of my school just walked up to me and handed me $116 [around £100].
"And 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.
"So this parent was charged $2 a minute for being late and it goes directly into my pocket."
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In the caption, Kristen added that this was 'a first' for her, and it felt 'weird'.
She added: "This late pick up policy is in my new school's admission agreement.
"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."
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Viewers had a very mixed response to Kristen's situation, with some suggesting that it was completely unfair on the parents.
"I can remember crying because I was stuck in traffic, couldn’t get to child’s daycare before it closed or afford the fine & they called police," commented one parent.
"Imagine that mom like freaking out rushing to get there high anxiety and then you get there and it’s like fork over $116, not a good day for that mum," wrote a second, trying to gauge some sympathy.
A third agreed: "Yeah I couldn't morally keep that money I'd have to return it to the parents."
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Other educators who caught Kristen's video assured those concerned that fining parents for showing up late was becoming a pretty normal practice.
One shared: "Ours is 10 dollars the first minute and a dollar a minute thereafter. Even in an emergency."
Another revealed: "Our daycare is also per child, so you better hope you're on time and don't have multiple children enrolled."
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And, just for good measure, there were plenty of parents on the school's side, agreeing that they should be charged if they can't pick their child up at the agreed time.
"As a child that had a late parent, MAKE THEM PAY," urged one.
"All the people disagreeing - these teacher’s aren’t paid overtime. Would you stay an hour and a half late for free at work?" challenged a second.
Is Kristen's school being unreasonable? Would you be happy to pay a late fee at your child's school?